DETROIT — General Motors Co. sold more cars and trucks in China last year than it did in the U.S., for the first time in the company’s 102-year history. Despite GM’s growth in China, Toyota Motor Corp. held onto the title of world’s largest automaker. The Japanese company reported 8.42 million sales worldwide last year. That’s 30,000 more than GM’s 8.39 million. GM said Monday that it sold 2.35 million vehicles in fast-growing China, about 136,000 more than it sold in the U.S., with China sales surging 29 percent as an expanding middle class gained wealth. Sales in the U.S., including heavy-duty vehicles, rose 6.3 percent as GM continued to rebound from its 2009 stay in bankruptcy protection.

GM expects its sales growth to continue, and industry analysts say it may once again dethrone Toyota as the global sales leader this year. GM said Monday it will add a third shift to a pickup truck assembly plant in Flint, Mich., to meet demand for heavy-duty pickups.