The worldwide automotive industry will not recover from its current slump until 2005 according to the latest study.

British consultancy firm Autopolis predicts that global sales will continue to fall in the next two years as demand dips.

Autopolis expects sales to drop nearly five per cent this year and slightly further in 2004.

Spurring the decline will be the performance of the major manufacturers such as Fiat, PSA, Ford and Volkswagen, which the firm claims will be 'stuck mostly in lower growth markets which are facing a slowdown in the next few years'.

The consultancy predicted that some of the bigger firms might even be forced to de-integrate due to a shrinking global market in the short term.

However, Autopolis also expects a brisk recovery from 2005.

By 2010 it anticipates volumes being 19 per cent higher than they were last year, boosted mainly by Asian growth.