The PricewaterhouseCoopers eleventh Annual Global CEO survey, ‘Compete & Collaborate' found that automotive CEOs worry far more about the potential for global recession than most.

Of the automotive CEOs surveyed, 34 per cent said they were extremely concerned about the potential threat posed by a downturn in major economies, while only 21.3 per cent of all other bosses gave the same response.

When it came to low-cost competition, 32.2 per cent of automotive chiefs said they were extremely concerned, while only 20.7 per cent of the survey as a whole considered the issue so severely.

Despite the pessimistic findings, over half the respondents in the motor sector were very confident of revenue growth in their companies over the next 12 months but only 36 per cent were very confident of revenue growth during the next three years.

The responses contrasted with scores of 50 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, from CEOs across all sectors.

In the automotive industry, new product development was seen as the main opportunity for business growth in the next 12 months, as opposed to better penetration of existing markets.

A third of motor CEOs valued development, whereas only 15.3 per cent prioritised penetration.