DETROIT - After posting a 9.7 percent sales gain in a flat year for the industry, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. is poised to repeat the feat in 2006.

If Toyota hits that mark, that would mean adding 220,000 sales to its 2005 total - the equivalent of the output of an additional assembly plant.

It also could nudge Toyota (Toyota, Lexus, Scion) past the Chrysler group (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep) as the No. 3 automaker in terms of U.S. sales. In 2005, Toyota sold 2,260,296 units, just 44,537 behind Chrysler's 2,304,833.

Adding Mercedes to the totals would give parent DaimlerChrysler some breathing room, however. Mercedes sold 224,269 vehicles in the United States last year.

Chrysler spokesman Kevin McCormick declined to reveal the group's sales projection for 2006.

But he said the company will have fresh products this year. "We think we have winners coming. We're in the fast lane, too."

Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor Sales, said last week at the Detroit auto show that Toyota's brass in Japan "has it in their mind that we could grow 10 percent" in 2006. Company executives previously had said that Toyota aimed for U.S. sales growth this year of 3 to 5 percent.

Sales of many Toyota models have been limited by capacity constraints, Press said. The parent company will allocate additional inventory for the U.S. market, he added.

Since 2000, Toyota, Lexus and Scion sales in the United States have grown from 1.62 million to 2.26 million units, representing a gain of four percentage points of market share.

Toyota believes it can continue to boost sales without increasing incentives. The reason: The automaker will roll out a raft of fresh products in 2006.

The Camry, coming off its best year, gains a hybrid variant as part of its redesign. The Yaris replaces the moribund Echo, and the RAV4 gets a redesign. The FJ Cruiser SUV is a new addition. And redesigns of the Lexus ES series and LS series arrive this year.

Toyota also will get a full year's sales of vehicles that were redesigned in 2005: the Toyota Avalon, Lexus IS and GS sedans, as well as the new RX 400h hybrid SUV.

Toyota could have had a better year in 2005 but for tight inventories of many vehicles.

The Lexus brand has a 20-day supply, and Scion has a 13-day supply. Most automakers strive for a supply of about 60 days.

At Toyota, there's a six-day supply of the Prius, and supplies for the bulk of the lineup are under 30 days. About the only near-weaknesses are in big SUVs, with Land Cruiser and 4Runner both at 60 days supply, said Jim Lentz, Toyota Division general manager.

After breaking 300,000 units for the first time in 2005, Lexus can easily reach 325,000 this year, said Bob Carter, Lexus Division general manager.

Scion will be the one brand not likely to grow in 2006. It posted 156,485 sales of three nameplates last year, nearing the maximum volume the brand can achieve without losing its trendy, limited-edition image.

"Scion is not going for huge volume," said Scion Vice President Mark Templin. "You can be a victim of your own success if you sell too much."

This year a few aging products such as the Corolla, Matrix and Tundra probably will not show increased sales, Lentz said. However, Toyota has managed its inventory to keep incentive costs down. All are scheduled for redesigns in 2007.

Press angrily deflected accusations from Big 3 executives that Toyota has made its gains through predatory pricing tactics, aided by the Japanese government's manipulation of currency rates.

"The Japanese government is not buying up yen," Press said. "The yen has tracked the euro, so is (the Japanese government) buying euros up too? That's just baloney."

Jim Press, Toyota Motor sales president and chief operating officer, tried to dampen the rampant speculation that the Japanese automaker is driving to replace General Motors as the world's leading automaker this year.

"We have no interest in that," he told the annual Automotive News World Congress as he dismissed the idea that some kind of celebration was being planned in Japan for moment when Toyota was recognized as the world's top automaker. "We take no joy in the difficulties that GM is experiencing. We have great confidence that they will emerge much stronger," added Press, who said he was impressed with the vehicles that General Motors put on the floor at the North American International Auto Show.

Press added one of the dangers Toyota now faces is overconfidence because of its recent successes. "Our biggest problem right now is that we believe some of the headlines," he added. "If we lose our focus or become arrogant," we will get in trouble, added Press, who noted that Toyota very nearly went bankrupt in the 1950s. Consequently, Toyota's management tries to keep the focus on an internal competition in which the company does better this year than it did last year, he said. "Our biggest competitor is ourselves," he said.

Press also noted that quality, which has long been considered one of Toyota's key strengths, is constantly being redefined by the customers. Right now he believes customers are beginning to put more emphasis on long-term durability. "A five-year-old LS has fewer problems than a new car from Germany," he noted.

Michigan also is very close to the top of a short list of states being considered as the site of a new engine plant, said Press, who added he wasn't prepared to say more at this point.

Press, the top American executive at Toyota, also said the Japanese automaker was not preparing to use China as a low-cost base for products that could be sold in the United States. Instead, Toyota's strategy will be to prepare its American plants for the coming competition with the emerging Chinese auto industry, which promises to become a formidable competitor in the not too distant future. "We think we can compete with our experience and our intellectual capital," he added. "It's great what GM has been able to do in China," he added. -Joe Szczesny