Automotive industry worldwide – statistics & facts
Is the global automotive industry experiencing an economic downturn? High inflation rates and raw material price increases recorded throughout 2022 and 2023 have challenged the industry, impacting consumers’ purchasing power and manufacturers’ production costs and profits. The high
and consumer worries about inflation have led to fluctuating car purchasing intentions in many markets.
However, while the market contends with global economic challenges, 2023 was the automotive sector’s most successful year since the pandemic. Motor vehicle sales that year surpassed those recorded in 2019, and forecasts for 2024 project the market will still grow. Passenger cars constituted the largest share of motor vehicle sales worldwide, representing around 70.4 percent of sales. China and the United States were the largest markets for this segment in 2023, partly due to a culture of mass-motorization prevalent in the United States.
Production in some segments still slow to recover
As global sales surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2023, so did the global motor vehicle production. Road vehicle output was slower to recover than sales, due to challenges surrounding increasing raw material prices and semiconductor shortages, but the 2023 production volume was around two million vehicles higher than what was recorded in 2019. Heavy commercial vehicles, which were the most affected by production hurdles, and heavy buses were the only segments still behind the 2019 global output. China was the leading car producer worldwide, with over 26.1 million units manufactured in 2023. This was over threefold the production of Japan, which came second in the ranking.
While Japan was behind China in car output, the Japanese Toyota was the best-selling automotive brand worldwide in 2023. It was followed by Germany-based Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Group and Toyota Motor are in tight competition to lead the market. While Toyota was the best-selling brand of 2023, the Volkswagen Group reported the highest revenue as of May 2024. The Volkswagen Group was also the manufacturer investing the most in research and development in 2022. Most of these expenses were research into alternative drive systems and life cycle engineering and recycling.
Innovation brings new market challenges
Prompted by global initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, several countries have started enacting stricter emissions controls on new vehicle models. As such, automakers are beginning to expand their business into the electric mobility sector. These investments correlate with the rapid growth of the electric light vehicle (EV) market. China and the United States are among the market leaders in this sector, with new electric vehicle registrations growing by 36 percent year-over-year in China in 2023.
On an automaker level, Volkswagen’s investment in research and development led to it being among the five best-selling EV brands in 2023. However, the Chinese brand BYD and U.S.-based Tesla were the market leaders, with BYD overtaking Tesla in sales volume since 2022.
Electric vehicles are one of many market developments in the automotive industry. Increased environmental consciousness led consumers to rethink their mobility options. Passenger cars and vans make up around half of carbon dioxide emissions produced by the transportation sector worldwide. With the addition of buses, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, this share grows to over three-quarters. This increased awareness contributes to the rising interest in mobility services, while autonomous vehicles are also set to stir up another automotive sector revolution in particular as interest in artificial intelligence grows among manufacturers and consumers alike.
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