Auto sector set for a fall

quot;Asia is now just a market of three million to four million vehicles and will remain so for a few more years to come. With a market that size, the whole of Asia has the potential to create a mere three or four world-class manufacturers. Not the tens of producers that there are today,quot; he said.

He said world vehicle sales will fall by around six per cent this year mainly because of the problems in Asia but also partly due to lower sales in South America.

The global fall will occur despite strong sales in United States and a record year in Europe, and sales are now softening in bothmarkets, which will lead to a further world vehicle sales decline of seven per cent in 1999.

quot;This will mean that world truck and car sales will fall by 12 per cent in just under three years equivalent to the loss of entire Japanese market. Although most markets are expected to recover after 2000, it will be 2003 before the 1997 sales volumes are repeated,quot; Maxton said.