DETROIT, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Co. outsold previous industry leader General Motors Corp. in 2008 by 600,000 vehicles, company reports show.
GM said it sold 8.356 million cars and trucks last year, as the company that has led the industry in sales for 77 years struggled through a difficult year.
Sales at GM fell 11 percent in the year, The Detroit News reported.
Toyota, where sales fell 4 percent, said it sold 8.972 million vehicles. Toyota has also said the fiscal year for the company ending in March would mark its first annual loss since the company began.
"These numbers don't mean anything," Toyota Motor Sales Inc. Vice President Irv Miller said. "These sales, they don't equate to the bottom line very much," he said.
GM President Frederick Henderson said "I do care," about the GM's sales ranking. But, he also said he was more concerned with long range success.
"To me the most important thing is to make General Motors successful," he said.
