Slowdown pressures entire auto sector

By Kevin Krolicki and Helen Massy-Beresford

DETROIT/PARIS (Reuters) - The global meltdown and resulting implosion in vehicle sales over the past year have pressured everyone in the automotive sector, creating opportunities for some players while leaving others subject to bankruptcy, consolidation or concessions.

The heads of auto suppliers Valeo SA (VLOF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Dura Automotive Systems Inc (DRMV.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) said at the Reuters Auto Summit in Paris and Detroit on Tuesday that their companies intend to buy assets in the sector's continuing consolidation.

Meanwhile, pressures faced by factory workers on both sides of the Atlantic were on display as the United Auto Workers rejected concessions for Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research), while those in Europe agreed to cuts for General Motors Co's GM.UL Opel unit.

Valeo CEO Jacques Aschenbroich said the French supplier was looking at acquisitions in safety and comfort, vision and energy savings, saying the global economic crisis would lead to consolidation in the parts sector.

"After every crisis, there's a wave of consolidations. There are more OEMs today than a few years ago," he said in Paris, referring to major automakers. "Of course, we want to be an actor of this consolidation in the years to come."

Financial results will be better than previously expected by the end of 2009 due to car scrapping programs implemented across Europe, Aschenbroich added.

Auto sales in Europe and the North America have been hurt in the past year as customers tightened purse strings amid a weak economy. The economic meltdown came on the heels of already-weakening vehicle demand amid record-high gasoline prices last year, creating excess capacity in the supply base.

According to figures released on Tuesday, U.S. auto industry sales in October hit their best performance this year outside of the summer months which were boosted by federal incentives, suggesting the sector could finally be stabilizing.