In 2024, the ranking of the world’s largest car brands was topped by Toyota with a market share of around **** percent. The Toyota brand is owned by Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation, the world's largest motor vehicle manufacturer. New trends in the auto industry In light of growing environmental awareness and increasing efforts to connect vehicles, automotive manufacturers are faced with a variety of new challenges. Market trends such as the shift to lighter materials, as well as the trend towards electric and autonomous vehicles are set to revolutionize the industry. Palo Alto-based Tesla Motors is currently among those at the vanguard of the trend towards electrification, along with the Chinese car manufacturer BYD. Tesla delivered nearly **** million vehicles in 2024, meaning that Volkswagen Group's sales tally is over **** times as much. The state of the global auto industry Car sales worldwide have dipped between 2019 and 2020 as a result of the economic downturn generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 sales recovered, despite remaining below 2019 levels, but supply chain shortages led to a slow recovery of sales in 2022. By the end of 2023, the global car sales volume had grown over pre-pandemic levels. China was the largest automobile market based on new passenger car registrations, recording close to **** million units sold. It was followed by the United States and Europe. China was also the leading passenger car producing country in 2023.

In 2024, Ford remained the leading car brand in the United States based on vehicle sales, delivering about *** million units to U.S. customers. The United States is the largest market for Ford: wholesales to U.S. dealerships reached over *** million vehicles in 2023. Car sales among major manufacturers The top three U.S. car brands are assembled and distributed by the leading manufacturers in the U.S. market: Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, and General Motors (GM). As of the fourth quarter of 2024, GM's largest segment of sales was attributable to its Chevrolet-badged vehicles. Within the Ford Motor Corporation, the Ford division accounted for the largest number of vehicle sales. And finally, Toyota’s largest distribution of this sales volume was attributable to the Toyota brand vehicles. Automotive industry overview Production and sales volumes are declining among the key automotive brands in the United States, as a result of the accelerated automotive semiconductor shortage, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that the automotive manufacturing and sales market is highly competitive both within the U.S. and globally. Electric vehicles emerged as the leading trend in Europe since 2020 and the U.S. electric vehicle industry has been catching up. Furthermore, it is forecast that autonomous vehicles will disrupt the U.S. market between 2020 and 2030.

Crossovers are Americans’ favorite type of passenger vehicle. This category accounts for over ** percent of automobile sales in the United States as of June 2022. The most popular models include Honda’s CR-V, Nissan’s Rogue, and Toyota’s RAV4. In the first quarter of 2022, U.S. auto buyers bought just under ******* units of Toyota’s RAV4 model, making it the best-selling vehicle in this category. Toyota is the market leader   The RAV4 was one of the very first specimens of its kind, as production of this model began in 1994. Toyota was the second most valuable automotive manufacturer worldwide in 2022, with a brand value of just over **** billion dollars. It followed Tesla, which was first in the ranking with a gap of over ** billion dollars compared to the runner-up. Toyota’s net revenue rose to **** trillion Japanese yen in 2022 (around *** billion U.S. dollars as of March 2022 exchange rates), a visible growth of over ** percent compared to 2021, despite the manufacturer being impacted by the global automotive chip shortage.  Crossovers benefit from the shift away from sedans   Crossover SUVs (sport utility vehicles) combine the fuel efficiency levels of compact and midsized cars and the higher seating positions of light trucks. They gained in popularity when fuel prices were low and, consequently, automakers increased production volumes and model additions of this vehicle type. Between 2014 and 2021, U.S. car sales fell from over *** million to around **** million units. Concurrently, light truck sales increased from *** million units in 2014 to close to **** million units in 2021. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vehicle demand led to a *** percent drop in light truck sales in 2020. This drop in vehicle sales impacted countries across the globe. In 2020, Germany recorded a loss of over ******* sales of SUVs compared to 2019, whereas China’s new SUV registrations remained stable between the two years.

At about **** percent, General Motors (GM) held a significant portion of the U.S. market in 2024. However, over the course of the last two decades, GM has lost a considerable amount of market share, which stood at about ** percent some 19 years ago. The company General Motors is a multinational company headquartered in Detroit and is ranked among the leading automobile manufacturers worldwide based on revenue. GM has had some variability in the number of cars sold worldwide, with a decline in recent years, especially after selling the Opel and Vauxhall brands to PSA. However, GM's financial statements indicate that there has been a recent increase in income globally, with 2024 having the highest sales revenue. The company's revenue had started to drop significantly in 2019, but by 2023, the company had recovered from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain shortages. GM includes many brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, and several other companies. The global automotive industry The global automotive industry is facing new challenges with the advent of smart technology. The recent decade has seen the greatest production volume of cars and commercial vehicles around the world, but the COVID-19 pandemic and global automotive chip shortage have led to production halts and to a steep decrease in the global automotive output. By 2024, the industry had started to recover from these challenges.

