General Motors Co. lost the global sales crown once again to Toyota Motor Corp. in 2012, as its sales grew just 2.9 per cent to 9.2 million vehicles, the U.S. auto giant said Monday.

GM, which briefly regained the crown after Toyota’s supplies were shattered by the 2011 Japanese quake and tsunami, nonetheless remains at number two worldwide.

German rival Volkswagen, which aspires to be the world’s biggest auto maker by 2018, reported an 11-per-cent increase in 2012 sales to 9.07 million on Sunday.

Toyota has forecast its 2012 sales will jump 22 per cent to 9.7 million vehicles.

GM said its share of the global auto market fell 0.4 points to 11.9 per cent.

GM’s international operations – Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East – posted the biggest gains, with sales up 10.1 per cent at 3.6 million while its share was flat at 9.5 per cent.

Sales fell 8.2 per cent in Europe to 1.6 million vehicles, while GM’s share narrowed by 0.2 points to 8.5 per cent.

North American sales rose 3.2 per cent to just over three million, though GM’s share of its home market fell 1.5 points to 16.9 per cent.

Sales in South America shrank 1.9 per cent to just over a million vehicles, while GM’s share of the region fell 0.8 points to 18 per cent.

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Follow Peter Cheney and Darren McGee as they cover the Detroit auto show Live.