23 July 2008

Toyota Beats GM (Finally)


And there it is, Toyota sold more vehicles that General Motors in the first half of 2008 and should end the year as the No. 1 automaker in the world.

I had heard that Toyota had actually increased prices a couple of years ago to keep from beating G.M. (and preventing a PR nightmare). Apparently, according to my colleague Ryan Booth, Toyota has been beating G.M. since 2006.

According to Ryan, industry insiders had tracked Toyota as having sold more cars every since 2006 rolled around. G.M. was including in its tally an output from a Chinese firm it had a stake in, but did not control (I'm not sure, but I think it could be the Chinese mini-van manufacturer SAIC-Wuling). These "official" tallies kept it ahead of Toyota.

But no more.

Man, the bad news just keeps rolling for American companies.

LINKS

NYT: Toyota Ahead of G.M.

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