I believe Toyota's production was substantially set back by the earthquake, tsunami and widespread power shortages. That's what the Japanese mass media said.
Forbes reported that GM was again the world's largest automaker in 2011. That was partly because of Toyota's production problems. Forbes said in January: "Toyota, which has been No. 1 since 2008, hasn’t officially announced its 2011 numbers. But it estimates that it sold 7.9 million vehicles last year, when its performance was battered by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, floods in Thailand, and the lingering impact of millions of recalls." - Jed
