General Motors (GM) is almost certain to claim the title of world’s biggest automaker this year, retaking the top spot from Toyota, which has been hurt by production problems since the last month’s earthquake and still can’t escape the shadow of major safety recalls.
The No. 1 title, a morale booster for the winner’s employees and managers, would cap GM’s remarkable comeback from bankruptcy.
GM’s sales are up, mainly in China and the US, the world’s top two markets. Cars are better than in the past, especially small ones. But even though GM came within 30,000 sales of Toyota last year and began strong this year, any sales victory has more to do with Toyota’s problems.
First, a series of big recalls has ballooned to 14 million vehicles worldwide and damaged Toyota’s reputation for reliability. That has spurred loyal buyers to look at other brands.
Second, last month’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan curbed Toyota’s car production. On Friday, Toyota said its global factories would not return to full production until November or December. The crisis has already cost it production of 260,000 vehicles.
Last year, Toyota sold 8.42 million cars and trucks, barely ahead of a resurgent GM, which sold 8.39 million. GM held the No. 1 spot from 1932 until 2008.
If GM places first this year, it won’t be much to crow much, said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for TrueCar.com, an auto price tracking Web site.
“It’s because of [factory] capacity restrictions, and that’s not something they want to brag about,” he said.
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