Toyota Motor Corp. held onto the No. 1 position for global auto sales in the first six months of this year despite being outpaced by General Motors in the second quarter. GM lost its more than seven-decade world reign to Toyota in 2008.

Toyota reported Tuesday it sold 3.56 million vehicles worldwide in the first half that ended June 30; GM sold 3.55 million. In the April-June quarter, GM sold 1.94 million vehicles, due to strong sales in China, compared with Toyota's 1.80 million.

Toyota's first-half sales, which also include vehicles sold by Japan's Daihatsu and Hino, fell 25 percent compared with the first half of 2008, marking the first decline in first-half sales since 1999, the year Toyota began compiling sales data as a group.

Volkswagen ran in third place during the half, selling 3.1 million vehicles. The automaker will release more details about its global sales on Friday.