The Ford Motor Company expects Toyota of Japan to unseat it for good next year as the No. 2 company, behind General Motors, in the American car market, a position Ford has held since the 1920s, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The report quoted internal Ford projections as saying that Ford officers believe that the company will permanently fall to third place as soon as January. The shift appears to be happening much faster than Ford had previously signaled.

Only six years ago, Ford had a firm grip on 25 percent of the American market. But high gasoline prices, quality issues and a lack of fuel-efficient small cars have caused Ford's sales and market share to tumble.

Through November, the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury divisions held 16.2 percent of the American market, versus a combined 14.9 percent for Toyota and its other two divisions, Scion and Lexus, according to the report.

The Ford projections estimate that Ford could lose at least 1.1 percentage points of market share over the coming year. Meanwhile Toyota would gain more market share when it introduces a new version of the Tundra, its full-size pickup truck, in February. The gain, combined with Ford's loss, would put Toyota ahead.