International automotive markets: Europe, USA and China up slightly

According to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), sales on the international automotive markets varied from region to region in the months from January to September inclusive. In Europe, new registrations rose only slightly in a difficult environment. In the USA, light vehicle sales also showed only a slight increase. In both markets, the sales volumes from 2019 were nowhere near reached. In China, passenger car sales in the year to date were slightly higher than in the previous year. In Japan, significant declines had to be accepted; in India, passenger car sales are growing at a single-digit rate, in Brazil at a clear double-digit rate.

In the European passenger car market, 9.8 million new cars were registered in the months from January to September, almost 1% more than in the same period last year. The pre-crisis level is still a long way off, with the first nine months of this year showing a decline of 19% compared to 2019. The five largest individual markets showed different dynamics in the first three quarters of this year. While sales increased in Spain (+5%), the United Kingdom (+4%) and Italy (+2%), slight declines were recorded in Germany (-1%) and France (-2%). In September, 1.1 million cars were sold on the European market, four percent fewer than in September of the previous year.

In China, the passenger car market developed slightly positively in the first nine months of the current year. A total of 15.6 million passenger cars were sold, two percent more than in the same period last year. In September, sales also rose by two percent to 2.1 million passenger cars. Unlike Europe and the USA, China is therefore above the pre-crisis level of 2019 and has exceeded registrations in the first three quarters of 2019 by 14% in the current year.
The US light vehicle market (passenger cars and light trucks) grew by one percent to 11.7 million vehicles in the first three quarters of the year compared to the first nine months of the previous year. However, the gap to the pre-crisis level remains: compared to the first three quarters of 2019, the market is currently still eight percent below this level. In September, 1.2 million vehicles were sold, 13% fewer than in the same month last year. A calendar effect had a significant negative impact on sales: The high-selling Labor Day weekend fell partly in August this year, whereas last year it was in September.

Sales on the Indian passenger car market have grown in the current year. Up to and including September, 3.2 million passenger cars were sold in India, four percent more than in the same period last year. Last month, 315,700 brand new passenger cars were sold, bringing the market in line with the previous year (±0 percent).

Light vehicle sales in Mexico rose by eleven percent to 1.1 million vehicles in the first three quarters of the year. In September, the market volume fell by one percent year-on-year to 116,400 light vehicles.

In the Japanese passenger car market, 2.8 million vehicles were sold in the period from January to September.
2.8 million vehicles were sold in the period from January to September, eight percent fewer than in the same period in 2023. The market performed slightly better in September: with
366,200 passenger cars sold, the market volume was one percent above the previous year's figure.

The Brazilian light vehicle market (passenger cars and light duty) recorded significant growth in the first three quarters of the year. Sales were 14% higher than in the previous year, with a total of 1.8 million new light vehicle registrations. In September, the growth momentum was above average: 222,900 newly registered light vehicles represented an increase of 19 percent compared to the same period last year. (aum)