Toyota tops world car sales

General Motors' 76-year record as outright car sales leader has been broken in the first half of this year by Toyota Motor Corporation. In sales to June, Toyota notched up 4.71 million cars sold around the world, edging out GM's 4.67 million.
Toyota's fuel-efficient models have been selling steadily against the backdrop of rising petrol prices in North America. Sales in the Asian market, which were slow in 2006, have shown signs of recovery to contribute to the sales result.
In the first quarter of 2007, Toyota outsold GM by about 90,000 cars, but fell behind in the second quarter by 40,000. This sets the stage for a fierce GM-Toyota competition to take the top spot in overall annual car sales.