New registrations in the Asia/Pacific region are forecast to increase by more than 3.4% in 2014 compared to 2013 and registrations in the NAFTA region are also expected to continue to climb, to about 19.1 million units. The forecast for this region has improved, while new registrations in Latin America are expected to grow by about 4.5%, to 6.3 million units.
Eastern Europe is still expected to post growth (up 4.6%). However, now as the financial situation in Russia is worsening, a revision in the forecast is becoming more likely.
Passenger vehicle demand in Western Europe is predicted to rise slightly again in 2014, up 2.0%, as gains in key markets like Germany, France and Italy will more than make up for losses in the relatively small Dutch market and the stagnation in Spain.
In 2013, passenger vehicle registrations were up 3.75 million, or 5.2% from 2012. Demand in theAsia/Pacific region increased 8.2% in 2013, with China remaining the region’s main driver for growth, up 14.5% in 2013.
Eastern Europe, on the other hand, was just able to nearly equal last year’s results in 2013, down 0.1%, and Western Europe’s market was down 1.8% in 2013. However, in the NAFTA region passenger vehicle registrations were up a clear 8.1% from the year before, the SMMT says.
