According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2017-2018/Q2 2017 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU automotive output is estimated to have grown by 3.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year. As expected, the increase in automotive production is gradually slowing down as the EU market is showing the first signs of saturation. Meanwhile, export demand is not strong enough to sustain the rapid growth of output of the preceding years; average output growth over the 2014-16 period amounted to more than six percent per year.
According to EUROFER, EU car exports are reported to have been rising moderately over the first two months of this year, with somewhat better figures for UK exports than for German exports. In the first three months this year, EU passenger car registrations rose by 8.4 percent year on year compared to the corresponding period of 2016. All major markets continued to register growth, although the pace of expansion of demand is gradually becoming less vigorous.
EUROFER stated that total EU automotive output, including parts and components, is forecast to rise by 2.8 percent in 2017 and by 1.6 percent in 2018, both year on year.