Toyota remained the top-selling automaker for a second year in a row, beating U.S. rival General Motors by some 270,000 vehicles in 2013, and set an ambitious target to sell more than 10 million vehicles this year.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it sold a record 9.98 million vehicles worldwide last year, up 2 percent from the previous year.

Toyota also outlined plans to sell 10.32 million vehicles and produce 10.43 million vehicles in 2014.

General Motors Co. sold 9.71 million cars and trucks worldwide last year, outselling Volkswagen AG of Germany at 9.5 million.

Toyota recaptured the global sales crown in 2012 from GM, which had been the top-selling carmaker for more than seven decades until being surpassed by Toyota in 2008.

A 30ft sculpture of Nelson Mandela has angered South African officials as the sculptors left a ‘signature’ on the artwork – a sculpted rabbit tucked inside one of the bronze ears.

The bronze memorial, which was unveiled outside the government complex in Pretoria, after Mandela’s funeral on December 16, is billed as the largest statue of the South African leader in the world.

Officials demand that the miniature rabbit is to be removed from the statue, claiming it mocks Mandela and his life’s work.

The giant work stands with arms outstretched, symbolizing Mandela’s devotion to inclusiveness, outside the Union Buildings, where the his body rests.
Paul Mashatile, arts and culture minister, said the sculptors have apologized for any offense to those who felt the rabbit was disrespectful toward the legacy of Mandela.

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