(October 29, 2012) Toyota's worldwide sales grew 18 percent last quarter on U.S. demand for Camry sedans and Prius hybrids and helped Asia's largest automaker expand its lead over General Motors, the global volume leader in 2011, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Toyota delivered 2.43 million cars and trucks in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, including subsidiaries Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co., up from 2.06 million a year ago, according to figures provided by Yurika Motoyoshi, a company spokeswoman.

Its sales rose 28 percent to 7.4 million units through September. GM had 2.28 million sales in the quarter and 6.95 million this year through September, said GM spokesman Jim Cain.

"Thinking back to the start of the year, I didn't expect Toyota to recover as quickly as it has," said Ed Kim, an industry analyst at researcher AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin, Calif. "Toyota has such a huge and massive owner base that keeps coming back for more and more. That was underestimated."
President Akio Toyoda plans to introduce 19 models this year as Toyota heads toward regaining the title of the world's biggest carmaker.

The company is counting on the United States to make up for falling sales in China, where a territorial dispute with Japan threatens Toyota's goal of selling a record 9.76 million vehicles globally in 2012.

Source: Bloomberg News