Summary
The news just issued regarding to Honda decision on their new plant in Argentina shows how careful OEMs will have to be in order to get more with less in scarce cash times. New products launch will probably not put in jeopardy but important capacity increases will need to wait for better times. The South American market has steadily grown in the last 3 years up to last October, but the global financial crisis is strongly affecting durable goods demand in way it is difficult to foresee how long. Emphasis according to the OEMs perceived strategy is to speed up new product launches in order to stay competitive and postpone capacity increases andor new plants.
Analysis
Suppliers for new vehicle launches might be asked in higher proportion to support development efforts for keeping or even speeding up the time to market.
Equipment and infrastructure suppliers might have a decrease on their expected projects.
