Toyota Officially Reclaims ‘World’s Largest Automaker’ Title
Toyota Motor Corp. is, indeed, the world’s biggest automaker. TMC released its global vehicle sales for 2012 Monday, and the automaker moved a record 9.75 million units last year.
Early reports already indicated that the Japanese brand ousted General Motors from the top spot. Detroit-based GM, which sold 9.29 million cars last year, had a seven-decade run as the bestselling automaker before being unseated by Toyota in 2008. 
Three years later, GM recouped the crown when the earthquake and tsunami in Japan hurt Toyota’s production. Now recovered from those natural disasters, Toyota’s sales in its homeland last year rose 35%, while sales overseas increased 23%.
The revival hasn’t been all good, however. The automaker had a slew of safety recalls, such as an inadvertent acceleration issue that it has agreed to pay an approximately $1.2 billion settlement for. As it stands, the company recalled more cars than any other manufacturer in the U.S. last year.
Looking ahead, Toyota anticipates another sales increase this year, hoping to reach a record 9.91 million, while GM hasn’t given its forecast yet.
German-based Volkswagen, one of last year’s fastest-growing brands, rounded out the Top 3 with 9.1 million autos sold.
