Autos in for More Pain, Ghosn Says

By NEAL E. BOUDETTE and MATTHEW DOLAN FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said the auto industry is entering a global slowdown, now that European auto sales are starting to decline and sales growth in China is moderating. The U.S., the world's largest auto market, has been the industry's main trouble spot for the past two years. But in the past few months, sales have been trending down in many major Western European countries. In addition, China's booming market may not provide auto makers the same boost it has in the past few years. "We are heading into a global slowdown," Mr. Ghosn said in a brief interview here. "It's almost a perfect storm." Worsening conditions in markets outside the U.S. would complicate the efforts of the Big Three auto makers to stanch their mounting losses. China has been... [read full story]