Asian vehicle sales face new slowdown
Asian vehicle sales face new slowdown
SINGAPORE (AFP): After accelerating for two years, car and
truck sales in Asia are facing a fresh slowdown in 2001 as
regional economies falter, but it will be more manageable than
the fall during the last Asian crisis, an industry monitor said
Friday.
"It could be worse," London-based industry strategists
autopolis said in a statement released here, noting that 2000
marked a record year in some countries. It also said sales in a
number of markets continued to hold up well this year despite
"jitters in America."
It predicted a 4.3 percent year-on-year decline in vehicle
sales in Asian countries to under 11.44 million units in 2001,
following increases of 7.8 percent in 2000 and 11.6 percent in
1999. Autopolis predicted a milder fall in 2002 before a pick-up
in 2003.
Car and truck sales in Japan are likely to fall only slightly
this year, although production will decline more than sales, and
the market in China will continue to grow. While Indian sales are
dropping, the threat from used-vehicle imports has largely been
averted.
Although Southeast Asian markets are easing back after a
comfortable six months, sales should still grow in Malaysia in
2001, while demand in South Korea has continued to expand,
autopolis said. Taiwan, however, will see a marked decline.
Autopolis attributed the new slowdown, following the recovery
from the 1997-98 Asian crisis, to the drop in Asian countries'
exports to the US market, the hike in oil prices and declines in
regional share prices and currencies.
Some Asian countries including Japan could face a new economic
crisis, autopolis said.
"It's not all rosy. But when sales in the US are going to drop
20 percent and with a 10 percent fall coming in Europe, the
outlook for Asia is not bad at all," said Graeme Maxton, an
economist with the firm.
The China market was forecast to hit 2.14 million units in
2001, up from 2.09 million in 2000.
In four key Southeast Asian markets -- Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines and Thailand -- autopolis predicted a 9.9 percent
fall in vehicle sales to 892,000 in 2001, following a robust 61.4
percent jump in 2000.