NEW YORK (Kyodo) General Motors Corp. produced an estimated 8.15 million vehicles worldwide in 2008, down 12 percent from the previous year, GM officials said Monday, making it certain Toyota Motor Corp. will remain the world's largest automaker in output terms.

Late last year, Toyota said its global output would probably come to 9.23 million vehicles, down 3 percent.

Toyota overtook GM in global production for the first time in 2007, when it produced some 200,000 vehicles more. Last year, the difference widened to more than 1 million as GM repeatedly reduced production due to plunging sales in the key U.S. market.