Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1

GM’s vehicle sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter, helping Toyota, on 2.7% growth, take the global sales lead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide to 2.25 million for the American giant, which was hurt badly by a 10.2% drop in US sales. GM blamed tough economic times, noting solid overseas figures nevertheless.

"We obviously want to win, and we'd like to be No. 1 in sales at the end of the year," a GM executive told the AP today, noting the company's ongoing North American overhaul. "But really our focus right now is on profitable, sustainable growth across the world." (More General Motors stories.)