The first few months of 2013 have belonged to Toyota. The Japanese automaker rebounded from natural disasters and manufacturing difficulties in 2011 and 2012 to hold onto the title of the world's top manufacturer throughout the first quarter of this year.
Toyota recently announced that it sold 2.43 million cars from January to March of 2013. While it saw sales drop in China, one of the largest growing markets in the world, as well as its home country of Japan, strong performances in the U.S. and a few European countries helped maintain its status.
General Motors finished the first quarter as a close second place behind Toyota. The automaker reported 2.36 million models sold, giving it the edge over Volkswagen and its 2.27 million, AutoBlog reports.
"Rather than pursuing numbers, we try to sell one car at a time, producing good cars," said company spokeswoman Shino Yamada, according to The Washington Post. "We aren't focused on being no. 1."
Although Toyota remained in the top spot, the manufacturer did see a drop in total sales compared to last year. The 2.2 percent decrease wasn't mirrored by the second- and third-place automakers, which posted 3.6 percent and 5.1 percent increases, respectively, Auto Evolution reports.