Globally, Toyota sold around **** million vehicles between January and December 2024. The company's sales tally decreased by around *** percent between the 2023 and 2024 calendar years. Fierce competition The company designs, manufactures, and sells motor vehicles under various brands, including the luxury marque Lexus. Toyota was the second most valuable automotive brand as of June 2024, outperforming other brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche. Toyota is one of the largest automakers in the world, based on calendar year sales figures. The car manufacturer's closest rival is Germany’s Volkswagen Group. Go East While Japan accounts for Toyota's largest revenue share, other Asian countries have emerged as the automaker's third largest markets in terms of revenue. Many automotive manufacturers were turning to the Chinese market to offset moderate sales figures in more saturated markets. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, and Toyota all have entered partnerships with automobile manufacturing joint ventures in China, although Toyota’s vehicle sales in the world’s largest automobile market fade in comparison to Volkswagen's deliveries. Between January and December 2021, Volkswagen and its Shanghai joint venture were the fourth leading passenger vehicle manufacturer in China, while Toyota continued to struggle. Toyota’s China woes aside, key figures for the Japanese company are shining bright, particularly in terms of sustainability.

In 2024, General Motors sold six million vehicles. This compares to around 6.2 million units in 2023, representing a decline of around 3.04 percent year-over-year. Turbulent past years still impact GM GM’s brands include Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac, the first two of which were ranked within the top-eleven automobile manufacturers based on U.S. vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2023. Figures revealed a significant industry-wide stagnation two years earlier, in 2021, with industry sales increasing by under two percent compared to 2020. Sales had started to rebound in the fourth quarter of 2020, but the global chip shortage further impacted the sector in 2021, shrinking vehicle production and inventory. These automotive supply chain issues were exacerbated in 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, General Motors had to contend with the United Auto Workers strike. This strike led to an estimated 4.35 billion U.S. dollars in losses for the Detroit Three manufacturers (General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford), and contributed to shaping GM's year. GM accelerates future-proof innovations With Tesla infamously driving innovation in the field of electric vehicles (EV), General Motors, along with other incumbent car manufacturers, are set to join the fiercely competitive U.S. electric vehicle industry. In 2024, Tesla sold around 633,800 battery-electric vehicle units in the U.S. market. General Motors, however, plans to invest around 20 billion U.S. dollars in its EV product portfolio, including SUVs and pickups, by 2025. As of 2024, General Motors Company is also exploring artificial intelligence technology. To that end, GM partnered with Google in August 2023.

At around 948,000 unit sales, light trucks remained the largest U.S. auto market segment in September 2024, down from around 1.2 unit sales in October 2024 and decreasing by approximately 11.2 percent year-on-year. Global chip shortage affects supply The second quarter of 2020 saw a significant drop in automotive sales volume compared to the year before. Most of the disruption was seen in May, before restrictions to curtail the coronavirus pandemic were lifted. Sales showed signs of recovery in the following months, before dropping again in 2021. The industry's inventory-to-sales ratio nosedived in May 2020, and has not fully recovered since. Supply issues were not felt as strongly across the automotive sector, while car demand was low due to national lockdowns brought on by the pandemic. However, as consumers' purchasing intentions picked up, vehicle stocks could not meet the new demand due to chip shortages, which led to production halts and cuts. U.S. vehicle sales gain momentum thanks to light truck sales As the year 2020 came to an end, motor vehicle sales in the United States finished on a high note. Following the Covid-19 disruption, the U.S. auto sector began to recover in the third quarter. However, the semiconductor shortage and global inflation further impacted sales in 2021 and 2022. In contrast, 2023 was an encouraging year. U.S. motor vehicle sales grew to over 15.5 million that year, which was the highest it had been since the onset of the pandemic. This jump in sales was partly due to light truck retail sales, which exceeded their pre-pandemic level in 2023.

