Global automobile production increased by almost 10% in 2023
- 说明
Global automobile production increased by almost 10% in 2023
- While the global vehicle market (PC+UV = passenger cars, light and heavy utility vehicles) increased by almost 13% in 2023 compared to 2022, catching up partially the sales missed in 2020-2021-2022. The global volume production of light vehicles increased by almost 10%.
- This observation indicates that the year 2023 was a period of destocking (more sales than production) after a year 2022 which had been marked by massive restocking after two years of destocking (2020-2021) due to the COVID crisis followed by the semiconductor crisis, which had disrupted the activity of automobile factories.
- The volume of PC+UV production has thus exceeded the 90 million mark in 2023, after having plunged to less than 80 million units in 2020, but we are still far from the figures recorded in 2017 and 2018, which were close to 100 million.
- The main producing countries remain China (33% of world automobile production), Europe 29 countries (16% of world production), the United States (12% of world production) and Japan (10% of world production). Seven out of ten vehicles leave an assembly plant in these countries.
- Behind, we note the presence of India (6% of world production) ahead of South Korea (5% of world production), Mexico (4% of world production) and Brazil (2% of world production). Note that production in Russia remained as low as in 2022, the sharply increasing market in 2023 having been mainly supplied by imports from China.
Top 20 best-selling vehicles in China in 2023: BYD places 6 models
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Top 20 best-selling vehicles in China in 2023: BYD places 6 models
- The Chinese market reached 28.6 million light vehicles (PC+LUV) in 2023 (including 25.9 million passenger cars and 2.7 million light utility vehicles), an increase of 11.3% compared to 2022. Of this total, sedans, station wagons, coupes and convertibles represented 11.2 million sales or 39% of the market last year.
- The most popular vehicles are SUVs which represented 13.3 million sales, or 46% of the market, in constant growth for around twenty years. The remaining 15% is occupied by MPVs (1.1 million sales; 4% of the market), minivans (300 000; 1% of the market) which have declined significantly over the past twenty years and vans (2.7 million sales; 10% of the market).
- The ranking of the 20 best-selling vehicles in China last year reveals the presence for the first time of 6 BYD brand models, including 4 in the first 5 places. This is a performance which allows us to understand why this carmaker has almost doubled its sales in China between 2022 and 2023… However, the best-selling model in China in 2023 is the Tesla Model Y (locally produced) as in 2022, but with more than 600,000 sales last year, this model is well ahead of all its pursuers.
- Three Volkswagens still appear in the Top 20 but the good days for the German carmaker have passed and will not return, in particular because the market share of Chinese carmakers continues to increase (57% in 2023). The Wuling Bingo took over from the WulingHongGuang but its sales are lower due in particular to competition from the recent BYD Seagull which sells better than it (280,000 units compared to 235,000).
Top 20 best-selling vehicles in Europe in 2023: Tesla in pole position
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Top 20 best-selling vehicles in Europe in 2023: Tesla in pole position
- The European market (29 countries: EU without Malta + UK + Switzerland + Norway) reached 14.7 million light vehicles (PC+LUV) in 2023 (including 12.8 million passenger cars and 1.9 million light utility vehicles), up 13.9% compared to 2022. Of this total, sedans, station wagons, coupes and convertibles represented 5.73 million sales or 39% of the market last year.
- The most popular vehicles are SUVs which represented 6.91 million sales, or 47% of the light vehicles market, in constant growth for around twenty years. Vans represented 1.9 million sales, or 13% of the market. The remaining 1% is occupied by MPVs (150 000 sales) which have declined significantly over the past twenty years.
- The ranking of the 20 best-selling vehicles in Europe last year reveals the presence of 11 SUVs and 9 sedans. Among the 11 SUVs, 5 are from the B-segment, 5 from C-segment and 1 from the D-segment. Among the 9 sedans, 6 are from B-segment, 2 are from C-segment and 1 from A-segment, a segment which is in sharply declining in Europe.
- The best-selling model in Europe in 2023 is the Tesla Model Y, which is making the strongest progress compared to 2022. The start of its production near Berlin has encouraged this strong growth. The former European market leader, the Peugeot 208, finds itself in fifth position in 2023, behind the Dacia Sandero (2nd in the ranking), the Volkswagen T-Roc (3rd) and the Renault Clio (4th). The Opel Corsa (6th) is ahead of the Volkswagen Golf which had lost its position as best-selling car in Europe in 2022. The Ford Puma replaced the Ford Fiesta. The recent Toyota Yaris Cross (8th) did not compete the Toyota Yaris (14th). The Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage based on the same platform are part of the Top 20. The Nissan Qashqai narrowly returns to the Top 20.
Top 20 best-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023: Pick-ups are sill leading the ranking
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Top 20 best-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023: Pick-ups are sill leading the ranking
- The US market reached 15.6 million light vehicles (PC+LUV) in 2023, an increase of 12.2% compared to 2022. Of this total, sedans and coupes represented 3.36 million sales (the station wagons and convertibles having practically disappeared from the US market) or 22% of the market last year. The most popular vehicles are SUVs which represented 8.68 million sales, or 56% of the market, in constant growth for around twenty years. Pick-ups represented 2.86 million sales, or 18% of the market. The remaining 4% is occupied equally by vans MPVs (300 000 sales each) which have declined significantly over the past twenty years.
- The ranking of the 20 best-selling vehicles in the USA last year reveals the presence of 5 pick-ups including 3 in the first three places (Ford F Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram pick-up) as in previous years or decades previous ones we should say. There are 10 SUVs, including 4 of American origin (Tesla Model Y, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Explorer), 5 of Japanese origin and 1 of Korean origin.
- There are 4 sedans among the Top 20, including 1 of American origin (Tesla Model 3) and 4 of Japanese origin (Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord, Honda Civic), the Toyota Camry being the best-selling of the sedans.
- Among the 20 best-selling models in the USA in 2023, 10 are of Japanese origin and 9 of American origin. Among the sedans only the Tesla Model 3 is from Americans origins. In 2023, the strongest progress will be made by the Tesla Model Y.
BEVs represent only 2% of the Japanese market in 2023
- 说明
BEVs represent only 2% of the Japanese market in 2023
- Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEV) are still failing to take off in Japan, with only 2% market share recorded for this type of vehicle in 2023, which is the lowest proportion of the largest global markets. This proportion has doubled in two years but remains particularly low. Several factors explain this weakness in BEV sales in Japan:
1. Firstly, full-hybrid models have been an important component of car sales in Japan since the launch of the first Toyota Prius in 1997. These models represent 32% of the Japanese market in 2023, compared to 26% in 2022 and 24% in 2021.
2. Secondly, Toyota, which occupies half of the Japanese market, has bet everything on full-hybrid and offers very few battery electric vehicles. No serious proposal either from the other Japanese carmakers.
3. Thirdly, the share of foreign imports being stable at 6% of the Japanese market for decades, there is very little possibility for a foreign brand (as Tesla for instance) to market a battery electric car at a competitive price compared to a full-hybrid model and in large numbers. Remember that 1% of the Japanese market corresponds to 40,000 cars, which no battery electric foreign model can reasonably achieve.
- The future development of BEV sales in Japan will depend on the development of the offering from Japanese carmakers. Note that plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are even less successful than BEVs, accounting for only 1% of the Japanese market in 2023, a stable share since 2021.