In 2020, following the corona virus pandemic, the new forecasts for passenger car sales in Saudi Arabia was approximately *** thousand units. The forecasts of passenger car sales for that year previous to the pandemic was about *** thousand units.

Out of 575 survey participants in the U.S. who delayed purchasing a new vehicle during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, nearly half of the participants claimed that they would feel comfortable buying a vehicle from a dealership within ** days of the restrictions being lifted. Only ***** percent of respondents said that they would wait at least six months after restrictions have been lifted. Restrictions in the U.S. Like many countries worldwide, measures to slow down and control the spread of COVID-19 on a national scale were implemented across several U.S. states. Such measures included the temporary closure of schools, bars, restaurants, and movie theaters, along with the cancellation or postponement of several large public events. While online activity in the U.S. has steadily increased during the pandemic, e-tailers in the automotive industry are predicting a decrease in sales: projected auto sales growth for 2020 in the U.S. are anticipated to be **** percent below the level *** year earlier. Post-lockdown behavior Respondents in this survey were also asked whether they would feel comfortable performing other activities after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. A total of ** percent of respondents stated that they were comfortable buying a vehicle from a dealership within a month of restrictions being lifted, ** percent claimed that they would feel comfortable returning to work, ** percent would dine in at a restaurant, and only ** percent would travel via airplane.

As of October 2020, North American auto demand was around 2.5 million units below 2019 levels. In terms of production in North America's largest market, output in the U.S. automotive industry was roughly 4,300 units in April 2020. U.S. plants reopened after a nine-week shutdown amid the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

In 2020, following the corona virus pandemic, the vehicle industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region had a decrease in its revenue from one time car sales of **** percent compared to 2019. In that year, remote test drives were being introduced to encourage car sales.

Worldwide car sales grew to around ** million automobiles in 2024, up from around **** million units in 2023. Throughout 2020 and 2021, the sector experienced a downward trend on the back of a slowing global economy, while COVID-19 and the Russian war on Ukraine contributed to shortages in the automotive semiconductor industry and further supply chain disruptions in 2022. Despite these challenges, 2023 and 2024 sales surpassed pre-pandemic levels and are forecast to keep rising through 2025. Covid-19 hits car demand It had been estimated pre-pandemic that international car sales were on track to reach ** million. While 2023 sales are still far away from that goal, this was the first year were car sales exceeded pre-pandemic values. The automotive market faced various challenges in 2023, including supply shortages, automotive layoffs, and strikes in North America. However, despite these hurdles, the North American market was among the fastest-growing regions in 2024, along with Eastern Europe and Asia, as auto sales in these regions increased year-on-year. Chinese market recovers After years of double-digit growth, China's economy began to lose steam in 2022, and recovery has been slow through 2023. China was the largest automobile market based on sales with around **** million units in 2023. However, monthly car sales in China were in free-fall in April 2022 partly due to shortages, fears over a looming recession, and the country grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. By June of that same year, monthly sales in China were closer to those recorded in 2021.

As the e-commerce industry becomes a prominent platform for converting sales globally amid the Covid-19 pandemic, attitudes toward buying a car online remain considerably hesitant, according to a survey conducted by Capgemini in May 2020. Respondents from the UK, at ** percent, proved less likely to buy their future cars online from an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or dealership, while respondents from India (** percent) and China (** percent) claimed they would buy their car online in the future. It is clear from these statistics that some reluctance toward purchasing cars online in the future still remains.

In 2020, motor vehicle sales dropped worldwide, following mobility restrictions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Latin American countries were also impacted, although in different levels. In the region's largest vehicle markets, namely Brazil and Mexico, sales decreased by **** and **** percent, respectively, when compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, in Ecuador and Costa Rica, sales of light and heavy motor vehicles declined by more than ** percent. In contrast, in Uruguay, motor vehicles sales registered a year-over-year drop of ** percent.

The U.S. auto industry sold nearly ************* cars in 2024. That year, total car and light truck sales were approximately ************ in the United States. U.S. vehicle sales peaked in 2016 at roughly ************ units. Pandemic impact The COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted the U.S. automotive market, accelerating the global automotive semiconductor shortage and leading to a drop in demand during the first months of 2020. However, as demand rebounded, new vehicle supply could not keep up with the market. U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio dropped to its lowest point in February 2022, as Russia's war on Ukraine lead to gasoline price hikes. During that same period, inflation also impacted new and used car prices, pricing many U.S. consumers out of a market with increasingly lower car stocks. Focus on fuel economy The U.S. auto industry had one of its worst years in 1982 when customers were beginning to feel the effects of the 1973 oil crisis and the energy crisis of 1979. Since light trucks would often be considered less fuel-efficient, cars accounted for about ** percent of light vehicle sales back then. Thanks to improved fuel economy for light trucks and cheaper gas prices, this picture had completely changed in 2020. That year, prices for Brent oil dropped to just over ** U.S. dollars per barrel. The decline occurred in tandem with lower gasoline prices, which came to about **** U.S. dollars per gallon in 2020 - and cars only accounted for less than one-fourth of light vehicle sales that year. Four years on, prices are dropping again, after being the highest on record since 1990 in 2022.

The global auto industry is anticipated to be affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 in all major markets. In a worst-case scenario, the industry's gross value added could be down 10.6 percent in 2020.

