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Automotive
Forecasting & Planning
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Automotive
Director, Automotive Advisory Services, IHS Markit
Product Management Director, S&P Global Mobility
Vice President, Automotive Advisory, S&P Global Mobility
Automotive Monthly Newsletter and Podcast
This month's theme: Market dynamics in the first year of the
pandemic
To say the least, 2020 was an unprecedented year for
the automotive industry. COVID-19 has accelerated developments in
the vehicle buyer journey that are sustainable beyond the first
year of the pandemic. Some companies were better positioned than
others to take advantage.
The year 2020 was an unprecedented year in terms of global auto
sales. Demand for new vehicles decreased 15%, to 73.8 million
units, in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. An estimated
USD355 million's worth of revenue stemming from sales of new
vehicles had vanished. As COVID-19 spread, IHS Markit released an
interactive dashboard called "Global Auto Demand Tracker", allowing
clients to quickly take the pulse of automotive sales — the
heat map below shows year-over-year growth by country (2020 vs
2019).
Mainland China: Volumes sharply declined, plunging to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of just 5.3 million units in February 2020, down from 20.7 million units in January 2020. As of May, the SAAR had somewhat recovered, trending at a 22.1-million-unit rate for 2020.
United States: Volumes were significantly under pressure during the pandemic. In April 2020, volumes were trending at a SAAR of just 10 million units. For the full year, volumes likely dropped 15.8%, to 14.2 million units, versus 2019. However, the reduction of the federal interest rate and the rollout of the largest stimulus program in history point to signs that the market is poised to start recovering once vaccinations start to ramp up. The widespread adoption and potential continuation of work-from-home schemes for much of the white-collar industries raise the question if there will be a permanent shift in the market dynamics after the crisis.
Europe: Central and Western Europe were among the hardest hit regions globally, as vehicle demand reduced by 4.3 million units, to 13.8 million units. Three-quarters, or 3.1 million units, of that loss were incurred by the European Big 5, notably Spain (-31%), the UK (-28%), Italy (-27%), France (-24%), and Germany (-19%).
Dive Deeper
Global Auto Demand Tracker provides up-to-date vehicle sales numbers
Download Report - Understanding the Vehicle Buyer Journey
Learn more about EV charging infrastructure developments
Myth vs Reality - No longer speculation, the future is electrified
Posted 17 February 2021 by Ali Khalili, Director, Automotive Advisory Services, IHS Markit and
Bjoern Huetter, Product Management Director, S&P Global Mobility and
Kristen Balasia, Vice President, Automotive Advisory, S&P Global Mobility