dpa Sales forecast 2010
04.01 .2010
D he Association of the German Automotive Industry (VDA) expects a 'razor-sharp' Competition.
The automotive world is being reorganized
In contrast, sales opportunities are increasing in China, the USA and Russia. 'The automotive world is currently being reorganized. This has consequences for the production sites,' says the study published on Friday (January 1st) by the Car-Center Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Thanks to the scrappage bonus and economic stimulus programs, 2009 was the sixth best sales year for cars worldwide, despite the economic crisis. Thanks to the bonus, 3.8 million cars were sold in Germany, 24 percent more than in the previous year. For 2010, the expert expects demand to drop by 26 percent to 2.8 million cars.
According to the study, 52.8 million cars were sold worldwide last year, 5.4 percent fewer than in the previous year. 'The result is much better than expected twelve months ago,' emphasized the auto expert. 'The big break-in did not materialize.' The economic stimulus programs in important countries and the faster recovery of the global economy brought salvation for the automobile market.
Western Europe is picking up slightly, North America is collapsing
Overall, Western Europe was with 13.6 million cars sold around 40,000 vehicles more than in the previous year. In contrast, sales in North America alone fell by almost 22 percent to 12.5 million cars. According to the extrapolation, the front runner in the global automobile market was China with an increase of 44 percent or 2.5 million to 8.2 million cars. The Russian market collapsed by 44 percent, with 1.35 million fewer cars being sold. Other losers were Japan (minus 378,000 cars), Canada (minus 219,000), Spain (minus 209,000) and England (minus 153,000).
For 2010, Dudenhöffer expects massive market shifts. Overall, however, the global automotive market is developing positively. Overall, the demand will increase by 4.3 percent to 55.08 million cars - mainly thanks to the markets in the USA, China, Russia, Spain and India. In Western Europe, 951,000 fewer cars will be sold in the new year than in 2009, a decrease of 7.0 percent. 'In particular, the strong artificial push through the scrapping premium in Germany is responsible for the decline. Germany is pulling Western Europe down,' stressed Dudenhöffer.
To jobsTo be able to secure, the international markets would have to 'slowly pick up again' in the new year, VDA President Matthias Wissmann told the 'Saarbrücker Zeitung'. 'It won't be easy,' he said of the new year's challenges. In the past year, the scrapping premium and the new vehicle tax regulation stabilized domestic demand. The VDA President expects 2.75 to 3.0 million new registrations in Germany for 2010.
