A leading auto industry predictive body has cut its full-year forecast for the western European market by 600,000 units, Reuters reported yesterday (7th January).

JD Power's automotive forecasting arm has responded to the recent gloomy sales data for December 2008 by claiming that volumes will decline by 16 per cent in 2009.

That would mean overall sales plummeting to just 11.39 million vehicles, a figure which would also represent the lowest full-year total recorded by the group since back in 1993.

The forecaster has suggested that Italy will see a double-digit decrease, while Spain will fall by a whopping 25 per cent and Germany will slip to 2.75 million units - a level "not seen since the 1980s".

The UK market is identified as carrying a risk of falling "well below" 1.7 million units after posting a total of 2.13 million last year, with only France expected to offer some resistance.

Commenting on the prospect of the market at large hitting a 16-year low, JD Power European Sales Forecast Manager Jonathon Poskitt told the news provider: "This is even worse, though, since we've already seen a drop."



Source:

J.D. Power cuts 2009 W.European auto sales forecast (07/01/09)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUKL770453720090107