Toyota Motor Corp. announced Monday it had unseated the US rival Ford Motor Co. to become the second largest automaker worldwide.

The global sales for the No.1 Japanese automaker in 2003, including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino MotorsLtd., increased some 10 per cent from the previous year to about 6.78 million vehicles, surpassing the 6.72 million Ford sales, Toyota said.

General Motors Corp. of the United States remains its top position with 8.59 million vehicles sold.

Toyota said its overseas sales in 2003 expanded 13 per cent to 4.48 million vehicles, supported by a fast rise in overseas production and robust exports from Japan.

Domestic sales last year stood at 2.3 million vehicles, up 4 per cent from the year before, with its Corolla passenger car topping the best sellers.

The company sold 2.03 million vehicles in North America, makingitself the first foreign automaker to sell more than 2 million there.

In the European market, Toyota sold 800,000 vehicles, a target fulfilled two years of schedule, said the company.

Sales in Asian countries expanded some 38 per cent to 680,000 vehicles.

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