Euro Vehicle Production Still Falling

JD Power analyst Arthur Maher said that January’s decline reflects an adjustment by manufacturers to reduced demand in Europe as well as lower exports to markets around the world – notably the US – and a continuing need to reduce stocks. Maher contends that we have now reached a point where the industry’s downturn is affecting all vehicle manufacturers and all European production centres. He also believes that the fall in European vehicle production has much further to run. “Our latest forecast sees a Q2 reduction of 30% followed by a Q3 decline of 20%. By the time we get to the fourth quarter we expect to see stabilisation with production turning out slightly up on last year’s Q4,” he says.