Toyota continued its march to becoming the top of the auto industry in the U.S. market as its July sales overtook rival Ford's for the first time and finished second to General Motors.

The Japanese automaker said on Wednesday that it had posted a 16.2 percent sales gain in July, surpassing the Ford Motor Co.'s 241,339 sales pace, and marking the first time Toyota has surpassed Ford on a monthly sales pace.

Ford still holds a big lead over Toyota for the year and is likely to outsell Toyota in some months, but George Magliano, research director for industry forecaster Global Insight, said the handwriting is on the wall.

"It might be five years, but they'll overtake Ford in the U.S. Toyota is expanding in North America, opening new plants, and Ford is consolidating," Magliano was quoted by Wednesday's Chicago Tribune as saying.

"That's the trend. It won't be this year, but it's an eventuality." he said.

Ford declined to comment on the trend, while Toyota tried to downplay the significance.

Toyota spokesman Mike Michels cautioned not to read much into the numbers. "One month does not make any particular trend," he said.

Market conditions were "playing to traditional Toyota strengths of fuel efficiency, strong passenger car offerings as well as our comprehensive hybrid lineup," said Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota's U.S. division.

When asked if Toyota could stay in front of Ford, Irv Miller, Toyota's vice president of external affairs also answered, "That's for the marketplace to decide."

"It's hard to read anything into one month's numbers, and Ford Motor Co.'s year-to-date sales are still ahead of its Japanese competitor's," a report carried by the Associated Press also commented.

"But the shift seems to symbolize the recent stumbles of U.S. automakers in the face of rising gas prices and changing views on fuel economy." it said.

Through July, Ford sold 1.78 million cars and light trucks in the U.S., and Toyota, 1.46 million. Ford, however, is off nearly 10 percent this year, and Toyota is up 10 percent, reflecting the changing landscape of the auto industry.

Globally, Toyota already is No. 2 in vehicle sales and is poised to overtake GM this year or next, according to the U.S. media.

Compared to July 2005, Detroit-based automakers all suffered double-digit declines in sales from the peak of last summer's incentive-driven boom.

General Motors Corp., the No. 1 automaker worldwide, posted a 19.5 percent drop in U.S. sales, in line with expectations, given the tough year-earlier comparison.

Chrysler Group lost 37 percent and Ford 34 percent, but Toyota jumped an industry-leading 16.2 percent, driven by a 25 percent surge for passenger cars such as the Corolla.

Sales for Japan's Honda Motor Co. also gained 10 percent and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. added 6 percent, putting all three Asian automakers on track for a larger share of a softening U.S. market for new vehicles.

Source: Xinhua