Car industry recovery to take more than a decade-author

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

HONG KONG, April 7 (Reuters) - Global car and truck sales
will take more than a decade to recover to their 2007 peak as
the sector faces a recession that's likely to be deeper than in
the 1970s and '80s, auto industry author Graeme Maxton said on
Tuesday.

However, car sales are likely to remain strong in China --
which in January surpassed the United States to become the
world's largest auto market -- and bounce back quickly in India,
helped by the introduction of very low cost cars, Hong
Kong-based Maxton said.

"Demand for smaller, cheaper cars should be more robust in
the mature markets, too," Maxton said in a press statement.
"Sales of buses and trucks will also return to more normal
levels sooner, as businesses begin to reinvest. That may not
offer much comfort to most car makers in Europe, Japan and
America over the next decade, however."

(snip)

Since Western consumers have borrowed too much and are
seeing the value of their homes evaporate, Maxton said many will
need to focus on rebuilding their savings before buying a new
car, even when the economy recovers.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/motoringAutoNews/idUKHKG18159820090407