LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - However, Toyota will have to confirm its 2011 numbers before GM can break out the champagne. The Japanese giant wore the crown three years ago - but lost hundreds of thousands of units of production in 2011 due to the March 11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Toyota deliveries were off 8.8 percent, for the first three quarters of last year to 5.77 million. Toyota had hoped to pick up lost momentum in the fourth quarter; its plans were stalled by flooding in Thailand. Preliminary figures suggest it will end 2011 with 7.9 million sales, down about 6 percent for the full year.

Volkswagen AG will squeak into second place with total sales of 8.39 million for the year. The German car maker is bound and determined to set a goal of global sales leadership by 2018.

Why VW wants to get there is a question analyst Aaron Bragman, of IHS Automotive, says he doesn't fully understand. While the position gets makers bragging rights, the analyst says, "That's about it. Being biggest in the world is not necessarily an advantage to anyone. GM was number one for something like 75 years and then went into bankruptcy."

What are "far more important," Bragman cautions "is sustainable profitability."

Bigger volume translates into greater economies of scale, which is why the top three makers, as well as rivals like Fiat/Chrysler and Nissan push for volume.

The latest industry sales numbers however can't be disregarded. For GM, they symbolize a significant recovery since the maker lost the sales crown shortly before Chapter 11 protection.

The new position underscores GM's increasing focus on markets outside of its traditional hub in North America. Nearly three out of four GM vehicles were sold, last year, in markets ranging from China to the Czech Republic.

Chevy has usually been the largest of the GM brands but, until recently, it focused on the Americas, leaving the rest of the world to German-based Opel and, in China, to Buick.

GM has downplayed the troubled Opel and turning to Chevrolet to do the global heavy lifting. While foreign sales typically don't generate the revenues and margins of products sold in the U.S., GM saw its earnings during just the first nine months of 2011 surge to $8.47 billion, up from $6.17 billion in 2010. The maker had lost tens of billions in the years leading up to its bankruptcy.

Japanese automaker Toyota has laid out its own aggressive goals, but the push to reach 10 million sales annually will likely be delayed by several years, analysts caution.

Bragman says Toyota could find it much more difficult to regain the industry lead than it has indicated.

"I don't buy into the idea they'll come roaring back," he said. "They're going to have a fight on their hands" as GM pushes to maintain its momentum while VW marches forward in its own bid for world domination.

© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.