GM tops Toyota in Q2 global sales

General Motors Corp. pulled ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. in global sales for the second quarter of 2007 but remained No. 2 for the first half of the year, according to preliminary figures released by the rival automakers. GM said Thursday it sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide in April-June 2007, while Toyota said Friday that it sold 2.37 million.

For the first quarter, Japan's leading automaker said it sold more cars and trucks than America's top automaker for the first time ever – 2.35 million to GM's 2.27 million.

For the first half of 2007, Toyota's reported global sales totaled 4.72 million, compared with GM's 4.67 million.

GM said strong growth in Latin America, Asia and other emerging markets lifted global sales by 0.4 percent from 2006's second quarter total of 2.40 million.

"We're on track to have our second-best annual sales performance in our almost 100-year history," John Middlebrook, GM's vice president for global sales, said in a statement. More at Detroit News