Tokyo ? Toyota said today it sold 9.366 million vehicles last year globally, about 3,000 vehicles fewer than the tally from General Motors, allowing the U.S. automaker to retain its crown as the world’s No. 1 automaker.

All year long, the two automakers raced neck-and-neck in global sales, highlighting Toyota’s phenomenal growth and the struggles facing GM and other American automakers.

Toyota had said as late as Wednesday that its annual total was 9.37 million vehicles, up 6 percent from 2006. GM said Wednesday in Detroit its global sales had risen 3 percent to 9,369,524 vehicles, making for a race that appeared too close to call.

But Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo confirmed the extra digit in Toyota’s sales Thursday, showing that GM’s total was narrowly higher. General Motors Corp. has been the world’s top seller for 77 years.