According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2016-2017/Q1 2016 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), available data on 2015 car exports from key exporting countries, Germany and the UK, signal a modest rise. Passenger car registrations increased 13.7 percent year on year in November and by 16.6 percent in December, leading to a robust 9.3 percent year-on-year rise in demand over the year as a whole. Growth of commercial vehicle sales accelerated to 17.8 percent year on year in November, the 11th consecutive month of growth in registrations. Total demand over the first eleven months grew by 11.4 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
EUROFER stated that in the third quarter of 2015 automotive sector output surprised on the upside with 9.5 percent year-on-year growth, underpinning the current strength of the automotive market in the EU. Six of the reporting countries registered double-digit growth in the third quarter.
First estimates for activity in the fourth quarter of 2015 signal the continuation of robust growth. This would lead to an estimated 7.8 percent growth of EU output in 2015. The outlook for 2016 and 2017 is overall rather positive, but output growth is foreseen to slow somewhat after two years of vigorous expansion.
Total EU automotive output, including parts and components, is forecast to rise by around three percent per year in 2016 and 2017.