Soaring Oil Prices to Push Global Small-Car Segment to New Heights

PARIS – The ongoing rise in the price of oil will result in the global small-car segment growing by 7.5 million units over the next seven years, says a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers Automotive Institute, located here.

Petroleum prices have jumped 37% in the last five years, from $24 to $115 a barrel, the consultants say. “In the United States, for example, an increase of $1 a gallon at the pump last year resulted in a reorientation of the market by 5% (888,000 units) toward ...