Carmakers Grossed Over $20 Trillion in the Past Decade, more than China`s GDP

Rising costs, high interest rates, slow consumer spending, and supply chain disruptions have made 2024 another challenging year for the global automotive industry. But despite the fourth year of hardship, carmakers have still managed to generate impressive revenue over the past decade.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, carmakers worldwide have grossed over $20 trillion since 2014 or more than China`s GDP.

SUVs Top in Sales with $9.2 Trillin in 10-Year Revenue

Many of the world’s largest carmakers saw their earnings plunge in the first quarter of the year. Rising costs and slow consumer spending have caused Volkswagen Group’s operating profit to drop by 20% year-over-year. Mercedes-Benz also reported falling profits due to model changes and supply chain issues, while Stellantis missed earnings expectations because of a poor product mix. The discouraging first-quarter results reflect the modest industry outlook for the year.

According to Statista Market Insights, global car sales are expected to rise by only 3.6% to 70.4 million units, with revenue remaining below pre-pandemic levels at $2.06 trillion.  While industry figures in the past four years have been far from those reported in 2017 or 2018, carmakers have still managed to gross impressive revenue over the past decade.

Since 2014, global car sales have generated over $22 trillion in revenue, or more than the GDP of the world’s second-largest economy, China. Nearly half of that value, or $9.2 trillion, came from SUV sales, the number one choice among drivers. Medium and large cars brought in almost $6 trillion in combined sales revenue as the second and third most-sold vehicle categories. On the other hand, luxury cars had the smallest share in the automotive industry’s ten-year revenue. Between 2014 and 2024, global luxury car sales generated $228 billion, or only 1% of the market’s total.  Minicars and sports cars were also among the less-sold vehicles, with $481 billion and $726 billion in ten-year revenue, respectively.

Anylzed by geography, more than half of total car sales revenue in the past ten years came from the United States and China. The US market has grossed $6.3 trillion from car sales since 2014. China and Europe follow with $5.2 trillion and $4.8 trillion in revenue, respectively.

Over 803 Million Cars Sold in the Past Decade, Every Fourth in China

The Statista survey also revealed more than 803 new cars have been shipped worldwide in the past decade. Every fourth new vehicle was bought in China, which hit over 220 million in total shipments, more than the United States or Europe. The US drivers bought roughly 173 million new cars since 2014, or four million more than Europeans.

Analyzed by type of car, SUVs made up more than one-third of total shipments, with 283 million sold units in the past decade. Medium and large cars followed, with 156.1 million and 80 million in total ten-year shipments, respectively.