The latest Automotive World datablast is now available. The key takeaway is that global light vehicle production in 2024 reached a provisional total of 79.22 million, almost unchanged on 2023’s 79.19 million units. An overall fall of 1.8% had been expected to 76.7 million when we last reported. However, Asia and Europe turned in more or less stable figures when they had been expected to fall by 3.8% and 1.4%, respectively. North America had been expected to grow by 3.3% but in the end only grew by 1.8%. Annual global production pre-COVID was heading towards 100 million units but now remains at a much lower level. Economic pressure on consumers, geopolitical issues and continued supply chain problems (especially in the electric vehicles (EV) sector which is growing more slowly than expected, or wanted, by European governments) combine to keep production levels much lower than expected by now.
Ian Henry looks at the latest production figures for the world’s leading manufacturers, with a specific focus on development in Europe
