New Roles and Risks in the Light Vehicle Market

LAS VEGAS – Lincoln Merrihew, principal for Americas Forecasting and Business Development with Standard and Poor’s Research Services in Lexington, MA, spoke on new roles and new risks in the light-vehicle market at the Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR). He concluded that overall U.S. light-vehicle sales are expected to stay over the 16-17 million mark, truck share is expected to grow, but primarily when additional products are added, in particular the new hybrid crossover vehicles. SUVs will still continue to be strong in the market, although some models may be stronger than others. Merrihew also predicts that there will be more globalization between automakers and suppliers, with possible merger candidates including BMW, Mitsubishi, PFA and Fiat.