...- We project the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a global auto sales decline of almost 15% in 2020, and even more severe declines in the commercial vehicle markets, well as weaker global demand and GDP growth, followed by a mild recovery in sales volumes of 6%-8% in 2021. - Automakers' plant closures in response to the pandemic, and the drop in global industrial production, will pressure ZF's earnings and free cash flow generation through 2021. - As a result, we don't expect ZF's credit metrics to recover in 2021-2022 to levels consistent with the '###-' rating after its $8.5 billion debt-funded acquisition of WABCO in the second quarter of this year. - We are therefore lowering our ratings on ZF and its unsecured debt to '##+' from '###-', and assigning a recovery rating of '3' to the senior unsecured debt, indicating our expectation of meaningful recovery prospects (rounded estimate 55%) in a hypothetical default scenario. - The negative outlook reflects our view that ZF's...
