DETROIT, Michigan, - General Motors said Wednesday its worldwide sales fell 11.4 percent in the third quarter from a year ago to 2.115 million vehicles, leaving the US automaker behind Toyota as the industry leader.

The Detroit giant, struggling in the face of tough economic conditions in North America and fierce competition, remained behind Japanese-based Toyota, which reported sales of 2.236 million vehicles in the quarter. GM, the longtime global leader, fell behind Toyota in the first quarter of 2008.

GM said more than 60 percent of its sales during the third quarter were registered outside the United States.

"The US market does continue to be challenging," said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's director of global market analysis. "But we're still setting records in (Asia Pacific and Latin America)," he said.

"Our market share was up half a percent in Russia. We've exceeded market growth in Latin America and we gained market share in Asia Pacific. Our drop in (market share) is concentrated in North America," he said during a conference call with reporters and analysts.