DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) said its first-quarter global sales fell
27% in the first quarter to 1.8 million vehicles, keeping it ahead
of Volkswagen AG (VLKAY) as the top-selling auto maker in the
world.
Volkswagen reported Wednesday that its sales fell 11% to 1.4
million as the company sees fewer woes than Toyota and General
Motors Corp. (GM), which until last year was the world's largest
auto maker by sales. GM has yet to release its first-quarter
results.
Toyota and Volkswagen were thought to be in fierce competition
over the industry's top spot, especially as Toyota has posted big
sales drops, especially in the coveted and competitive U.S. market.
The year-earlier gap between the two companies in the first quarter
was more than 800,000.
Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday that
Toyota's domestic output this fiscal year is likely to plunge below
the 3 million mark for the first time in 31 years, falling to about
2.8 million units, down more than 30% from its peak in 2007.
Meanwhile, people familiar with the situation told The Wall
Street Journal earlier this month that Toyota is expected to
announce a major overhaul of its U.S. operations to revamp the
ailing business. For years, the U.S. operations generated some of
the company's biggest profits, but they're now suffering from
plunging sales.
As Toyota faces a decline in demand in its main U.S. and
Japanese markets, Volkswagen has seen an increase in sales to some
of its key markets, such as China.
Toyota's American depositary shares closed Wednesday at $78.29
and didnt' trade premarket.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089;
kerry.grace@dowjones.com