TOYOTA Motor Corp outsold Ford Motor Co to rank second in United States' sales of cars and light trucks for November, as gains for Japanese and South Korean auto makers cut market share for US competitors to a record low.

Toyota reported a 16 percent increase, exceeding Ford's monthly total for only the second time. Honda Motor Co's sales rose less than one percent and Nissan Motor Co's fell 1.6 percent. Mazda Motor Corp, a Ford affiliate, boosted sales 17 percent, the most among the Asian companies, Bloomberg News reported.

"Toyota is continuing to hammer away, month after month," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "With Ford taking down its production and Chrysler getting ready for restructuring, I wouldn't be surprised to see Toyota move up to No. two by next year."

This year's gains for Toyota, the world's second-largest auto maker, have been led by new and redesigned models such as the Camry sedan, RAV4 sport-utility vehicle, FJ Cruiser SUV and Yaris compact car. Near-record fuel prices for much of 2006 also helped Toyota and other Asian brands, said Jesse Toprak, an analyst at the Santa Monica, California-based auto data service Edmunds.com.

"With Toyota there's a perception of having reliable products with good resale value and a perception of fuel efficiency," Toprak said. "No one is going to question you for buying a Toyota Camry. You can't say the same thing with a Chevy Impala."

The Asian auto makers sold a total of 482,584 vehicles last month, a rise of 6.3 percent from a year earlier, and their market share increased 1.3 percentage points. GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler, the US-based auto makers, held a combined 51.9 percent, a drop from 53.2 percent, according to Autodata Corp. That excludes their European-based units. Toyota sold 196,695 new cars and trucks last month in the US, an increase from 169,665 a year earlier.