GM, in partnership with the American taxpayer, once again #1 top-selling carmaker in the world

And the fact that there was a Tsunami in Japan - that didn't help Toyota.

General Motors and its partners sold 9 million vehicles around the globe in 2011, the company announced Thursday, allowing it to reclaim the title of world’s top-selling automaker.

Even with GM’s sales success, however, the United States has still not been fully repaid the $50 billion it invested directly into the company to rescue it.

So far, GM has returned $23 billion, and the government still owns about one-third of the company’s common stock. For the government to recover its full $50 billion investment, its General Motors stock would have to rise to about $54 per share. It is currently selling for about $25.

This year’s GM sales results also underscore the growing importance of the Chinese market.

Of its 9 million in global sales, GM and its joint ventures sold a record 2,547,171 vehicles in China in 2011.