Toyota exec warns US auto industry won't recover until 2010

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AFP) — The US auto industry is facing tough times and will not likely recover until 2010, a senior Toyota executive said Thursday.

"We're in for a rough patch," Bob Carter, vice president in charge of Toyota's US sales, told an automotive conference.

"We think the recovery will be shaped more like a Nike swoosh with gradual improvement in 2009 and then steady progress into 2010 as our economic fundamentals regain solid footing."

US auto sales have plummeted this year amid high gasoline prices and an economic downturn. Carter predicted they would hit just 14.5 million vehicles in 2008, down about 12 percent from last year and well off recent norms of 16 to 17 million.

Toyota expects to continue to gain US market share this...