The report finds that 2014 was a year of partial recovery for the European car market whilst globally the auto industry saw some remarkable events:

• The Global Auto market reached 87 million units
• Both Toyota and VW exceeded 10 million unit sales globally, a first for any auto maker
• 2014 was a record year for recalls. (circa. 64 million vehicles just in the US)
• Non-automotive players such as Google, Apple and Microsoft are making a big splash with autonomous driving and car connectivity
• New innovative mobility solutions; car sharing, taxi apps (Uber)
• The premium brand race is getting much closer as Mercedes-Benz close in on Audi and they both get closer to BMW as their product ranges expand.

In Europe total car sales for the EU28 hit 12.55m passenger cars, the highest level since 2011 (13.2m), but still 19.5% down on 2007 levels.

Despite little in the way of further production cuts in Europe the increase in new car sales and new car exports is improving capacity utilisation rates which should exceed the 80% breakeven point within the next three years.

Consolidation continues to happen within the industry across the supply chain.

There are marked divergences in used values across Europe with residual values in danger of falling, staying flat and even rising. The UK has now recovered from the crisis and may even be in danger of going into reverse. Spain sees used values almost back to where they were historically but new vehicle discounting is preventing any further. But Italy remains heavily depressed creating a lot of challenges but at the same time some hope for an improving trend.

Commenting on the outlook for 2015 and beyond, EurotaxGlass’s said that global manufacturing platforms are a key part of most OEMs strategy enabling an increasing range of niche products, but also increasing the risk of high volume recalls.

Alternative powertrains EVs, Hydrogen fuel cells and plug-in hybrids remain an interesting niche distraction but the gap between price and practicality .to the internal combustion engine needs to be closed before they will be credible to most car buyers.

Connected cars and Big Data may be interesting buzz words in the automotive industry but questions remain over who owns the data, what is being captured, who can use it and what for.

New and used car buying habits are changing. With things like shopping mall car shops and online sales the traditional dealership model will need to be revised

• Will OEMs take control of new car sales leaving dealers as handling agents and used car sales and service agents?
• What is the impact of traditional B:B vehicle sellers moving to B:C, e.g. Hertz Rent2Buy, Europcar 2ndMove>

EurotaxGlass's added that new and used car demand will continue general recovery in mainland Europe but the current diverse state of both each European countries’ economies plus the different stages of recovery of their automotive markets mean RVs overall will be flat but with wide regional variations.