TOKYO: Toyota was the world’s top-selling automaker for the first nine months of this year, selling nearly 7.5 million vehicles, and overtaking Volkswagen which was in the number one spot for the half year.

Toyota Motor Corp’s global sales for the first three quarters totalled 7.498 million vehicles, down 1.5 per cent from the same period the previous year, as per numbers released on Monday.

Volkswagen AG of Germany sold 7.43 million vehicles, almost unchanged from the previous year, while GM sold 7.2 million vehicles, down one per cent. Both automakers released their results earlier this month.

Volkswagen overtook Toyota for January to June, the first time it had come out on top in such tallies.

Its sales may suffer because of a scandal, which hit last month, in which its cars were found equipped with software that allowed them to cheat US emissions tests.