With online sales representing a core element in the recovery of car sales and customer conversion during the Covid-19 pandemic, contactless interaction between consumer and dealer has become a key topic of discussion. A Capgemini survey revealed differences in consumer preferences between the U.S., the UK, and Germany. While approximately ************** of U.S. respondents consider a contactless test-drive vehicle delivery service vital, the response from UK and German respondents was less conclusive. A total of ** percent of UK respondents and ** percent of German respondents believe this service would be important for them when it comes to purchasing a vehicle online.

In 2020, following the corona virus pandemic, the vehicle industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region had a revenue of about **** billion U.S. dollars from the downstream services of one time car sales. Revenue from car sales in the region saw a **** percent year on year decrease compared to 2019.

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.

COVID-19 redirected consumer intentions in the mobility sector. The effects are different across countries. In Germany and the United States, a slight drop in car purchase intentions as of August 2020 was recorded. In China, however, the change in consumers intending to purchase a new vehicle post-COVID rather than pre-COVID went up by seven percent. It is likely that the pandemic has put some people off public transport and are attracted to the personal space of an owned vehicle. Consumers who are now less likely to buy a new car may be put off for financial reasons. During national lockdowns in 2020, vehicle purchase plummeted. Economic standstill and lay-offs kept car sales low for the year overall.

Between 2019 and 2024, the largest segment of MAN SE in terms of unit sales was the vans segment. In 2024, the company sold nearly ****** vans. The sharp period of decline in vehicle sales during 2020 was in the midst of both the COVID-19 pandemic and global semiconductor shortages. It was not only MAN that suffered such losses as the number of cars sold worldwide suffered a decline during that same period.

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.

At about 23.56 million units, China remained the largest market for passenger car sales in 2022. According to the source, passenger cars are motor vehicles with at least four wheels, used for the transport of passengers, and comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat. Hence, the figures do not include light trucks.

Pandemic causes sales slump across all markets

Worldwide, passenger car sales have been slowly increasing. Car sales started falling dramatically during the 2008-2009 economic crisis and re-entered a sales slump at the end of 2018. Sales slumped in 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and related measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. However, despite the impact of the semiconductor chip shortage on vehicle production, global car sales have slowly increased in 2021 and 2022. This growth is however still behind the sales volume recorded in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic. Spotlight on the largest markets
In Europe, about 75 percent of new passenger car registrations occur in the largest markets, which include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Despite a slowdown in demand in 2020, China has seen the largest increases in passenger vehicle sales between 2005 and 2020, growing from 3.97 million units to some 20 million units. During this time period, leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like General Motors or Volkswagen enjoyed rising sales trends not just in China, but across all Asian markets. China, Japan, Germany, India, and the United States are ranked among the world’s largest car markets. These countries are home to many of the major motor vehicle manufacturers, including theworld’s largest automakers in 2022.

In December 2023, approximately *** million passenger cars and ******* commercial vehicles were sold in China, an increase compared to the previous month. Automobile demand in China China is home to the world’s largest market for automobile sales. Despite the recent decline in passenger car sales in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, the market bounced back and in 2023, the sales exceeded ** million units, making it the highest figure in the past years. Chinese car manufacturers China’s automobile market used to be dominated by international car manufacturers until recently. In 2021, Chinese manufactured vehicles had a market share of about **** percent in the Chinese vehicle market, followed by German vehicles and Japanese vehicles. The leading passenger car manufacturer is FAW-Volkswagen, which reported sales of about *** million vehicles in the same period.

In 2020, due to the situation caused by the global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), most car parts distributors in Poland feel uncertain about the future. Half of the distributors expected a significant drop in sales of car parts, and 33 percent of them expect a very large drop in sales.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Used car dealers in the United States had a market size of ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2021. While the industry value dipped at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, used car sales quickly recovered, with used car dealers' market value hiking above its pre-pandemic levels. The used car market boom The used car market has been gaining steam since 2017 when the volume of used light vehicles sold hiked by just under ** percent year-over-year to **** million sales. By 2021, around **** million used light vehicles were sold in the U.S, representing just under ** percent of the total light vehicle sales in the country. While sales increased, the average used vehicle selling price also inflated—up ** percent year-over-year in 2021—with vans, sport-utility vehicles, and crossover utility vehicles recording the steepest price increase. The semiconductor shortage, forcing halts in new vehicle production, is partly responsible for this boom in the used car market. Most used vehicle retail inventory in June 2022 was priced above ****** U.S. dollars, making the used car market increasingly inaccessible to consumers. Light trucks at the forefront of sales U.S. consumer satisfaction with their overall shopping experience dropped in 2021, with used car buyers reporting a satisfaction rate of ** percent, compared to ** percent in 2020. While 2021 satisfaction is higher than in 2019, this denotes the impact of higher prices on customers. Most consumers opted for used light trucks instead of used automobiles. The net purchase of used light trucks spiked in the third quarter of 2019, reaching ***** billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter of 2022, while auto sales had a net purchase value of ** billion U.S. dollars that same quarter. The Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and Ram Pickup 1500 were the 2016 to 2020 MY models with the largest share of used car sales in the U.S. Ford was also the third best-selling manufacturer for new vehicles in the U.S.

From 2016 to 2022, vehicle sales generally increased. Sales grew from ***** thousand units in 2016 to *** thousand units in 2019. In 2020, vehicle sales fell to *** thousand units, but was followed by a period of significant growth between 2021 and 2023, with ***** and ***** thousand units sold.

The brief period of decline in total vehicle sales was in the midst of both the COVID-19 pandemic and global semiconductor shortages. It was not only the Traton Group that suffered such losses as the number of cars sold worldwide suffered a decline during that same period.