According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2024-2025/Q3 2024 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the first quarter of 2024, automotive output in the EU dropped by 0.9 percent year on year, the first decrease after seven consecutive quarters which indicated increases.
In the meantime, in the first five months of this year, despite a decrease observed in May, car registrations in the EU moved up by 4.6 percent year on year to 4.6 million units, with Spain (+6.8 percent), Germany (+5.2 percent), France (+4.9 percent), and Italy (+4.4 percent) recording growth so far in the current year.
According to EUROFER, demand is projected to remain weak until the macroeconomic conditions and consumer disposable income improve significantly. This has now become less likely given the worsening economic outlook and the more subdued economic growth perspectives. However, demand has shown resilience.
EUROFER stated that in 2024 output is expected to drop by three percent, compared to the forecast of a 0.4 percent decrease in the previous report. Also, output is forecast to show a more robust growth of 2.3 percent in 2025.
