Chrysler Group expects to see an increase in its U.S. market share in the fourth quarter, helped by new models, the chief operating officer of the U.S. arm said on Thursday.

"We think with the new products we will see an increase in market share," Eric Ridenour said in an interview on the sidelines of the Paris auto show. "We feel the new products will do well."

Chrysler's U.S. sales are off nearly 10 percent so far this year, and its market share has slid about half a percentage point to 12.9 percent.

The Jeep Patriot sport utility vehicle, Chrysler Sebring mid-sized sedan and Dodge Nitro SUV are among the new products Chrysler will launch during the fourth quarter. The models are among 10 new cars and trucks it plans to roll out this year.

Chrysler Group, which like its American peers General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., has experienced tough sales in the U.S., said Thursday it is lowering is vehicle sales outlook for the rest of the year.

The group, part of German-American automaker DaimlerChrysler AG, previously expected its 2006 sales figures to remain stable at around 2,826,100 cars from last year. But in the first eight months of this year, sales of its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands have dropped by 10 percent to just less than 1.5 million cars.

"On the whole year, we believe that the decline will be less than 10 percent with stabilizing sales in the remainder of 2006," Joe Eberhardt, Chrysler's head of sales and marketing, told Dow Jones Newswires at the Paris Auto Show.