While next year will not see anything like the disruption to vehicle production in Europe that we saw this, there is the persistent problem of excess capacity. Some have even argued that it would be better if Opel/Vauxhall disappeared entirely, leaving healthier market conditions for those who are left. Whether you believe that or not, the blunt reality is that – on current projections – excess capacity and low capacity utilisation remain serious problems in Europe next year.

Whose capacity are we talking about though? Where - in terms of OEMs and plants – are the most serious structural overcapacity problems? Answers on a postcard please.

Anyway, it was interesting to catch up with the JD Power automotive forecasting bods in Oxford last week and chew the cud on such issues. I saw them at their offices and was then taken on a brief tour of the city afterwards. Lovely place. Some fine architecture.

COMMENT: Greater economic stability can’t hide Europe’s looming overcapacity problem