Southeast Asia to lead auto sales growth in Asia

Growth forecast in Southeast Asia is 8.1%.

Car sales in Southeast Asia is expected to grow 8.1% in 2017, outperforming the rest of Asia which will grow at 3.7%. Global vehicle sales, meanwhile, is seen to grow at 2.5%, slightly lower than the 3.8% estimate for 2016.

The forecast, according to BMI Research, is also an improvement for the 3.1% growth recorded for the ASEAN sub-region in 2016. South Asia, on the other hand, will post a growth 6.1%, also an improvement from its 4.9% growth in the previous year.

Elsewhere across the globe, much of vehicle sales will be made in emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia. Latin America will see the strongest growth in total vehicle sales in 2017 at 6.2%, although this is coming from a relatively low base in 2016. North America, meanwhile, will see a decline as a growing inventory of cheap second-hand vehicles erodes demand for new vehicles in the United States.

Europe will see a 2.4% growth driven by outperforming markets in the Central and Eastern Europe sub-region. Sales in Sub-Saharan Africa will also grow marginally at 2.4%, with weak currencies and high inflation plaguing the region and dampening purchasing power.