TEXT-Fitch: Negative outlook for auto industry in 2009

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

Fitch Ratings says in a special report published today that the global
outlook for the automotive industry in 2009 is negative, as global auto
manufacturers continue to face challenging prospects for the year to come.
"Weak GDP growth and the effects of the international financial crisis will
continue to have a significant impact on the global auto industry, creating
downwards pressure on carmakers' credit profiles in the short to medium term,"
says Emmanuel Bulle, Senior Director in Fitch's Automotive team. "In addition,
the length and severity of the current crisis are still unknown, whilst
manufacturers' responses to the crisis are still evolving."
While only the US automotive industry had a negative outlook at the start of
2008 - the outlook for Indian manufacturers' credit profiles was positive and
Japanese, European, South Korean and Chinese manufacturers had a stable outlook
- the outlook is now negative across the whole auto sector. The industry as a
whole is facing an unprecedented combination of cyclical and structural issues
which underpins Fitch's negative outlook overall.
In spite of recent downgrades, Fitch expects Japanese manufacturers to remain
the highest-rated manufacturers. Conversely, at the other end of the spectrum,
US groups remain on a negative trend, all rated 'CCC' or lower. In between, in
the 'BB'/'BBB' rating categories, rating pressure on European and South Korean
groups increased in 2008 and Fitch believes this is unlikely to abate in 2009.
The individual outlooks for the US, European, Japanese, South Korean and Indian
auto sectors are discussed in more detail in the report, entitled "Global
Automotive Outlook 2009", available on the agency's website,
www.fitchratings.com.
Contacts: Emmanuel Bulle, Paris, Tel: +33 1 44 29 91 84; Mark Oline, Chicago,
+1 312 368 2073; Nathan Spunt, New York, +1 212 908 0202; Tatsuya Mizuno,
Tokyo, +81 3 3288 2771; Jeong Min Pak, Seoul, +822 3278 8360; Priyamvada
Balaji, Mumbai, +91 224 000 1742.