The global passenger car market in 2018 is predicted by the VDA to grow by one percent to 85.7 million vehicles.
The VDA, a German automotive industry association, predicts that car sales worldwide will increase by 1% to 85.7 million cars. Car sales in Europe will expand slightly but the British and German markets are likely to contract. The US market is unlikely to expand in 2018. China will remain the world’s largest car market in 2018 with a 2% growth in sales to just less than 25 million cars. The Indian, Brazilian and Russian car markets are expected to expand further in 2018. German car brands are predicted to increase sales worldwide in 2018 and are leading patent holders for electric and autonomous vehicles.
Global Passenger Car Market in 2018 Prediction
According to Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), global passenger vehicle sales in 2018 will grow globally by one percent to 85.7 million vehicles. Growth in new passenger vehicle registrations is predicted for most major regions of the world in 2018 but a slight contraction is possible in Western Europe. And the USA
Car Sales Predicted for Europe in 2018
The VDA predicts that new passenger car sales in Europe in 2018 will maintain the high levels of 2017 with around 15.6 million new registrations in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries.
The VDA expects the West European car market – the older 15 EU member states – to contract by 1% to just over 14.2 million cars. This contraction will be mostly as a result of falling car sales in Britain. The VDA predicts that new passenger vehicle registrations in the UK will contract by 5% in 2018.
The VDA predicts that car sales in Germany will remain near its current high level of around 3.4 million units. The German new car market may contract by around 2% in 2018.
Worldwide Car Sales Growth Predicted in 2018
The VDA predicts that the US new passenger vehicle market including traditional passenger cars and light trucks / SUVs will continue to lack dynamism in 2018. A slight contraction of 2% is predicted to 16.8 million vehicles, which is a relatively high number.
The VDA expect other major markets in the world to expand in 2018:
China will easily maintain its position as the world’s largest single-country car market with car sales expected to increase by a further 2% to reach 24.6 million cars.
The Indian new car market is expected to expand by another 10% in 2018 to reach 3.6 million vehicles and exceed the size of the German new car market for the first time ever.
The VDA also expects the Russian and Brazilian new car markets to continue their recovery in 2018 but did not publicly predict the size of the expansion.
German Car Production in 2018 Prediction
The VDA expects car production by German brands to increase by 2% in 2018 to 16.7 million vehicles:
An unchanged 5.6 million cars will be produced in Germany, of which 4.3 million will be exported. Foreign production of German brands will increase by 3% to 11.1 vehicles.
The VDA also pointed out that the German car industry remains a leader in new technologies. A third of all new patents related to electric and hybrid cars were awarded to German companies between 2010 and 2015.
Similarly, German companies – led by Bosch – own the highest number of patents related to autonomous driving.
