TOKYO — Car by car, truck by truck, Toyota is inexorably overtaking GM, Ford and Chrysler on their home turf.

While the traditional "Big Three" automakers wrestle with labor costs, changing consumer tastes and higher fuel prices that make their offerings less attractive than their Asian rivals, To-yota has been giving buyers what they want — reliable, stylish cars that don't guzzle gas. And — unlike its Detroit rivals — Toyota is making money doing that.

"Basically, Toyota is eating the pie of the Big Three in the United States," said Shinichiro Kobayashi of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.

Toyota Motor Corp. said yesterday its net profit surged 34 percent in the July-September quarter, boosted by strong sales in the North American and European markets.

The Japanese automaker, on pace to overtake General Motors Corp. as the world's biggest automaker in coming years, also raised its profit forecast for the full fiscal year through March to $13.14 billion, up from an earlier $11.14 billion.

For the fiscal second quarter, Toyota Motor Corp. posted $3.44 billion in group net profit, up 33.5 percent from $2.58 billion reported for the same period last year.

Overall sales in the fiscal second quarter rose 17.3 percent to $49.4 billion. Sales were up in North America, due to the strong performance of redesigned models such as the RAV4 and Yaris, and the new model FJ Cruiser.

Both GM and Ford Motor Co. reported losses in the most recent quarter, and in July Toyota for the first time beat Ford in U.S. vehicle market share.

Consolidated vehicle sales for the quarter hit 2.1 million units, up 9 percent. For the half-year, vehicle sales were a record 4.2 million, the company said.

Toyota upped its forecast of sales for the year to 8.5 million units. Compact models such as Aygo and Yaris helped boost sales in Europe. Sales in Japan edged down.

The results were in step with general good times for Japanese automakers. Nissan Motor Co.'s quarterly profit rose 31 percent. Honda Motor Co. said last month that second-quarter profit slipped, but it was still well into the black.

By contrast, GM posted a $115 million loss for the third quarter last week, saying its results reflected benefits of its turnaround plan. The company also lost market share in the quarter. Globally, its share was 13.9 percent, down from 14.4 percent in the same period last year.

Toyota, meanwhile, is planning to increase overseas production by 40 percent of its 2005 level to 5 million vehicles by 2008, a Japanese media report said recently.

Toyota also announced yesterday that it is buying a 5.9 percent stake in Japanese truckmaker Isuzu as part of a deal for the manufacturers to collaborate on engine technology.

Toyota and Isuzu Motors Ltd. plan to work together in researching and developing small diesel engines, including cooperating on emission-control technologies as well as alternative fuel technologies, the companies said in a statement.

For the six months through September, Toyota's net profit rose to $6.59 billion from $4.85 billion a year ago. Net sales in the period increased 15.3 percent to $97.2 billion.