Toyota remains top selling automaker despite sales fall

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp held onto its status as the world’s top-selling automaker in the first quarter of this year, although the three-way race with General Motors and Volkswagen is proving tight, as its sales fall in China and Japan.

Toyota reported Wednesday it sold 2.43 million vehicles during the January-March period, outpacing U.S. automaker General Motors Co at 2.36 million vehicles and Volkswagen AG of Germany at 2.27 million vehicles.

Toyota’s first quarter sales declined 2.2% from a year earlier, while those for GM were up 3.6% and Volkswagen’s jumped 5.1%.

GM’s quarterly results were within about 69,000 vehicles of Toyota’s.

GM had been No. 1 for seven decades before losing that title to Toyota in 2008.