Toyota sees U.S. market flat in 2009

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) expects industrywide sales in the U.S. market to be flat in 2009 after sales in the "low" 14-million unit range this year, the automaker's head of North American sales said on Friday.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales, said the automaker, which now ranks second in the U.S. market by sales, expects full-year 2008 sales to be just above 14 million units, assuming that sales for the remainder of the year hold up at the levels posted in August.

"Our ongoing assumption is it will be flat from this year," Lentz told Reuters when asked about Toyota's outlook for 2009 industrywide sales. He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between Toyota executives and financial analysts.

U.S. auto sales totaled just below 16.2 million units in 2007. A steep sales decline was recorded in the spring and summer of this year, driven by record high gas prices, tighter credit and a slumping housing market. (Reporting by Soyoung Kim, writing by Kevin Krolicki; editing by John Wallace)