This data package includes the underlying data files to replicate the data and charts presented in Industrial policy for electric vehicle supply chains and the US-EU fight over the Inflation Reduction Act, PIIE Working Paper 23-1.

If you use the data, please cite as: Bown, Chad P. (2023). Industrial policy for electric vehicle supply chains and the US-EU fight over the Inflation Reduction Act, PIIE Working Paper 23-1. Peterson Institute for International Economics.

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.

Car loan interest rates in the United States decreased since mid-2024. Thus, the period of rapidly rising interest rates, when they increased from 3.85 percent in December 2021 to 7.92 percent in June 2024, has come to an end. The Federal Reserve interest rate is one of the main causes of the interest rates of loans rising or falling. If inflation stays under control, the Federal Reserve will start cutting the interest rates, which would have the effect of the cost of car loans falling too. How many cars have financing in the United States? Car financing exists because not everyone who wants or needs a car can purchase it outright. A financial institution will then lend the money to the customer for purchasing the car, which must then be repaid with interest. Most new vehicles in the United States in 2024 were purchased using car loans. It is not as common to use car loans for purchasing used vehicles as for new ones, although over a third of used vehicles were purchased using loans. The car industry in the United States The car financing business is huge in the United States, due to the high sales of both new and used vehicles in the country. A lot of the United States is very car-centric, which means that, outside large cities, it can often be difficult to do their daily commutes through other transportation methods. In fact, only a small percentage of U.S. workers used public transport to go to work. That is one of the factors that has helped establish the importance of the automotive sector in North America. Nevertheless, there are still countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe with higher car-ownership rates than the United States.

(CDID: CBWZ) Year - Consumer price inflation time series Time series data for public sector finances and important fiscal aggregates, based on the new European System of Accounts 2010: ESA10 framework.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act may reshape the U.S. EV market by eliminating the $7,500 tax credit, potentially affecting sales and production strategies of major automakers.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in India from 1987 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. The inflation rate is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket. This product basket contains products and services, on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. In 2024, the inflation rate in India was around 4.67 percent compared to the previous year. See figures on India's economic growth for additional information. India's inflation rate and economy Inflation is generally defined as the increase of prices of goods and services over a certain period of time, as opposed to deflation, which describes a decrease of these prices. Inflation is a significant economic indicator for a country. The inflation rate is the rate at which the general rise in the level of prices, goods and services in an economy occurs and how it affects the cost of living of those living in a particular country. It influences the interest rates paid on savings and mortgage rates but also has a bearing on levels of state pensions and benefits received. A 4 percent increase in the rate of inflation in 2011 for example would mean an individual would need to spend 4 percent more on the goods he was purchasing than he would have done in 2010. India’s inflation rate has been on the rise over the last decade. However, it has been decreasing slightly since 2010. India’s economy, however, has been doing quite well, with its GDP increasing steadily for years, and its national debt decreasing. The budget balance in relation to GDP is not looking too good, with the state deficit amounting to more than 9 percent of GDP.

The Toyota RAV4 was the best-selling Sport utility vehicle in the United States, with some ******* vehicles sold until December 2024. Toyota was the also leading brand for passenger cars during this period, with the Toyota Camry recording around ******* sales. Customer preferences The total number of autos sold in the United States seems to have reached a plateau in 2018. The recent decline in the number of new cars sold in the United States can be indicative of shifting consumer interests towards light trucks, as well as of the impact of the price inflation and supply chain disruptions on new vehicle demand. Some **** million autos and **** million light trucks were sold in the United States in 2023. The Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in the United States, accounted for *** in ***** vehicles sold under the Toyota brand in the United States in 2019. Toyota's annual U.S. sales tally came to around *** million units five years later. About the U.S. auto industry The U.S. automotive industry is unique in a way that much of the U.S. population relies on motor vehicles as a primary mode of transportation. Government subsidies and taxes make the automotive industry in the U.S. much more accessible than in other markets. General Motors is the largest manufacturer in the United States.

Car manufacturing is one of the core industries of the German economy. Prices for new cars fluctuated somewhat during the specified time period, but generally grew. Most recently a new car cost ****** euros on average. Global reputation Germany is home to some of the most recognized and purchased automobile brands in the world. These brands are sold internationally and have enjoyed long-standing success. Based on new car registration figures, Volkswagen had the highest market share compared to other names. Mercedes and Audi made up the top three. Volkswagen also bought other car brands in recent years, among them Porsche. The leading car models among German new car buyers were from Volkswagen. Consumers particularly favored the VW Golf, the VW T-Roc and the VW Tiguan. New car market future In 2023, the most new passenger cars registered in Germany by far were produced domestically. Other leading production countries included Japan and South Korea, and Czechia in the European Union. The industry is still recovering from the effects of halted production during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as facing challenges due to the energy and supply crisis following the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.

In terms of monthly light vehicle sales in the United States, Toyota was the top brand in December 2023 with Ford and Chevrolet in second and third place. Customers in the U.S. bought nearly ******* Toyota-badged vehicles in December 2023. What was the effect of the pandemic on sales? U.S. vehicle sales tanked in March 2020 but bounced back soon thereafter. Due to the global chip shortage, sales fell again through 2021 and 2022. U.S. auto dealers sold around **** million light vehicles in December 2022, an increase of **** percent year-on-year. These figures can be seen as a consequence of the dwindling supply while automakers halted manufacturing due to a lack of semiconductors for vehicle production. Raw material price inflation and the cost of living crisis recorded in 2022 had also impacted the supply and demand for new vehicles. Pre-crisis plateau Slightly under **** million light vehicles were sold to U.S. auto dealers in 2020. Retail sales are estimated to have slowly recovered in 2021, falling short of the ** million mark. New sales of light vehicles remained relatively flat between 2017 and 2019 albeit on a high level. 2019 car and light truck retail sales of just under ** million units put the industry’s new light retail sales figures *** percent lower in 2019 than in 2018. It was particularly passenger cars that did not move off the shelves easily, as light truck sales reached a peak in 2019. Passenger cars now only represented less than one-third of all light vehicle sales in the U.S. While the market recovered through 2023, passenger cars remained the less popular alternative to the larger light trucks for U.S. consumers.

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.

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.