U.S. auto sales could hit 15-year low in '08

DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. light vehicle market will fall to 14.5 million to 15 million units in 2008 from near 16 million this year, a private equity executive who previously was president of Chrysler said on Sunday.

"I'd say it's somewhere between 14.5 (million) and 15 (million), somewhere in there and it's hard to tell," Thomas Stallkamp, partner with Ripplewood Holdings and former president of Chrysler, said at the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit.

"Today, I'm a little more towards 14.5 (million)," he added.

Industrywide auto sales are expected to slip to near 16 million light vehicles this year, marking the second consecutive annual decline and the lowest tally since 1998.

For 2008, the most cautious industry forecasts currently hold out the prospect for another 3 percent slide in U.S. sales to near 15.5 million vehicles.

"I hope I'm wrong on 14.5 (million) to 15 (million) ... but I think the mortgage issue is going to freak people out and that will hit pretty hard in '08," Stallkamp said.