"The center of the automotive universe is shifting quite rapidly away from the established markets of North America and Europe,” John Humphrey, J.D. Power's senior vice president of global automotive operations said in a statement cited by just-auto.com.
According to the study, the Chinese automotive market may however be affected by the apparent slowing of the light vehicle segment, which, despite maintaining a growth rate, will no longer reach the 50 percent growth managed last year. Still, China will remain the driving force behind the Asia-Pacific region growth.
“Sales in the region are forecast to grow 16 percent year over year to end 2010 at 27.9 million units. China is doing the heavy lifting, even though there are signs that growth in the China market is slowing slightly,” Humphrey added.
As for the country which up until 2009 was regarded as the primary auto market, the US, J.D. Power expects to see growth here as well. Estimates point to a 13 percent rise to 11.8 million vehicles this year, but the slowing of the industry reported in June may affect that estimate.
On the North American continent, Mexico is likely to post the biggest increase, with numbers pointing to 14 percent more vehicles being sold here.
The newest segment of the automotive industry, the electric vehicles, will double their presence once the Nissan Leaf is launched. The hybrid market will grow 25 percent in 2010 to 910,000 vehicles and to 2.3 million in 2015.
Google News