Toyota has dethroned Detroit rival General Motors as the world's top car maker, but there were no celebrations today at the crisis-hit Japanese giant, which is bracing for its first-ever loss.
For many car makers around the world, particularly the US Big Three, the main priority is not to be the biggest, but just to survive a global economic downturn that has sent demand for cars plunging.
Figures from the companies showed Toyota had ended General Motors' 77-year reign as the world's biggest car maker last year, selling 8.97 million vehicles against GM's 8.35 million.
But both makers suffered from weak demand. GM's sales tumbled 11% while Toyota saw a 4% drop in global demand - the Japanese group's first decline in a decade.
Analysts said that the gap between the sales of Toyota and GM will probably expand for a few years because of growth in the market for environmentally-friendly cars where Toyota has a lead with its hybrids.
Toyota has been careful not to gloat about its success in the US in recent years for fear of provoking a political backlash, and the company was typically modest about its rise to the top.
Toyota has expanded its global production facilities in recent years to meet brisk demand, particularly for its fuel-efficient cars, leaving it vulnerable to the current slump in worldwide sales. The company last month forecast a first-ever annual operating loss of 150 billion yen.
Earlier this week Toyota named Akio Toyoda as its new president, turning to the grandson of its founder to rescue the company from its biggest ever crisis.
The 52-year-old family scion is expected to put the brakes on Toyota's rapid expansion and focus more on emerging markets as demand slumps in the US, Japan and Europe.
But despite all its troubles, Toyota is still in better shape than GM, which will run out of cash if it does not get the second part of a federal bridge loan next month.
GM president Fritz Henderson said the situation was dire for his company, which received a $4 billion emergency loan last month and is due to collect another instalment of the bridge loan in February.
