In October 2014, new car sales increased in China, Europe and the USA while vehicle registrations were down in Russia, Brazil, Japan and India. Growth was again the strongest in China, which remained the world’s largest single-country car market. Car sales in the USA and Europe were up by 6% in October 2014. The Japanese market remained positive for the first ten months of 2014 but had been markedly weaker in recent months. New vehicle registrations in Russia, Brazil and India were sharply down in October 2014.
Worldwide Car Sales in 2014 (January to October)
New passenger vehicle registrations in various major car markets in the world monitored by the VDA were as follows in October 2014:
| Region | Okt 2014 | % Change | Jan to Okt 2014 | % Change |
| Europe (EU+EFTA) | 1’112’600 | 6.2 | 11’020’100 | 5.9 |
| Russia* | 211’400 | -9.9 | 1’991’300 | -12.7 |
| USA* | 1’273’100 | 6 | 13’642’500 | 5.4 |
| Japan | 328’300 | -7.4 | 3’999’400 | 4.6 |
| Brazil* | 291’800 | -7 | 2’699’200 | -8.7 |
| India | 221’200 | -7.5 | 2’149’100 | -0.8 |
| China | 1’624’100 | 9.8 | 14’710’300 | 12.5 |
| Source: VDA |
*USA, Brazil and Russia include light vehicles (trucks). % Change refers to same period the previous year.
China Biggest Car Market in the World in October 2014
China remained the largest single-country car market in the world in October 2014. New passenger vehicle registrations in China increased by just less than 10% in October to 1.6 million cars. Car sales in China from January to October 2014 increased by 12.5% to just shy of 15 million vehicles.
In Japan, car sales continued to decline in line with the recession in the larger economy. Strong car sales during the first quarter of 2014, before sales taxes were increased in April, ensured that the total 2014 market is still larger than a year ago but sales were down 7.4% in October and were lower every month since June.
In India, the market contracted by 7.5% in October after several months of stronger growth. Year-to-date, the Indian new car market is narrowly weaker at -0.8%.
Positive Car Sales in the Europe in 2014 (Jan to Oct)
Car sales in the European Union and EFTA increased by 6.2% in October 2014 – the 14th consecutive month of growth. Car sales have increased by 5.9% to 11 million cars sold during the first ten months of 2014.
In October 2014, new passenger vehicle registrations increased by 3.7% in Germany and an impressive 14.2% in the UK. Year-to-date car sales in Germany were up 3% and up 9.5% in Britain.
In France, sales were down 3.8% in October 2014 but still up 1.4% for the first ten months of the year. In Italy, October 2014 saw an unexpectedly large increase in car sales of 9.2% for an increase of 4.2% year to date.
In Spain, Europe’s fifth largest new car market, passenger vehicle registrations were up 26.1% in October 2014 with sales up 18.1% during the first ten months of the year.
During the period January to October 2014, the only EU or EFTA countries with negative car sales figures compared to last year were: The Netherlands (-4.9%), Austria (-3.8%), Switzerland (-3%) and Belgium (-0.6%).
In Russia, the light vehicle market was down 10% in October 2014, markedly less of a contraction than in recent months when the market contracted by 20 to 25%.
Stronger Vehicle Sales in the USA in October 2014
The US light vehicle market grew by 6% in October 2014. Thus far this year, the world’s second largest car market has expanded by 5.4%.
In Brazil, new vehicle registrations continued to decline although the 7% contraction in October 2014 was less severe than in recent months. Year to date, the Brazilian new car market has shrunk by nearly 9% to just less than 2.7 million vehicles.