In 2024, the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) shipped over 2.45 million autos worldwide. BMW's major brands include BMW (automobiles and motorcycles), MINI, and Rolls Royce. BMW in the international market Headquartered in Munich, the German brand consistently ranked among the leading automotive manufacturers. As of June 2024, the BMW marque was the third most valuable automotive brand, right above its main competitor, Mercedes-Benz. BMW reports factories across the globe, including in the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, and China. The latter is becoming BMW's most important market: just under 30 percent of vehicle sales in 2024 were recorded in China. BMW also ranked second among the best-perceived car brands in the United States. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The luxury car market that BMW is a part of had been steadily increasing until 2019, reaching around 579 billion euros in 2024. This year-over-year drop in the market is also visible in BMW’s worldwide shipments, which declined by four percent year-over-year in 2024. BMW’s 2024 revenue, some 142.4 billion euros, reflected the impact of this change in the luxury market. BMW was the second leading luxury car brand in the U.S. in 2023, followed closely by Lexus, one of its main competitors in the sector.

In 2023, some 94 million motor vehicles were produced worldwide. This figure translates into an increase of around 10 percent compared with the previous year. China, Japan, and Germany were among the largest producers of cars and commercial vehicles.

China leads production

China is ranked as the largest passenger car manufacturer in the world, having produced more than 26 million cars in 2023, and accounting for almost one third of the world’s passenger vehicle production. Over the past decades, China has emerged as one of the main growth markets for players in the global automobile industry.

American manufacturers in China

One of China’s largest car manufacturing companies is the joint venture between General Motors and SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, known as Shanghai General Motors Company Ltd or simply Shanghai GM. GM produces and sells passenger vehicles under the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, among others. Aside from manufacturing cars, the company also produces engines and transmission systems. Shanghai GM’s production amounted to a little over 1.3 million units in 2021.

How many Tesla vehicles were delivered in 2025? Tesla's vehicle deliveries in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to around 336,700 units. Quarterly deliveries decreased by around 32.1 percent during the first quarter of 2025, compared with the fourth quarter of 2024. Between October and December 2024, deliveries crossed the 495,500 unit threshold, a new record for the brand. World's most valuable brand As of March 2025, Tesla was the most valuable brand within the global automotive sector. The brand was over double the brand value of Toyota, which was second in the ranking. April 2025 also recorded Tesla among the ten leading companies in the S&P 500 Index based on market capitalization, with a market cap around 798.1 billion U.S. dollars. Tesla enters the mainstream segment The initial rise in Tesla's market value was largely due to the release of its top-selling Model 3. The Model 3 was Tesla’s successful attempt to tap into the mainstream segment. By 2024, this Model consistently ranked among the world’s best-selling all-electric vehicle models, along with the bestseller Model Y. The Model 3 faces tough competition from other Tesla models, including the Model Y and the refreshed Model S Plaid.

Being one of the largest automotive sectors, India had over 326 million registered vehicles as of financial year 2020. It was the largest producer of two-wheelers across the globe in 2023. The market within the country was also dominated by this segment. In financial year 2024, over 17.97 million units of two-wheelers were sold domestically across the south Asian country. A decline in the sales volume of two-wheelers has been witnessed between 2020 and 2022. Hero MotoCorpHero MotoCorp had the maximum share in the two-wheeler segment in India. The company was the worldwide leader in two-wheeler manufacturing. The company has taken up the initiative of manufacturing electric scooters and bikes. To reduce the high battery costs that create a significant cost difference between the petrol and the battery variants, the Indian government has introduced the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) in 2022 to inventivize batery manufacturing. Two-wheeler market outlookThe Indian government has set a target to electrify a major proportion of the two-wheelers within the nation. However, the manufacturers have encouraged the government to adopt more ‘realistic’ expectations, as the former’s scheme would mean the electrification of over two million vehicles. With the two-wheeler industry estimated to grow at over nine percent in the next few years, more investments in the clean energy sector could pave a way for the domestic market.

Sales of used light vehicles in the United States came to around **** million units in 2024. In the same period, approximately **** million new light trucks and automobiles were sold here. Declining availability of vehicles In the fourth quarter of 2024, about ***** million vehicles were in operation in the United States, an increase of around *** percent year-over-year. The rising demand for vehicles paired with an overall price inflation lead to a rise in new vehicle prices. In contrast, used vehicle prices slightly decreased. E-commerce: a solution for the bumpy road ahead? Financial reports have revealed how the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has triggered a shift in vehicle-buying behavior. With many consumer goods and services now bought online due to COVID-19, the automobile industry has also started to digitally integrate its services online to reach consumers with a preference for contactless test driving amid the global crisis. Several dealers and automobile companies had already begun to tap into online car sales before the pandemic, some of them being Carvana and Tesla.

