Cars, Cars, Cars, Cars

According to BloombergNEF, around 85 million new cars will be sold worldwide this year, a number that looks a little optimistic and a number that looks more than a little worrying.

Bloomberg’s Liam Denning notes that globally, car manufacturers’ capacity is estimated at 142 million cars, meaning that, treating the industry worldwide as an integrated whole, it is only operating at 60 percent capacity, far below the 80 percent rule of thumb required to break even (automaking is a capital-intensive industry).