BRATISLAVA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Slovakia's car sector expects production to fall by as much as a quarter this year as the global economic crisis curbs demand in its main western markets, the economic ministry said on Friday.
Slovakia assembles and exports models for Germany's Volkswagen, France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and South Korean Kia Motors Corp. The three plants have combined output capacity of around 900,000 units a year. "Car makers expect, based on preliminary data, forecasts and prognosis derived from trends, a decline in overall production by 18-25 percent in 2009 due to lack of demand," the economy ministry said in a statement.
The ministry gave no breakdown for individual plants.
The automotive sector is one Slovakia's key economic pillars and its expansion helped drive gross domestic product (GDP) growth to an EU high of 10.4 percent in 2007.
But growth in Slovakia, a euro zone member since January, is expected to have slowed to around 7 percent last year and the government sees a further drop to 2.4 percent in 2009 as demand for main export items like cars and TV sets fades in the West. (Reporting by Martin Santa; Editing by David Cowell)