According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2017-2018/Q1 2017 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU automotive output continued to expand in the third quarter of 2016, but the year-on-year growth rate of 3.5 percent was clearly less vigorous than in the preceding two quarters of 2016. Production growth is expected to have moderated somewhat further in the fourth quarter of 2016. On balance, automotive output is estimated to have grown 5.5 percent year on year in 2016.
According to EUROFER, total EU automotive output, including parts and components, is forecast to rise by 3.2 percent in 2017 and by one percent in 2018, both year on year.
EUROFER stated that fundamentals for the automotive market in the EU are expected to remain overall positive in 2017 and 2018, despite the assumption that over this timeframe production activity growth will gradually lose momentum. The contribution of exports of new vehicles to output growth is foreseen to be rather limited. A more protectionist US stance on the automotive supply chain is not to be excluded. Many emerging markets are increasingly being served by domestic production.