DETROIT - Toyota Motor Corp. overtook Ford Motor Co. to become the No. 2 automaker by U.S. sales in 2007, using new products and relentless strategy to break Ford's 76-year lock on the position.

Toyota sold 2.62 million cars and trucks in 2007, which amounted to 48,226 more than Ford, according to sales figures released Thursday. Toyota's sales were up 3 percent for the year, buoyed by new products like the Toyota Tundra pickup, which saw sales jump 57 percent. Ford's sales fell 12 percent to 2.572 million vehicles.

General Motors Corp. remained the U.S. sales leader, selling 3.82 million vehicles in 2007. But that was down 6 percent from the previous year as customers turned away from some large sedans and sport utility vehicles and GM cut low-profit sales to employees and rental car agencies. GM's car sales fell 8 percent for the year while truck sales were down 4 percent.

Overall, the year was expected to be the worst for the auto industry since 1998 as consumers fretted over high gas prices, falling home prices and the economy.

December also was tough month for automakers despite a slew of holiday discounts. Toyota's sales slipped 2 percent for the month, while GM's sales were down 4 percent and Ford's fell 9 percent. Honda Motor Co.'s December sales were flat, with a 10 percent increase in car sales canceled out by a 10 percent decline in truck sales.

"This was definitely a challenging year to be in the car business, and 2008 isn't likely to be a piece of cake," Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda, said in a statement.

Honda's full-year sales were up 2.5 percent.

Ford's car sales plummeted 24 percent for all of 2007 as some models like the Ford Mustang aged and a new Ford Taurus sedan was unable to match the volumes of the older version. Ford also cut rental-car sales by 32 percent over the year. Truck sales were down 5 percent.

Ford corporate historian Bob Kreipke said it was the first time since 1931 that Ford wasn't second behind GM in U.S. sales.

Jim Farley, who recently became Ford's global marketing chief after a career at Toyota, said the new numbers won't change Ford's recovery plan.

"In fact, it actually accelerates the way we're running the business," Farley told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday morning. "It accentuates the difference between how we're running the business and how our competitors are running the business. It requires us to stick to the plan, no doubt, but it also requires us to really accelerate the development of new products."

Farley pointed out that Ford had some hits in 2007, particularly its Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles. Ford crossovers grew 62 percent over the year, far outpacing the industrywide average of 17 percent, the company said.

Ford shares fell 15 cents to $6.45 in afternoon trading after sinking to a new 52-week low of $6.44 earlier in the session. GM shares lost 53 cents to $23.88 after dropping to a 52-week low of $23.34 earlier in the day. Toyota's U.S. shares rose 25 cents to $106.71 in afternoon trading in New York.

Prošle godine je u Srbiji prodato preko 56.000 novih putničkih i lakih komercijalnih vozila (tačnije 56.203 ili 18,57% više nego 2006.), a od tog broja najviše je naravno Zastavinih automobila, koja sa 14.782 vozila drži 26,3 odsto domaćeg tržišta novih automobila. Na drugom mestu je Opel sa prodatih 5107 automobila (od toga na Astru Classic II otpada 2342 vozila), dok je treće mesto zauzeo Volkswagen sa 4435 vozila. Preko 1000 vozila su plasirali i sledeći proizvođači : Škoda (3589), Peugeot (2982), Fiat (2938), Chevrolet (2385), Dacia (2225), Renault (2199), Ford (2005), Toyota (1923), Citroen (1690), Hyundai (1600), Mercedes (1317) i Honda sa 1266 vozila. Lista deset najprodavanijih automobila u 2007. izgleda ovako : na prvom mestu nema iznenađenja, to je Zastavin Koral (prodat u 5668 primeraka), sledi Zastava 10 (4111), Zastava Skala (3360), Opel Astra Classic II (2342), Dacia Logan (2225), Opel Corsa (1349), Volkswagen Polo (1289), Chevrolet Spark (1156), Škoda Fabia I (1042) i Volkswagen Golf sa 978 plasiranih primeraka. Najviše prodatih automobila je iz niže srednje klase (29,17%), sledi niža klasa (28,18%), mali automobili imaju učešće od 13,65%, srednja klasa 4,75%, viša srednja klasa (0,74%), visoka klasa (0,19%), kabrioleti (0,19%), kupe i sportski automobili (0,16%), terenska i SUV vozila (5,89%), laka komercijalna i pick-up vozila (12,52%), van (3,58%) i ostali 0,98%. Najviše automobila je inače prodato u decembru mesecu (5785 vozila), a najmanje u januaru, kada je plasirano 3230 automobila.

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