In Europe, where new-vehicle sales have benefited from the continent’s recovery, the car market is also softening as demand returns to prerecession levels. That is making profits harder to come by in a region where many car companies have long struggled to make money. To be sure, global demand remains robust, driven by continued economic strength, but headwinds are gathering. Slow Down Trade conflicts and rising costs dent auto-industry growth. Notes: Light vehicles weigh less than six tons. 2018 figures are estimates. Source: LMC Automotive President Donald Trump’s trade policies are undermining consumer confidence in many markets outside the U.S. and are widely seen as the biggest threat to continued economic growth. An easing of tensions between the U.S. and its major trading partners could still prevent the slowdown in auto sales growth from becoming a more rapid decline, say analysts. Evidence of that came Monday, when an agreement […]