Toyota sees U.S. sales rise near 10 pct

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. August 3, 2005; Reuters reported that Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday it expects its U.S. sales to increase in the range of 5 percent to 10 percent this year, up from a previous forecast of 5 percent.

"It will probably be a little lower than (10 percent) ... probably between 5 and 10 (percent)," Jim Press, the automaker's U.S. president and chief operating officer, told Reuters in an interview.

U.S. sales of the Japanese automaker, which has been relentlessly gaining market share at the expense of Detroit's automakers, are up 11.7 percent so far this year. In July, sales were up 12.3 percent compared with a year earlier.

"Second half of the year will be a slower pace than the first half," Press said.

Press said Toyota's U.S. sales got a boost in the first half of 2005 from the increased availability of Prius, its popular gasoline-electric hybrid car, and the new youth-oriented Scion brand of vehicles.

Toyota's U.S. sales were up 10 percent last year compared with 2003.

Press, who spoke on the sidelines of an annual automotive conference in the lakefront northern Michigan resort town of Traverse City, also said General Motors Corp.'s and Ford Motor Co.'s decisions to lower sticker prices on 2006 model-year vehicles were a step in the right direction.

GM and Ford on Monday said they would cut sticker prices, also known as manufacturer's suggested retail prices, and add features on many cars and trucks in new marketing programs aimed at boosting U.S. sales.

The companies, in fierce competition with Toyota and other Japanese car makers, hope to lower their spending on buyer incentives and enhance vehicle resale values.

"We have always believed in value pricing," Press said. "If you give customers a great product at a great price, they will buy it."

Press said Toyota's pricing strategy is part of the reason the automaker is successful in the hypercompetitive U.S. market.