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Toyota's three-year stretch as the world's largest automaker ended in 2011, when the company endured production setbacks in the aftermath of the devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami. However, Toyota is back with a vengeance and posted a 15.8% increase in sales in the US during the first quarter of 2012. On top of that, the Japanese automaker is on top of the global sales chart again based on Q1 2012 results. Toyota moved 2.49 million vehicles globally in the first three months, edging GM's 2.28 million sales and Volkswagen's 2.16 million, Bloomberg News reported. In 2011, GM was the best selling brand globally. GM sold 9.03 million vehicles while Volkswagen and Toyota moved 8.16 million and 7.9 million respectively. However, GM seemed relax about the fact that it is beginning to lose its sales crown for 2012. GM spokesman, Jim Cain, commented that one quarter is an awfully short window of time when GM has a big vision for global growth. "GM today is a profitable, growing company, and our plan is to grow more and earn more," said Cain in an e-mail. "We've got the ingredients to do both over time, especially with our aggressive new product launch calendar and the momentum Chevrolet, in particular, is building around the world," he added. Indeed, the first quarter is like the 10km mark in a marathon race. There is still a long journey ahead for GM and Toyota. It is still too early for Toyota to rejoice.

[extract] After losing its status as the world

Toyota has announced profits of US$314 million for the first three months of 2011, down 77% as compared to the same period a year ago. Fortunately, Toyota still managed to remain profitable in spite of the March 11 earthquake that caused most Japanese plants to shut down. Toyota's sales were predictably low for the quarter, and revenue was hurt as a result. Toyota's profits for its fiscal fourth quarter may be disappointing, but the automaker is likely to release even less promising figures for the first 6 months of 2011. This is because Toyota is still struggling through supply issues, with many plants running at only 50% capacity, if they're running at all. Further, Toyota says that dealers in the U.S. and China are likely to see less products in the coming months, which could lead to much lower revenue. On a brighter note, Toyota now says that production should ramp up to 70% of capacity by June, up from previous estimates of July or August. That should help get Toyota back on its feet faster, which is good for employment as well. For the whole fiscal year, Toyota earned US$5.9 billion or nearly three times the profit of fiscal year 2009. Revenue was also up by 0.2% to $237 billion on sales of 7.3 million vehicles, up by 71,000 units as compared to 2009. The outlook for Toyota doesn