Although GM’s Cadillac ATS was just named Car of the Year, Toyota has once again beaten the American automaker as the world’s top-selling automotive company, by selling close to 9.7 million vehicles in 2012, as compared to 9.29 for GM.
In turn, GM narrowly edged out Volkswagen for second place, as the German company closed the year with a very impressive 11% increase in global sales.
Toyota’s comeback from the earthquake, and flooding in Thailand is only part of the story, stated Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, a Detroit area industry prediction firm. “Much of their growth can be attributed to savy marketing including a brand new version of Camry, which remains extremely popular in the US.”
LMC also predicts that Toyota will retain its current lead over main rival GM with the launch of a new Corolla.
General Motors was the top selling carmaker for more than 70 years before being dethroned by the Japanese in 2008, although it did regain the crown briefly in 2011 after the natural disaster left Toyota dealers short on stock.
For a related article see http://www.examiner.com/article/the-cadillac-ats-amd-ram-1500-drive-away...
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