2013 (Jan to Dec) International: Worldwide Car Sales

In December 2013, new passenger vehicle registrations increased in Europe, Russia, the USA, Japan and China but declined in Brazil and India.

VW Beetle Dune Concept Car
VW Beetle Dune Concept © Volkswagen Media Services

Car sales for the full year 2013 increased in the USA and China but decreased in other regions of the world including Europe, Russia, Japan, Brazil and India. In December 2013, car sales in China increased by another third while Europe had a good end to the year. In Japan, car sales in December were up by a quarter for a flat total 2013. Car sales in India and Brazil declined for the first time over a calendar year for around a decade.

Worldwide Car Sales in 2013 (January to December)

New passenger vehicle registrations in various regions of the world monitored by the VDA were as follows in December and full year 2013:

Region  Jan-Dec 2013 % Change  Dez 2013 % Change  November  Oktober
Europe (EU+EFTA)  12’308’200 -1.8  948’100 13  975’300  1’044’900
Russia  2’777’400 -5.5  264’300 4.2  232’000  234’500
USA  15’531’600 7.5  1’352’300 0  1’238’400  1’202’000
Japan  4’562’300 -0.2  359’200 26.5  378’600  354’500
Brazil  3’579’900 -1.5  336’200 -2.2  288’500  313’900
India  2’554’000 -7.5  186’200 -9  201’500  239’100
China  16’303’700 23.1  1’651’500 32.5  1’569’600  1’478’400
Source: VDA  5’097’800  4’883’900  4’867’300

International Car Sales in 2013 (Full Year)

China, not surprisingly, was the strongest growth market and the largest single country market for cars in 2013. In December 2013, new passenger vehicle registrations in China increased by another third for a total growth in the Chinese car market in full year 2013 of 23.1%. The Chinese car market is now clearly bigger than that of the USA.

In the world’s second largest single-country car market, the USA, December saw light vehicle (passenger cars and light trucks) sales flat to end the year with 7.5% growth over the full twelve months of 2013.

In Europe, December 2013 saw the first year-on-year monthly double-digit growth since March 2010. Car sales in Europe in 2013 increased for the four last months of the year with the final 2013 (full year) decline of 1.8% much better than was expected earlier in the year. However, the British car market is the only major European market with solid growth while Germany, France, and Italy saw losses of around 100,000 vehicles each.

Russia had a positive December but for the full year 2013 car sales declined by 5.5%

The car markets in India and Brazil contracted in December 2013 with the contraction for the full year 2013 the first declines in these markets for a decade.

Japan ended the year with car sales in December up by a quarter. New passenger vehicle registrations in 2013 were marginally down in Japan while the total Japanese vehicle market in 2013 increased by 0.1%

German luxury car brands had a record year in China and worldwide in 2013. The 2014 predictions see car sales increasing in most world regions.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.