H. Yoo
Research expert covering South Korea
Automotive industry worldwide - statistics & facts
After years dealing with supply chain challenges, the automotive industry recorded moderate improvements and challenges in 2024. High inflation rates and raw material price increases recorded throughout 2022 and 2023 challenged the industry. The global car sales volume was not as heavily impacted by these hurdles and has been on an upward trend since 2022. However, automakers' annual profit margin decreased to below seven percent after three consecutive years of annual profit margins of about eight percent. The high global inflation rate and consumer worries about inflation have led to fluctuating car purchasing intentions in many markets.
In this context, 2024 was the automotive sector’s most successful year since the pandemic. Motor vehicle sales that year surpassed those recorded in 2019. Passenger cars constituted the largest share of motor vehicle sales worldwide, representing around 70.9 percent of sales. China and the United States were the largest markets for this segment in 2024, partly due to a culture of mass-motorization prevalent in the United States.
Production declines in most segments
While global sales kept growing in 2024, global motor vehicle production declined by one million vehicles. Heavy buses, despite still being behind the 2019 global output, was the only segment for which a production increase was recorded between 2023 and 2024. China was the leading car producer worldwide, with nearly 27.5 million units manufactured in 2024. 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 2024. 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 2024, the Volkswagen Group reported the highest revenue as of June 2025. The Volkswagen Group was also the manufacturer investing the most in research and development in 2023. 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 40 percent year-over-year in China in 2024.
On an automaker level, Volkswagen’s investment in research and development led to it being among the ten best-selling EV brands in 2024. 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. Road transportation makes up around three quarters of carbon dioxide emissions produced by the transportation sector worldwide. 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.
