Toyota plays down fall to third slot in global rankings The Japanese company has fallen behind General Motors and Volkswagen in size after sales in 2011 were affected by the Japanese earthquake in March and floods in Thailand. Toyota had been the world's biggest car maker since 2008, after GM almost collapsed and the global financial crisis forced it to turn to the US government for a bailout. However, GM has bounced backed strongly since the global recession. In 2011, sales rose 7.6pc to 9.03m vehicles. In contrast, Toyota is set to announce a fall of 6pc to 7.9m, behind Volkswagen's 8.15m sales. German car maker Volkswagen is aiming to be the biggest car maker in the world by 2018. However, a Toyota spokesperson told AFP: "Sales are important, to be first is important, but that's not the most important thing for us. Our priority number one is to make cars people love, and not to be the first in the world. As a result, if we are first, it's a good thing, but our priority number one is to make good cars. We don't chase numbers. Toyota sales have been on a downward spiral since it was forced to recall millions of cars in 2010. However, the Japanese company, which also owns luxury brand Lexus, is forecast to bounce back strongly in 2012.