According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2014-2015/Q4 2014 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU car sales continued to grow in the third quarter this year, while sales over the first nine months of the year rose 6.1 percent compared to the same period of 2013.
First estimates for the third quarter indicate that output continued to increase, albeit at a more modest pace than registered in the first half of the year. Output growth in the fourth quarter is expected to slow somewhat further, as the year-on-year rise in car sales is becoming less pronounced compared to the improved sales levels in the same period of 2013.
According to EURFOER, the outlook for exports of passenger cars and parts and components is becoming more opaque. The
automotive industry could suffer from intensifying tensions between the EU and Russia should the conflict in Ukraine escalate further. Russia is reported to be mulling a ban on EU
automotive imports; this could have a negative impact on EU car manufacturers that do not have production facilities in Russia.
For the whole of 2014, EUROFER foresees that the total
automotive output in the EU will increase by 4.5 percent, while total
automotive output is expected to rise by around three percent in 2015, year on year.