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"Toyota Passes Ford to Become Number Two Automaker   Toyota leapfrogged to become the world&amp;#039;s second largest automaker, based on vehicle sales, after General Motors, according to press reports. Ford had been in the number two spot for 75 of its 100 years in existence.   Toyota sold an estimated 6.78 million vehicles worldwide in 2003, about 60,000 more than Ford, whose worldwide sales in 2003 fell 3.6% to 6.72 million vehicles. GM reported sales of 8.60 million vehicles worldwide, down 0.3% from 2002.   The rise in Toyota&amp;#039;s sales has been driven by growth in the world&amp;#039;s biggest market, the U.S., as well as in Europe and Asia, the Dow Jones Newswires reported.   Toyota&amp;#039;s share of the U.S. market rose to 11.2% in 2003 from 10.4% the previous year, while Ford&amp;#039;s share of the same market fell to 20.8% from 21.5%.   However, &amp;#039;s sales totals include vehicles sold by its Daihatsu and Hino subsidiaries, of which it holds more than 50% stakes. But Ford&amp;#039;s numbers \u2014 which includes Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover \u2014 don&amp;#039;t include sales of its 33.4%-held Mazda affiliate. If these were added to the toal, Ford would still be number two.   Cayenne Spices Up Porsche&amp;#039;s Profits   Porsche said its net profit for the six months ending Jan. 31 was 118 million euros ($150 million), up from 101.7 million euros in the same period a year earlier, The Associated Press reported.   Revenue for the period, driven by sales of sport-utility vehicle, rose 28 percent to 2.82 billion euros ($3.59 billion).   Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking said at the company&amp;#039;s annual general meeting in Leipzig, Germany, that overall sales volume for the period increased by 31.1 percent to 32,410 vehicles, driven by sales of the Cayenne, which surged to 16,890 from 1,484 a year earlier.   Cayenne sales also helped offset steep drops in sales of the classic 911 sports car and the Boxster, which were down 26 percent and 44 percent, respectively.   Luxury Models Fatten Ford&amp;#039;s Bottom Line   Ford&amp;#039;s Premier Automotive Group \u2014 which includes , Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo \u2014 added $164 million in pretax profits to Ford&amp;#039;s coffers in 2003, The Detroit News reported.   In 2003, the PAG&amp;#039;s revenues climbed to $24.9 billion from $21.3 billion, even though worldwide unit sales fell to 752,000 from 771,000, the story said.   &amp;quot;We expect this to become a regular habit,&amp;quot; said Don Leclair, Ford&amp;#039;s chief financial officer. Ford is counting on PAG to provide 30 percent of its profits by mid-decade. That amounts to about $2.3 billion because Ford&amp;#039;s pretax profit goal for mid-decade is $7 billion, the story said. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a10007/toyota-passes-ford-to-become-number-two-automaker/>