Toyota Becomes 2nd Largest Automaker

Amy Bickers
January 30, 2004
Tokyo

One company with a vital impact on the Japanese trade surplus is Toyota, the country's top automaker. It has overtaken American rival Ford to become the world's second largest automaker, behind General Motors of the U.S. in the number one spot. Toyota sold almost seven million vehicles worldwide last year, slightly more than Ford.

The change in ranking is due to the rising popularity of Japanese cars in the United States. Toyota posted record profits last year and now controls about 11 percent of the world market.

This article is an excerpt from a business report titled "Sony Cuts Global Workforce to Improve Earnings; Toyota Becomes 2nd Largest Automaker"