Katsuaki Watanabe, President, Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota sold more cars and trucks around the world in the first three months of 2007 than any other manufacturer, surpassing General Motors for the first time and ending one of the longest periods of dominance in all of global industry.

However, the Toyota sales boost came from overseas markets in particular North America as Japan posted the lowest car sales in the twelve months to March 2007, since 1977.

Japan's vehicle sales fell for a 21st consecutive month, led by Nissan Motor and Toyota Motor.

Sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, fell 12.6 percent to 487,738 vehicles in March from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said in early April. Nissan's sales fell 16 percent, while Toyota's dropped 12 percent.

Domestic sales, excluding minicars, fell in March although household spending in Japan rose 1.3 percent in February.

Sales of vehicles excluding minicars dropped 8.3 percent to 3.59 million units, the lowest level in 29 years, in the 12 months ended March 31.

Toyota's total worldwide sales reached 2.35 million cars and trucks in the first quarter. GM had previously announced its total of 2.26 million vehicles in the same period.

The Japanese vehicle maker was not expected to overtake GM, which has been undergoing a major restructuring at its North American operations, until 2008.

GM overtook the Ford Motor Company in 1931 in both the US and overseas markets.

Toyota was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to build motor cars. It created, first as a department of Toyota Industries, its first product Type A engine in 1934 and its first passenger car in 1936.