Toyota sold 2.34 million vehicles worldwide in the July-September quarter to come in behind the tally of General Motors (GM) for the period.
Toyota's worldwide vehicle sales for the first nine months of this year - at 7.05 million vehicles - also fell short of General Motors's sales of 7.06 million vehicles for the same period.
But the numbers Toyota released today show it is running close behind General Motors, which sold 2.38 million vehicles in the third quarter.
Toyota beat GM in global vehicle sales in the first half of the year, riding on its reputation for high quality, low-mileage small cars such as the Camry, Corolla and gas-electric hybrid Prius.
The Japanese company's global vehicle sales for the latest quarter grew 4 per cent from the same period a year ago, while sales for the first nine months of the year grew 7 per cent.
GM, which was ranked as the number one automaker for 76 years, is fighting back against Toyota by boosting overseas sales.