Automotive industry stats show that the automobile industry in the United States affects not just the individuals that live off it.
As a matter of fact, its success and downfall can also impact the people that somewhat depend on American auto technologies living inside and outside the United States.
It is imperative to understand the basic economics of motor vehicles to understand the American auto industries’ financial health as a whole, intelligently analyze past and ongoing trends, and foresee what may happen in the future.
All in all, there is no definitive source of information about the American car industry, but below are many stats and facts that have been painting the portrait of the automotive landscape in the US of late.
Notable Stats on the United States Automobile Industry (Editor’s Choice)
- In the first quarter of 2019, 61.88% of prime car buyers chose used vehicles
- In 2021, America sold almost 15 million cars
- In 2020, Toyota Motor generated a revenue of nearly $250 billion
- The global automotive industry revenue will reach nearly $9 trillion by 2030
- In 2021, Tesla broke the record by delivering over 936,100 electric vehicles
- The auto industry represents more than 6.5% of the total EU employment
- In the US, the annual average automotive production worker salary is $31,000
- In 2020, the US motor vehicle and parts retail trade revenue was $1.25 trillion
Automobile Sales Stats
1. By 2019, 1.4 million plug-in EVs had been sold.
(USA Facts)
From just 300 plug-in EVs sold in 2010, there were almost 1.5 million by 2019. As for hybrid electric vehicles, there had been slightly under 5.4 million sold in the US by 2019.
Moreover, in 2019 alone, 727,000 electric-drive vehicles were sold, and 50% of them were plug-in electric cars able to operate only on electricity.
2. After 2015, the next year with the lowest number of light-vehicle sales was 2019.
(Global Data)
In fact, automobile sales stats reveal that there were only 89.8 million light vehicles sold in 2019. That represented a drop of 4.8% from the year before when there were 94.3 million sales.
Moreover, in December 2019, there were 8.15 million sales, a decrease of 2.3% from the same period the year before.
3. 61.88% of prime car buyers chose used cars in the first quarter of 2019.
(Fox Business)
The auto industry is selling fewer brand-new vehicles; however, people in the US haven’t stopped buying.
Moreover, automobile stats confirm that 44.78% of super-prime consumers, who turned to used car dealerships, chose used cars in the same quarter. The average lease payment for super-prime consumers was $452, while for prime customers — $456.
Last year, the used car market in the United States was worth more than $153 billion.
4. Amazon sold over $12.2 billion worth of OEM replacement parts and car care products in 2020.
(My Fitment)
Not only does Amazon have hundreds of millions of unique visits, but it also brings in billions of dollars in revenue.
Auto statistics point out that in 2020, it sold more than $10.3 billion worth of car parts, accessories, and car care products. On top of that, it sold $1.9 billion worth of OEM replacement parts.
5. America sold 14.9 million cars in 2021.
(Statista)
Typically, automakers sell over 16 million cars annually. However, that has changed in the last couple of years. Namely, U.S. automotive industry statistics for 2020 show that since 2009, 2020 has been the worst year for these sales, with only 14.4 million vehicles sold.
In comparison, in 2019, there were almost 17 million cars sold.
6. Tesla broke the record by delivering 936,172 electric vehicles in 2021.
(Forbes)
Believe it or not, Tesla delivered 308,600 cars in the last quarter of last year.
In addition, automotive industry stats show that Tesla’s plants in California, Fremont, and Shanghai produced 305,840 units that quarter. Moreover, they produced a total of 930,422 vehicles in 2021.
7. By 2023, online auto parts and accessories sales are projected to rise to $21.4 billion.
(Roi Revolution)
Analysts predict that $19.8 billion worth of car parts and accessories will be sold using mobile phones in 2022. The figure reported in 2018 was just $5.8 billion. By the end of 2022, smartphone sales are projected to hit the $13-billion mark.
Automotive Industry Revenues
8. Toyota Motor generated nearly $250 billion in revenue in 2020.
(Statista)
Generally speaking, Toyota Motor and Volkswagen Group are the leading automakers in terms of revenue worldwide. That is to say, Volkswagen generated a little over $245 billion in 2020.
These automakers are also some of the most successful ones globally in terms of vehicle sales and revenue.
9. Volkswagen Group had the highest automotive industry revenue in 2019 — $278.34 billion.
(Global Database)
The company was proud to have the largest market share in Europe that year, too. Next in line in terms of revenue were Toyota Motor Corporation, with a revenue of $272.61 billion, and Daimler AG — $197.52 billion in 2019.
10. The US motor vehicle and parts retail trade revenue was $1.25 trillion in 2020.
(Statista)
Compared to the year before, that showed an increase of 1%. In particular, in 2019, the US motor vehicle and parts retail trade revenue was $1.23 trillion.
Stats on automotive industry revenue for 2020 show that even though there wasn’t a high increase from the year before, 2020 was the year with the highest revenue of the US motor vehicle and parts retail trade.
11. By 2030, the global automotive industry revenue will reach almost $9 trillion.
(Statista)
New vehicle sales will account for 38% of the value mentioned above. Estimations show that automotive technology will change significantly in the following eight years. Electric car statistics show that 20% of cars are projected to be battery-electric.
Global Automotive Industry Jobs: Analysis
12. The auto industry accounts for 6.6% of the total EU employment.
(ACEA)
Moreover, the auto industry provides direct and indirect job opportunities to over 12.6 million people in Europe. Around 3.5 million EU manufacturing jobs are in the auto industry. That translates to 11.6% of all EU manufacturing jobs.
