Toyota regains spot as world’s top car maker from GM

Toyota has regained its spot as top car maker after a year of setbacks, including various recalls and a major natural disaster. 

Toyota sold 9.75 million vehicles worldwide in 2012, a 23 percent sales increase that allowed it to beat out former first place seller GM, as well as German powerhouse Volkswagen. GM sold 9.29 million cars; VW sold 9.07 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Japanese car manufacturer first bested GM in 2008, and held on to the top spot until 2011, when the tsunami in Japan and Thailand disrupted its manufacturing, the Washington Post reported. 

“Toyota has fully recovered from the earthquake and natural disasters a year earlier,” said Satoshi Yuzaki, Tokyo-based general manager at Takagi Securities. “Japanese car makers, including Toyota, will continue to benefit from an extremely strong US market.”

Other Japanese car companies have also seen a big uptick this year: Nissan sold 4.94 million vehicles, up 6 percent from 2011, and Honda saw a 19 percent increase, BBC News reported. 

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