Toyota's global sales for the first nine months of the year were 7.41 million vehicles, flat from the previous year but outpacing General Motors to keep its lead as the world's top-selling automaker.

Detroit-based GM said earlier this month that its global sales for January through September totaled 7.25 million vehicles, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier.

Toyota's vehicle sales for the first three quarters inched up 0.1 percent.

Germany's Volkswagen AG sold just over 7 million vehicles worldwide during the nine months, making it a close third. Volkswagen's global sales rose nearly 5 percent in that period from last year.

Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday that it sold about 2.5 million cars, trucks and buses in the July-September quarter, led by overseas growth.

GM had the global sales throne for seven decades before losing the title to Toyota in 2008. GM retook the crown in 2011, when Toyota's plants were slowed by an earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that damaged suppliers of parts.

Toyota has since recovered and was the world's top-selling carmaker again last year.

Although the maker of the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models is likely to stay the top selling automaker for 2013, rivalry with GM and VW remains intense.

GM and VW are growing in China, but Toyota's sales have suffered there because of anti-Japanese sentiment that flared up last year over territorial disputes.