The latest Automotive World Datablast contains a wealth of information on light vehicle production by region, country, vehicle company and models. This commentary provides a summary of the global data and detailed commentary on North American data. In the next quarter we will look at trends in Europe, followed in six months’ time with a review of Asia, before returning to the cycle, as last time, with a global commentary.
Global light vehicle (LV) production in 2023 was just under 78.12 million (slightly revised down from last time) and is now projected to fall by 1.8% to just under 76.7 million in 2024. LV production is still recovering post-COVID and after the supply chain distribution following the chip crisis; in addition, production this year has been hit by the slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, the cost-of-living pressures on consumers and delays in new product launches in Europe, as well as a general decline across much of Asia. These will all contribute to the continued delay in the recovery to pre-COVID volumes, which may not be reached until the end of the decade, if at all in the near future.
