Before Ford of Europe makes a forecast for its 2010 unit sales, it says that it would have to monitor the European market for a few more months. Ford of Europe President John Fleming addressed reporters on October 27, saying that if he does make a prediction that day then he will probably be wrong. He said that among the factors that the company would be monitoring is how car buyers react to the phasing out of government-sponsored scrapping incentives and how the overall European economy develops in 2010. Fleming asserted that he will be observing what happens in Germany in the next two months without the scrappage schemes in order to better comprehend “what the underlying economy is like and whether it is starting to grow.” According to the European automakers association (ACEA), new car sales in Germany rose 26.1% to 2,990,766 units in the January-September period. Fleming shared his fears that at the core, Germany’s economy is still weak and that 2010 will be another tough year without scrapping schemes or some other support.
