Final sales numbers confirm that Toyota's 2012 car sales topped those of General Motors and Volkswagen.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Earlier this month, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) announced global sales of 9.29 million vehicles for the year. In late December, Toyota Motor (TM) said it expected that global sales for 2012 hit 9.7 million vehicles, and it confirmed that Monday when it reported global sales of 9.75 million.
Volkswagen Group (VLKAY), which includes the VW, Audi and Porsche brands, came in at No. 3 with 9.09 million vehicles, the first time the company has topped 9 million.
GM is the leading automaker in the world's two largest markets, China and the United States. But Toyota is a clear leader in its home market of Japan, where non-Japanese automakers have had trouble competing due to limited dealerships. And Toyota enjoyed a bounce-back year in Japan, with sales rebounding 35% from 2011, when they were hurt by the earthquake and tsunami.
Toyota's sales totals also were helped by the fact that it made more than 600,000 heavy-duty trucks and buses during the year, a vehicle segment GM essentially shed in its home market.
Toyota is No. 3 in terms of sales in the U.S., a key market where Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) is No. 2. Ford took back that ranking back from Toyota in 2010 when the Japanese automaker was hit with recall problems that forced it to stop selling its most popular models for a period of time.
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GM topped global sales for 77 years through 2007, when it finished just barely ahead of Toyota. Both automakers' sales suffered in 2008 as the bottom fell out of the U.S. economy, but high gas prices and a looming bankruptcy at GM ultimately nudged Toyota into the lead, where it stayed for the next two years.
The federal bailout of GM in 2009, and the problems at Toyota the next two years allowed the U.S. company to recapture the lead much quicker than most expected.
Neither GM nor Toyota had a comment on the rankings earlier this month when GM's sales figures essentially insured Toyota would move back into the global sales lead.
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Mike Wall, auto analyst for IHS Global Insight, said it's possible GM could come out on top in 2013. A territorial dispute between China and Japan could adversely affect Toyota, while the recession in Europe could be a drag on Volkswagen's sales growth.
"In terms of GM returning to the lead, I certainly wouldn't count them out, especially with the product they're set to introduce this year," he said. "I actually think all three will be huddled close together for the next few years."
Wall says GM is a much healthier company today at No. 2 than when it held the sales lead but posted huge financial losses in the previous decade.
"The sales lead makes for bragging rights, but GM is a stronger company than it was then," he said. 
First Published: January 28, 2013: 7:18 AM ET
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