Oh, what a feeling

Toyota Motor is poised to take back the title of world's biggest carmaker for this year, as Volkswagen fights General Motors for second place heading into the final weeks.

The battle among the world's biggest carmakers comes as the industry is headed for a record year. Global 2012 sales will top 80 million cars and trucks for the first time, as robust US and Japanese purchases offset a European downturn, according to estimates from LMC Automotive.

Toyota is rebounding from Japan's 2011 tsunami to take the title from GM, while the fight for second between Volkswagen and GM remains too close to call, with less than 1 per cent difference between their sales.

All three companies have benefited from the strength of the US light-vehicle market, which is heading for a third consecutive year of gains following the 2009 collapse and industry bailout. US sales are projected to increase again next year, which would match the longest string since the end of the second world war.

"Because the US is so large, when we have a double-digit growth it's going to propel the rest of the world," said Rebecca Lindland, an industry analyst with IHS Automotive.

"The gains can mask myriad sins elsewhere, because many of the other economies aren't exactly setting the world on fire."