Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., gaining customers from U.S.-based rivals, said it expects U.S. industrywide auto sales to decline about 2 percent this year and improve in 2008.

About 16.3 million cars and light trucks will be sold in 2007, ``still a very decent year,'' Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota's U.S. sales unit, said in a speech in Traverse City, Michigan. ``We believe the market will rebound in 2008, then continue growing steadily into the next decade.''

U.S. sales totaled 16.6 million in 2006, according to Autodata Corp. Toyota's forecast would mean sales would improve in the remainder of this year. The number of vehicles sold fell 3.2 percent through July.

``Retail sales this year are strong and our country's fundamentals are solid,'' Lentz said, referring to vehicles bought by individual consumers. ``It's hard to pinpoint the current softness.''

General Motors Corp. also reduced its industrywide annual forecast today, citing the weaker housing market and higher gasoline prices. Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson said GM expects sales of 16.5 million to 16.6 million cars and trucks, a decline from its Aug. 1 forecast of 16.6 million to 16.7 million.

The GM figures include medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Last year, U.S. deliveries of such trucks totaled 544,581, according to Southfield, Michigan-based Ward's AutoInfoBank.

First-Half Leader

Toyota outsold GM worldwide in the first six months and is poised to pass Ford Motor Co. for No. 2 in the U.S. The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker boosted U.S. sales through July 6.1 percent, while GM's fell 9.4 percent and Ford's declined 12 percent. Toyota is benefiting from increased demand for fuel- efficient vehicles and a weaker yen.

The company also is increasing incentives on some models, such as its Tundra large pickup truck. Toyota spent $6,861 on each Tundra in July, the most of any large pickup, according to Edmunds.com. Sales reached a monthly record of 23,150.

Toyota's American depositary receipts rose 81 cents to $123.22 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have fallen 8.3 percent this year.

Ford yesterday reduced its forecast for 2007 industry sales by as much as 2 percent. The company said it expects sales including heavy- and medium-duty trucks of 16.5 million to 16.8 million vehicles. Ford's revision, disclosed in a U.S. regulatory filing, was from its previous forecast of 16.8 million.

Detroit-based GM has been the world's top seller of vehicles since 1931. Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, has held the No. 2 spot in the U.S. since that year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Koenig in Traverse City, Michigan, at wkoenig@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 8, 2007 16:31 EDT