The condition of Europe's carmakers is hardly healthy, but unlike their Detroit counterparts they are still some way from the critical list. J.D. Power, a market-research firm, forecasts that the western European market will shrink by 7.9 percent this year, compared with a 16 percent drop in America. But things are getting grimmer by the day. J.D. Power expects a further 10.5 percent contraction in Europe in 2009. Renault, which is cutting 6,000 jobs in Europe, thinks the market could shrink by 20 percent.
Source: The Economist