(The following statement was released by the ratings agency)
NEW YORK, Sept 22 - With U.S. light-vehicle industry demand surprisingly strong in recent months, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said in a report published today that industry sales in full-year 2003 would be about even with the robust sales of 2002.
"Heavy discounting has been an important factor supporting industry sales," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Scott Sprinzen. "As general economic growth accelerates, underlying consumer demand for autos should improve, which could well result in some diminishing of price competition."
Along with North American passenger vehicles, Standard & Poor's Industry Report Card discusses European passenger vehicles, the Japanese and Korean vehicle market, and North American and European commercial vehicles. It also provides summaries of individual automaker credit pictures.
The commentary article titled "Industry Report Card: Global Automakers" was published on Sept. 22, 2003, and can be found on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. Members of the media may obtain copies of the full report by contacting Gregg Stein at (1) 212-438-1730 or by e-mail at [email protected].