Strong growth in developing economies, like the BRICS and ASEAN member nations, has driven revenue for global car dealers despite slowdowns in established economies, like North America and Europe. Developed economies focus largely on value-added car purchases, while emerging markets focus primarily on volume. The transition to SUVs and crossovers with more safety and entertainment features has driven growth; in particular, these models' surging adoption rates have created numerous growth opportunities in developing economies. Even so, climbing interest rates across most key markets and faltering global consumer sentiment have somewhat constrained post-pandemic growth. Overall, revenue has expanded at an expected CAGR of 0.7% to $4.4 trillion through the current period, including a 2.1% jump in 2024, where profit reached 2.3%. Supply chain disruptions made new cars significantly more expensive, increasing inventory costs. Similarly, semiconductor and electronic component shortages reduced supply, leaving dealers with limited inventories. Even so, dealers were largely able to leverage torrid demand and pass added costs onto buyers, creating opportunities for revenue and profit growth. Volatile oil supply chains amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict also contributed to swelling demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Companies have also integrated online services to make the car-buying process simpler and more accessible, enabling them to combat heightened competition and access a wider network of buyers. The penetration of online platforms has transformed the car sales landscape, favoring larger dealership franchises over independent companies. Car dealers will continue to contend with substitutes, even as economic conditions improve and consumer sentiment rebounds through the outlook period. Government incentives and upstream innovations will also spur demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, generating strong per-unit revenue from dealers. Even so, slowing EV adoption rates in North America may dampen this segment's growth potential. Consumer preferences will also continue to trend toward online vehicle shopping, which provides convenience and efficiency to busy consumers, creating greater competition with various online dealers. Overall, revenue will climb at an expected CAGR of 2.5% to $4.9 trillion through the outlook period, where profit will reach 2.3%.

In 2022, around **** million motor vehicles were sold in the United Kingdom, down from its peak at around *** million units in 2016. This figure represents a decrease of *** percent year-on-year. Sales recovery does not match 2019 levels In 2022, the UK overtook France as the second-largest car market in Europe, a position it had lost since 2019. New passenger car registrations had grown in the country in 2023, up to the highest volume recorded since their dramatic drop in 2020. However, amid Brexit, the automotive semiconductor shortage, raw material price inflation, and an overall cost of living crisis, the UK's automotive industry has faced various challenges and has yet to reach its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level. The impact of inflation on car purchases The United Kingdom recorded its highest inflation rate since the 1990s in 2022, a situation which marginally improved in 2023. New cars were particularly impacted by the inflation, with their consumer price index being at its highest in the past 15 years in 2023. Despite the inflating prices, car purchasing intentions remained relatively stable based on surveys ending in September 2023 and September 2024, with around **** of UK residents reporting their intention of buying a car in the 12 months following the survey. This is, however, a positive development compared to purchase intentions reported in that same survey ending in September 2022.

Volkswagen delivered around **** million motor vehicles worldwide in 2024, down *** percent from nearly **** million in 2023. Volkswagen is the world's second-largest motor vehicle manufacturer after losing its first spot to Toyota in 2020. Changes in VW's lineup Amid shifts in consumer preference, Volkswagen continues to change its lineup towards electric vehicles and sport utility vehicles (SUV). VW continues to push the Tiguan model to become the company's best-selling sport utility vehicle (SUV) and has released new battery-electric vehicle models. Despite these efforts to electrify its vehices on offer, Volkswagen recorded a decrease in battery-electric vehicle sales worldwide by some *** percent year-over-year in 2024. Pandemic puts a halt to ride-hailing services Volkswagen is also investing in ride-hailing services. The company's aims to be a major player in this new market segment are ambitious as they pin themselves against powerful rivals. One of the most notable products in the mobility segment from Volkswagen is all-electric ride-sharing provider, Moia, launched in Hamburg in 2019. Moia already enters competition with the public transport providers that run similar services. Demand was waning amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe and Moia's services were put on halt in December 2020, before eventually reopening. The ride-hailing market is predicted to reach around ***** billion U.S. dollars by 2029.

