Mazda may avoid 2008 U.S. sales decline: executive

DETROIT (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) has a good chance of avoiding a decline in its U.S. sales this year despite a sharp downturn in the market, James O'Sullivan, who heads Mazda's North American operations, said on Wednesday.

"For this year, we could be about even with a year ago in a down industry if we get a good availability of our pipeline of more Mazda3 and Mazda5," O'Sullivan told Reuters on the sidelines of an event marking the production launch of the redesigned Mazda6.

Mazda sold 296,110 vehicles in the United States in 2007, up 10.2 percent from 2006.

In the first half of this year, Mazda sold 152,684 vehicles in the United States, up 0.3 percent from a year earlier, as a rapid consumer shift from trucks to cars boosted demand for its fuel-efficient small and mid-size cars. The overall U.S. market dropped more than 10 percent in the first half.

Separately, Hisakazu Imaki, president of Mazda Motor Corp, told Reuters the automaker's partnership with Ford Motor Co (F.N) would remain strong because the carmakers run several joint venture plants in the United States. Ford owns one-third of Mazda.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; editing by John Wallace)