13. Romania is one of the two EU countries with the highest share (15.7%) of direct automotive manufacturing jobs.
(ACEA)
The other one is Slovakia, with a share of 15.7%, too. Sweden comes right after these two countries, with 14.4% of the direct automotive manufacturing job share.
Global automotive industry statistics show that the other two EU countries with the highest share of direct automotive manufacturing jobs are the Czech Republic (13.7%) and Hungary (12.8%).
14. The annual average automotive production worker salary in the US is $31,000.
(Zippia)
That translates to $15.02 per hour. However, the entry-level salary is $22,000 per year. Moreover, for every dollar earned by White automotive production workers, Asian automotive production workers make 93 cents.
15. Automobile industry reports show that in 2019, India was the fifth largest car manufacturer globally.
(IBEF)
Moreover, India was the seventh-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer worldwide that year. However, its growth is expected to increase in the forthcoming years. Namely, the automotive industry in India is projected to amount to $300 billion by 2026.
16. There were more than 864,000 employees in the automotive sector in the UK in 2020.
(Statista)
When making an automotive industry overview between 2013 and 2020, we can see that 2020 was the year with the highest number of employees in the UK automotive industry. In addition, that number was lower by 41,300 employees in 2019, equating to 823,000.
17. By April 2020, the pandemic had affected the jobs of more than 1.1 million EU automobile workers.
(ACEA)
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), these jobs were affected by factory shutdowns due to COVID-19.
What’s even worse, the statistic above refers only to the people directly employed by car, van, truck, and bus manufacturers; the consequences on the wider automotive supply chain are even bigger.
Stunning US Automotive Industry Statistics
18. The state with the most EV charging stations is California, with 14,627.
(Statista)
It also has the most charging outlets in the US — 41,278. New York is right after California, with 2,955 charging stations and 7,538 charging outlets. Furthermore, Florida takes third place, with 2,636 charging stations and 6,757 charging outlets.
According to automotive industry stats, there are slightly less than 113,600 public charging outlets for electronic vehicles in the US overall.
19. California also has the highest number (1,918) of new car dealer businesses in the US.
(IBIS World)
The second-close is Texas, with 1,608, and the third state with the most new car dealer businesses is Florida (1,227). Overall, in the US, there are 17,968 new car dealer businesses. Compared to 2021, that represents an increase of 0.6%.
20. The global automotive industry sale market size in 2019 was the highest in the last four years.
(IBIS World)
Namely, it was approximately $3.798 trillion. Furthermore, in 2020, the global car and automobile sale market size was around $3.363 trillion, and in 2021 — about $3.6 trillion. Today, the global car and automobile sale market size is slightly lower than in 2019 — $3.791 trillion.
21. In 2020, 55,834 passenger cars were produced globally, representing the largest segment of motor vehicle production.
(Statista)
Automotive statistics note that 2020 saw a production of 17,206 light commercial and 4,361 heavy commercial vehicles globally.
Let’s compare this with 2019. Then, the largest motor vehicle production segment were, again, passenger cars — 67,163 units were produced globally. As for light and heavy commercial vehicles, 20,512 and 4,152 were produced, respectively.
22. By 2030, the global automotive wheel market size is projected to reach more than $76.89 billion.
(GlobeNewswire)
Moreover, it is forecast to expand at a whopping CAGR of 6.1%. Namely, in 2020, the automotive wheel market was valued at $42.5 billion.
The considerable traction of this market in recent years is due to the increased demand for sports, luxury and passenger vehicles.
23. By 2025, the global automotive motors market size is forecast to grow to $25,719 million.
(PR Newswire)
The global automotive motors industry market size in 2020 was $20,321 million. That said, by 2025, it is projected to grow at a CAGR of somewhere around 4.8%.
Generally speaking, one of the primary reasons behind this increase is the comfort features in the forthcoming vehicles. Another one includes the substantial R&D investments in hybrid and electric cars.
Conclusion
Whether or not you are a stakeholder in the automotive industry in the USA, the said stats and facts can hopefully help you understand America’s automotive landscape.
Automakers have experienced several highs and lows of late, but most of them adapt well to our increasingly changing world.
After all, your ability to comprehend what is going on with car sales and trends is just as good as the depth of your industry knowledge.
People Also Ask
The auto industry is on the verge of innovations and new technologies. Furthermore, people seek unique and pricy features, leading the auto industry into a modern era.
In 2020, the global automotive market consisted of 85.32 million units, which are expected to increase to 122.83 million units in eight years, at a CAGR of 3.71%. So, it is safe to say that this industry is growing.
The auto industry consists of a broad spectrum of organizations and companies included in the manufacturing, development, design, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. In fact, it is one of the largest industries by revenue globally.
Today, the global car and automobile sale market size is $3.791 trillion. When we compare the data from the last three years, we can see that the industry is growing. For instance, it was $3.363 trillion in 2020 and about $3.6 trillion in 2021.
The global automobile industry is witnessing many innovations, shaping it for the future. In fact, the year 2021 saw excellent self-driving technologies and a greater level of EV adoption.
In addition, other trends that year involved increasing charging infrastructure, better battery technology, and fleet electrification. AI also found increasing application in the auto industry that year. Moreover, traditional automakers started their own supply chain lineup.
The automobile industry represents around 3% of the global economic output. However, the percentage is significantly higher in automaking countries like Japan, Mexico, Germany, or South Korea. A delay in carmaking can leave scars that take years to recover from.
In Europe, the auto industry employs around 14.6 million people, accounting for 6.7% of all EU jobs. Moreover, automotive industry stats note that 11.5% of EU manufacturing jobs are in the automotive sector.