Toyota confirmed Wednesday that its world group sales fell below the eight million mark in 2011, losing the firm its No. 1 spot in the global automakers’ league.

Total sales were 7.95 million units worldwide, down 6%, Toyota says, after supply chains were disrupted by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, as well as flooding in Thailand. It also suffered from the high yen.

The Japanese company had been the world’s biggest automaker since 2008 and sold 8.42 million vehicles in 2010.

But its 2011 figure leaves U.S. giant General Motors, with 9.03 million sales, in top spot after it emerged from bankruptcy, with Germany’s Volkswagen in second place with 8.16 million vehicles.

Toyota’s result was also below the 8.03 million total sales recorded by an alliance between France’s Renault, Japanese automaker Nissan and Avtovaz of Russia.

Toyota’s latest yearly sales figure appeared without comment at the bottom of a company news release announcing that it was increasing its 2012 sales target within Japan by 100,000 vehicles.

Toyota officials have previously said their focus was on producing quality vehicles, and that “to be first is important, but that’s not the most important thing for us.”

Toyota brand sales, which include Lexus, were down 6% in 2011, subsidiary Daihatsu was down 7%, while Hino, a smaller corporate unit, saw sales rise 14% last year.

The automaker now expects to sell a total of 8.58 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles worldwide in 2012, it says, an increase of 21% on 2011.

The 100,000 boost in the Japan sales forecast to 1.63 million vehicles comes after the government extended tax breaks for environmentally friendly vehicles.