GM trails Toyota in first-half 2008 global sales

By Poornima Gupta

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) trailed Japanese rival Toyota (7203.T) in global vehicle sales decisively through the second quarter and first half of the year, hurt by a large decline in North America.

The Detroit-based automaker said on Wednesday that vehicle sales fell 3 percent to 4.54 million vehicles in the first half as higher sales in Europe, Asia and Latin America failed to offset a 15 percent decline in North America.

Toyota sales, meanwhile, rose 2.2 percent to 4.8 million in the first six months of 2008. The tally includes sales at mini-vehicle unit Daihatsu (7262.T) and truck unit Hino Motors (7205.T).

Higher U.S. gas prices have "put an enormous amount of pressure" on GM's truck sales, said Erich Merkle, an automotive consultant with accounting and consulting firm Crowe Chizek and Co. "That is equating to lower sales for GM and causing them to now fall behind Toyota."

Both the automakers have cut U.S. truck production in response to weak U.S. auto sales and a consumer shift from low-mileage vehicles because of high fuel prices.

The slump in U.S. demand for large SUVs and pickup trucks has hit GM particularly hard as the high-margin vehicles historically account for a majority of the automaker's sales.

Toyota, on the other hand, has been able to weather the downturn better because of its strong car line-up, but plans to cut its global sales target for 2008.

GM and Toyota were roughly even in 2007 for the top spot among the world's automakers, with GM slightly ahead if sales from a China business were included.