Global Car Sales to Hit 70.4 Million Units in 2024, Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

The automotive industry faces another challenging year in 2024, weighed down by rising costs, supply chain disruptions, high interest rates, and slow consumer spending. As a result, global car sales will remain below the levels seen five years ago.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, although global car sales are expected to increase by 3.6% year-over-year and hit 70.4 million units in 2024, that is still below pre-pandemic levels.

Car Industry Will Not Reach Pre-Pandemic Sales Before 2027

The global car industry has had a rough four years, with multiple factors contributing to low stock and high prices. Although vehicle availability has steadily improved after years of shortages, enabling more drivers to find a ride to suit them, rising interest rates and car production costs have made buying a new car even more expensive than before, which continues to affect new car shipments.

According to a Statista survey, global car sales hit 82.3 million units in 2018, a slight drop from an all-time high of over 85 million in 2016 and 2017. But a year later, this figure dropped by 10 million and continued falling in the pandemic years. Statistics show that in 2020, car producers shipped 56.5 million new vehicles across the globe, or 25 million less than before the COVID-19 hit.

Over the next two years, total shipments floated around 61 million before rising to nearly 68 million in 2023. Although total shipments are forecasted to increase by 3.6% and hit 70.5 million in 2024, that is still 2 million units less than in 2019. Moreover, according to Statista’s forecast, global car sales will not reach pre-pandemic levels before 2027, which is expected to see 73 million new vehicles.

Although new car prices are stable, they remain close to record highs. Over the past five years, the average cost of a new car has jumped by more than 20%, rising from roughly $40,000 in 2019 to almost $48,000 this year. This considerable increase has helped the automotive industry to continue grossing the same revenue as five years ago despite the shipment drop.

According to Statista, carmakers worldwide will gross $1.98 trillion this year, $23 billion more than in 2019 and 5% more than last year. SUVs will make over 40% of that value, with $842 billion in total sales.  In 2025, global car sales revenue will jump over $2 trillion for the first time and continue rising to $2.08 trillion by 2028.

Toyota, Ford, and Volkswagen AG Will Make One-Fifth of Total Sales in 2024

The Statista data also showed Toyota remains the leading automaker globally, with a 9.9% market share in 2024. Ford, expected to hit a 7.55% market share this year, overtook the second position from Volkswagen AG, which now stands in third place with a 6.7% share. Nissan and Honda follow, with 6.3% and 5%, respectively. Statistics show that the top three car producers will make one-fifth of the total car sales this year.