Asia Pacific to surpass Europe as world's largest regional automotive market

Auto sales growth in the Asia Pacific region is projected to surpass Europe's by 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates. By 2009, the Asia Pacific region is expected to net 23 million sales, compared with 22.7 million sales in Europe. The Asia Pacific region is already home to the world's second- and third- largest light-vehicle markets-China and Japan-and future sales will be bolstered by continued growth in China, plus expected expansion in India, Southeast Asia and Korea.

Light-vehicle sales in the Asia Pacific region reached 9.7 million units in the first half of 2007, marking a 7.2% increase compared with the same period in 2006, according to J.D. Power and Associates. By the end of 2007, vehicle sales in the Asia Pacific region are projected to reach 19.3 million units and to account for 28.1% of global demand. By comparison, other regions throughout the world are projected to post only moderate gains for the year. Sales in Europe are expected to grow by 3% to reach 21.6 million units, while North America sales are expected to decrease by 0.04% to 19.2 million units. South America sales are projected to increase by 10.6% to 3.4 million units. Sales throughout the rest of the world are expected to grow by 5%.

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