Hyundai sees U.S. car sales improving in 4th qtr

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto industry sales were stable at low levels but could improve slightly in the fourth quarter, Korean automaker Hyundai Motor's (005380.KS) U.S. chief executive, John Krafcik, said on Monday.

"It is remarkable how stable the market has been between 9.5 and 10 million units this year," Krafcik said in an interview.

Krafcik, who spoke soon after Hyundai took the top spot for mass market brands in an influential survey on new car quality, said there is growing evidence of pent-up demand in the industry.

"If you look at people who say they are going to buy in the next six months, that number is increasing month-over-month in a pretty big way," he added.

Krafcik also said the recently approved U.S. scrappage program that will give consumers up to $4,500 (2,753 pounds) to swap out of older and less fuel-efficient cars should give a boost to the market.

"We think that's going to get more and more people thinking about jumping into the market," he said.

Automakers reported sales of nearly 10 million vehicles on an annualized basis in May, a better result than most economists had expected with the industry reeling from auto bankruptcies.

May represented the highest sales rate so for this year and industry executives have seized on that development as early evidence that the U.S. auto market could be pulling out of its steepest slump since the early 1970s.

The sales rate during the first quarter was 9.5 million units.