China will become world’s largest vehicle producer in 2011

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From Canadian Business:

China is expected to surpass Europe as the world’s leading vehicle producer in 2011, while Canada will have North America’s fastest-growing auto sector in the near-term, according to a Scotiabank report released Friday.The latest Global Auto Report from Scotia Economics estimates that Chinese assemblies will rise 17 per cent over the 2010 level to 21 million units this year. That means China will represent 28 per cent of overall global vehicle output in 2011.

“Surging car sales in China are also lifting vehicle production in Western Europe, especially Germany,” said Scotia Economics senior economist Carlos Gomes in the report.

“In January, global sales for Germany’s three major automakers jumped 21 per cent above a year earlier, led by a 31 per cent year-over-year surge in China.”

He said the sharp increase as positively impacted manufacturers who are beefing up their production schedules for the first half of the year.

“We estimate that over the past month, European automakers have boosted their first-quarter output plans by more than six per cent and their second-quarter schedules by two per cent,” he added.

Meanwhile, Canada’s vehicle output will show the highest North American growth the early part of this year, helped by the re-tooling of Chrysler’s car assembly plant in Brampton, Ont. and ramped up production of the Buick Regal at the General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ont.

The report predicts that stronger auto output will add about 1.5 percentage points to economic growth in Canada for the year. In contrast, growth in the U.S. and Mexican auto sectors will add about one percentage point to their economies.