The global automotive industry showed its resilience in 2016 with 84,24 million units (light commercial vehicles and passenger cars) sold, according to data released by Jato Dynamics.
This represents a 5,6% increase on 2015.
“Despite the hurdles faced by the automotive industry last year, an increase in registrations of 5,6% shows the sector’s resilience. The growth shows that the declines in Japan, Russia and Brazil were offset by strong results in China and Europe,” said Felipe Munoz, Jato’s global analyst.
The expansion of the car purchase restrictions policy in China caused a slowdown in the market at the beginning of the year. However, demand recovered during the second half of 2016, with consistent monthly double-digit growth.
Last year proved a mixed bag for the United States, with a decline in registrations in five of the twelve months. This resulted in the overall volume of registrations in 2016 increasing by just 0,4% compared to 2015.
Japanese car sales decreased by 1,6% compared to 2015, signalling a slowdown in the retraction of the industry when compared to the sharp fall of 9,5% seen in 2015. The decline in registrations in Brazil was particularly dramatic, with 500 000 fewer units registered compared to the previous year.
The declines in these markets were offset by double-digit growth in China and what Jato describes as “Europe’s slow, consistent recovery”. European registrations totalled 17,1 million units, which is a significant increase of 7% on 2015.
India, meanwhile, showed its strength with more than 3,3 million units sold as a result of “growing prosperity and the greater availability of consumer credit”. India’s growth offset losses in other emerging markets, and established India as a solid source of revenue for car manufacturers.
And South Africa? Well, while the graphic above excludes our market, we already know that new vehicle sales fell for the third consecutive year in 2016 in SA, with 547 442 units registered in the country during the year. According to Naamsa, this represents a decrease in sales of some 11,4% when compared to 2015.
