Toyota ends GM's reign as car sales leader

But a restructuring of its North American operations that will slash 34,000 jobs, shutter 12 plants and cut $9 billion in structural costs has helped GM get a second wind. The automaker, which lost $10.6 billion in 2005, managed to turn a profit in the fourth quarter of last year and is expected to report another profit when it releases it first-quarter results May 3.

GM's first-quarter worldwide vehicle sales, though second to Toyota's, were a personal best for the American automaker, boosted by double-digit sales gains in Asia and Latin America. A good chunk of the falloff in U.S. market share, meanwhile, has been because of the company's conscious decision to drastically reduce low-profit sales to rental companies and corporate fleets.

Toyota's growth hasn't come without growing pains. The company's reputation for quality has been dinged by a series of vehicle recalls, including one of 320,000 Prius hybrids last year to fix a potentially faulty steering component.

The automaker's rapid U.S. expansion also is taking a toll on its workforce, according to recent news reports. Toyota plans to restructure its North American operations in an attempt to lower the strain on its engineers and production managers and reduce turnover.

"Being No. 1 is not all ease and comfort," said David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. "There are issues that make it very, very tough."

martin.zimmerman@latimes .com

Times staff writers Ronald D. White and John O'Dell contributed to this report.

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Auto industry giants

General Motors

Founded: 1908

Headquarters: Detroit

Employees: 284,000

Chief Executive: Rick Wagoner

Brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall

Stock market value:

$17.4 billion

Toyota

Founded: 1937

Headquarters: Toyota City,

Japan

Employees: 285,977

Chief Executive: Fujio Cho

Brands: Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino

Stock market value:

$223.6 billion

Sources: Toyota, General Motors