In the financial year 2025, Tata Motors dominated the domestic commercial vehicle market across India with a share of around ***percent. In 2024, the company had an overall revenue of around 4.4 trillion Indian rupees. Commercial vehicle sales had been on an inline across the south Asian country for a few years. From mid-2019, however, the automotive industry’s slowdown has affected the sales and production alike. BS VI standardsThe Bharat stage emission standards (BSES) are emission standards that the Indian government regulates to keep the output of air pollutants from combustion and spark ignition engines in check. The Central Pollution Control Board determines the limits and time of implementation of these standards. From April 2020, BS VI norms were estimated to be implemented across the country, as a replacement to the existing BS III standards that were implemented in October 2010. The emission limits for light and heavy commercial vehicles were estimated to be 0.63 and 1.5 grams per kilometer respectively. New modelsCommercial vehicle manufacturers revealed new models complying with the BS VI standards to reinstate a growth in sales volumes. Tata Motors, the leading manufacturer, announced a product offensive for 2020. Similarly, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles also announced a ‘Smart Trucks’ initiative to gain a competitive edge. The emission standards have affected the commercial vehicles market significantly. Manufacturers not only aimed for cleaner vehicles but redesigned their vehicles and vamped up the entire product line, making the outlook for the industry presumably very positive.

Light truck retail sales in the United States increased to 12.9 million units in 2024. This was a year-over-year increase in sales of some 3.94 percent compared to 2023. In contrast, 2022 was the second drop in sales in a decade, after the drop reported in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales had been increasing since 2010, when the auto industry began recovering from low vehicle purchases after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In 2024, sales of light trucks accounted for about 81.2 percent of the approximately 15.9 million light vehicles sold in the United States. Ford, with its signature truck, the Ford F-150, was one of the leading North American car brands in the United States. Why are consumers buying trucks now? Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, the U.S. economy had largely recovered from the woes of the financial crisis and unemployment in the United States fell to 3.7 percent in 2019. This meant that consumers were better able to purchase new vehicles. Similarly, due to lower gasoline and diesel fuel prices, motorists were more willing to buy trucks over smaller, more fuel-efficient sedans. 2022 presented a challenge for this automotive market, with Russia's war on Ukraine leading to motor fuel price inflation and to higher new and used car prices.

In 2024, BMW Group’s global revenue stood at around ***** billion euros. The German vehicle manufacturer sells vehicles under the BMW, Rolls-Royce, and MINI brands and was among the leading luxury car brands worldwide in 2024. Following the financial disaster of 2008-2009, BMW recovered rather quickly, surpassing pre-crash revenue and EBIT by 2010. The fiscal year end of the company is December, 31st. BMW in the United States BMW is currently the third best-selling European automotive brand in the United States, with quarterly sales reaching nearly ******* units in the fourth quarter of 2023. The MINI brand, however, struggles to sell in the U.S. but MINI Cooper has done well to stay in the U.S. market, which is in part due to the Countryman model that accounted for **** percent of Mini’s U.S. sales in 2018. Electrification BMW has announced ambitious plans for electric vehicle deliveries to make up **** of its total deliveries by 2030. If successful, this should increase the company’s electric passenger car market share in Europe that currently stands at *** percent. Full electrification awaits the company’s MINI brand, and the company may even have ambitious ideas for fully electric, high-performance sports cars and motorbikes. The global electric fleet-size is expected to grow by over ******** to ***** million vehicles in 2029.

Volkswagen Group’s revenue grew in the 2024 fiscal year, up to ***** billion euros. A year earlier, the carmaker's revenue also secured VW a spot in the ranking of the wealthiest companies worldwide. The fiscal year end of the company is December, 31st. Key brand  The Volkswagen Passenger Cars division represented the largest contributor to the company’s revenue with a revenue share of about **** percent in 2024. The flagship brand mainly has hatchbacks, convertibles, and sedans, as well as an array of minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in its product line-up. Key market Asia-Pacific has emerged as one of Volkswagen Group's largest target market. Consumers in China and Hong Kong buy almost *** times as many Volkswagen-badged cars as car shoppers in the United States. Volkswagen and fellow German car brands had a **** percent share of the Chinese market in 2021. Volkswagen AG (Aktiengesellschaft or joint-stock company) is listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

When asked about "Propulsion systems in consideration by type", most UK respondents pick "Gasoline" as an answer. 47 percent did so in our online survey in 2025.