HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. has noted a slowdown in global production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, driven largely by recent emissions-control measures in Europe.
Citing preliminary industry data, the German automotive supplier said vehicle production in Europe fell by 6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018.
The decline mainly was due to the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure for measuring exhaust-gas emissions, the group said in an Nov. 8 financial statement.
The WLTP test has been mandatory since Sept. 1 in the European Union for newly registered passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
"For German manufacturers in particular, this required significant changes in production because not all models and their engine versions could be tested in advance in accordance with WLTP," Continental said.
As a result, it added, Germany has posted a 20 percent decline in passenger car production with other countries also posting double-digit decreases.
According to figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), September also saw double-digit declines in car production in France, Finland, Portugal, Sweden, Russia and Slovakia. Romania registered a 73 percent year-on-year decline in car production during the month.
Production in the United Kingdom and Turkey also decreased in the reporting period, which according to Conti, were primarily due to lower demand.
The ACEA figures also indicate that throughout the 10-month period to end of October, the overall vehicle production was 1.6 percent above the prior year level in Europe.
In its full-year outlook, however, Continental expects vehicle production volumes in Europe to remain at the previous year's level. Previously, Conti said it expected a percent increase production.
Looking at projections for vehicle production worldwide, Continental said: "Due to the weaker development in Asia and Europe, we are lowering our forecast for 2018 as a whole to 0 percent."
The German group had previously anticipated an increase of more than 1 percent in global production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.