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Show DAILY HERALD Thursday fonuary 24, 2008 A7 MMEWorld Toyota catches up to General Motors in global sales Tom Krisher THE Rising in ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT General Motors, a symbol of American industrial might and the world's top seller of motor vehicles since Herbert Hoover was president, has finally been caught by a foreign rival. GM conceded Wednesday that Toyota Motor Corp. pulled even last year, each of them selling about 9.37 million vehicles, in another sign that the balance of corporate power is shifting from West to East. It's the first time GM has been anything other than the exclusive global sales leader since 1931. The figure of 9,369,524 vehicles sold around the world was a 3 percent increase from 2006 for GM. But Toyota's strong sales growth in the United States in recent years and declining sales for GM in its own finally closed the gap. backyard Earlier this month, Toyota reported global sales of about 9.37 million vehicles for 2007. The Japanese automaker said Wednesday it would not release more precise figures, so who's No. 1 remains unclear. "The race is too close to call," said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis. "I don't think anybody knows at this point." Toyota's share of the U.S. market has more than doubled since 1990, when it sold about 1 million vehicles for a 7.5 percent share of the domestic market, according to Ward's GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has oledeed to defend the global sales title, but said the company would not abandon its U.S. strategy of cutting back on sales. the East General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. finished 2007 in a tie, each with 9.37 low-prof- it million vehicles sold worldwide. Annual auto sales ""7 S El - B GM Toyota - 10 million vehicles A Toyota logo is seen in a Land Cruiser in the atrium lobby at Toyota North American headquarters in Torrance, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 23, title as the 2008. General Motors Corp. is in danger of losing its world's sales leader, as totals for 2007 released on Wednesday showed the automaker in a virtual tie with l oyota Motor corp. Af rnozoKeea Saxon) almost evenly in most emerging globIn that time Toyota sales have grown briskly as drivers opted for its al markets, but GM has been hurt by sales declines in North America. cars and their smaller, "A lot of that volume reduction has reputation for reliability. In 2007, Toyota sold 2.6 million vehicles in the come here," Bragman said. "They did United States, a 16 percent share of very well in every other market exthe market. cept North America." He said much of GM's U.S. sales GM, third on the Fortune 500 list of U.S. corporations, remains the domes- decline comes as the company has tic auto sales leader. But its market intentionally cut incentives and resales to rental car share has dropped dramatically from duced about 35 percent in 1990 to about 24 companies. GM's U.S. sales last year were down 6 percent from 2006, due percent in 2007. GM sold 3.8 million vehicles in the United States last year. largely to a reduction in fleet sales those to large, bulk buyers. Aaron Bragman, an analyst with "If they had kept that fleet volume the consulting firm Global Insight, said GM and Toyota have expanded up, it wouldn't even be a competi- - '.MUM 1 76-ye- . s low-prof- it - - I 4 I X nil! M 99 TO X)1 X)2 XB XM TJ5 TJ6 TJ7 AP SOURCE: The companies tion," Bragman said. Overall, GM's worldwide sales in in its 2007 were the second-bes- t history. It set a sales record in China by selling more than a million vehicles, set a record in Brazil with nearly 500,000 and doubled sales in Russia. "I think we've done a heck of a job in positioning ourselves very well in where the growth in the world is in terms of the emerging markers, particularly Latin America, Asia Pacific, China, Russia, India," DiGiovanni said. 100-ye- ar ureat cars, sman manteiing, growth in the emerging markets and hopefully that will keep us on top. If not, we'll come back to work the next day and work even harder," Wagoner said earlier this month. Burgeoning markets in places like China, Russia and South America, and other regions with growing middle classes, will probably decide the sales title in coming years. While the U.S. economy sputters, China and India continue to boom. China's economy is growing at about 11 percent a year, and India's at about 9 percent, two of the fastest economic growth rates in the world. In the U.S., the gross domestic product grew by only 2.2 percent last year. Auto analysts foresee slower growth in the mature markets of North America and Europe, and the auto market in Japan is shrinking. Toyota is setting up more overseas plants and aims to sell 9.85 million vehicles this year, or 5 percent more than in 2007, under an ambitious plan announced last month. Toyota executives also project better U.S. sales this year. GM would not give a global sales forecast for this year. Toyota executives have consistently brushed off questions about becoming No. 1. Edwards criticizes Clinton for leaving South Carolina before primary Susanne THE M. Schaffer ASSOCIATED PRESS BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said South Carolina voters should question Hillary Rodham Clinton's commitment to the state since she left in the run-u- p to the state's primary. "After the debate, she flew out and she's been gone and she won't be back until I don't know later in the week or until primary day," Edwards told a crowd of about 150 people in this small city. "What are the chances she's coming back when she's president of the United States?" Clinton took part in Monday night's debate in Myrtle Beach and then left to campaign in states scheduled to hold contests Feb. 5, including California, New Mexico and New Jersey. She's expected to be back in South Carolina on Thursday, and her husband has been campaigning for her around South Carolina this week. Barack Obama also has been campaigning in South Carolina in advance of Saturday's primary. Edwards is emphasizing his biography in an attempt to gain traction here even as polls show him lagging both rivals. A South Carolina native and son of a mill worker, he stresses themes focused on the middle class and an economic plan that would bring help to family farmers, and jobs and broadband Internet connections to rural areas. "I will not forget where I came from," Edwards told the crowd during one of three campaign events he was to hold Wednesday alongside a bluegrass band. He said he's not a candidate who "thinks of Bennettsville as some place you fly over on the way from New York to Miami." Edwards later stopped at an auto parts store in rural Patrick, asking people for theif support. He reiterated his opposition to President Bush's economic stimulus package, saying "it leaves out too many people." If i r Capture the attention of millions of potential job candidates More people in Utah Valley use heraldextra.com and Yahoo! hotjobs J mm il J2 .J when-lookin- g for a job than any L other job search web site. 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