Worldwide Auto Production

Excerpt from Detroit Free Press

Between now and 2012, the world's car and truck production will grow to nearly 78 million from about 62 million vehicles last year.

That's the equivalent of adding almost the size of today's entire U.S. auto market to the world total in seven years.But this growth won't be happening in the United States. Indeed, of the 16 million extra sets of wheels being built by 2012, fewer than 1 million will come from North America.

More than half the world's growth will occur in China and south Asian nations such as India, Thailand and Malaysia.China alone will grow its output by 106%, from 4.7 million to nearly 9.8 million vehicles annually in that period, while growth in the heretofore "developed world" of North America and western Europe will be only 5% or so, according to CSM.