Global car production surged by more than 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to figures compiled for the Financial Times, in spite of forecasts that car sales in mature markets will not reach their 2008 levels before 2014.

Data for 12 of the world's biggest car markets, accounting for more than three-quarters of world automobile output, showed double-digit increases in the first quarter of 2010 compared with a year earlier. In China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and the UK, the year-on-year rise was more than 70 per cent.

The numbers – which showed a 57 per cent year-on-year rise globally – confirm carmaking executives' affirmations that the worst of the crisis in the industry that began after the banking meltdown in late 2008 has passed. Volkswagen, Ford Motor and Fiat have all recently announced significant investment plans for their global manufacturing operations, especially in China and Latin America.