World Vehicle Sales Inch Up in 2014

Global vehicle sales topped 85 million units in 2014, a 2.3% increase from prior-year, following a strong December that saw deliveries surge 4.9% from like-2013 to 7.8 million units. December’s result marked the largest monthly volume since March’s 8.5 million-unit tally.

Growth in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region boosted the annual volume nearly 2 million units, despite the ongoing economic struggles seen in South America.

South American deliveries plummeted 12.8% in 2014 to 5.0 million units. Sales in Brazil, the region’s largest market, fell 7.2% to 3.5 million units following a year of tax hikes, layoffs and social unrest leading up to the presidential elections.

A weakened economy in the country has shown inflation levels hovering near the target ceiling, hurting both consumer and business confidence. Increased interest rates also have harmed the auto industry by making financing of a vehicle more difficult than it has been in prior years.

Nearly every other country in South America witnessed downturns as well in 2014. Venezuela posted the largest decline in the year, falling 76.0% to 23,707 units, while sales in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay tumbled 36.3%, 11.1% and 5.7%, respectively.

In 2014, South America accounted for 5.9% of the worldwide market.

Increased deliveries in North America made up for South America’s setbacks in 2014, climbing 6.0% to 19.9 million units, the largest year-over-year growth of any region.

All three North American countries saw sales soar in the year. Deliveries in the U.S. reached an 8-year high with 16.8 million vehicles sold, a 6.0% jump. Record demand for CUVs, as well as increased demand for SUVs and large trucks, helped boost the annual volume.

Sales in Canada reached a new record in 2014 at 1.9 million units, a 6.1% jump over year-ago, due in part to a hike in light-truck demand. Deliveries in Mexico climbed 6.1% to 1.1 million units, also a record.

North American deliveries accounted for 23.2% of global sales in the year.

The Asia-Pacific region saw sales grow 3.2% in 2014, passing the 40 million mark for the first time with 40.8 million units delivered, a 47.5% share of the global market.

Market leader China saw sales increase 6.7% to 23.4 million units, much less than 2013’s 14.0% growth over 2012.

The slowdown in the auto industry’s growth rate came as the market neared maturity in some areas. Overcrowding, an ongoing issue in China, forced many local governments to restrict automobile ownership and traffic, and with more vehicles on the road each year, smog also has become an issue in larger cities.

Increased deliveries in South Korea (+7.8%), Malaysia (+1.6%) and Taiwan (+11.8%) also helped bolster sales in the region, while declines in India (-1.8%), Japan (-0.2%) and Thailand (-33.7%) curtailed growth.

Although sales growth in Europe was modest as well in 2014, up just 1.4% from year-ago with 19.0 million units delivered, it was the first year since 2011 to end in positive territory.

Tax breaks and incentives drove sales up in the year, with Portugal’s market recording the largest year-over-year growth, a 36.1% spike. Germany, Spain and the U.K. also saw deliveries increase, up 3.0%, 20.0% and 9.5%, respectively. Unfortunately, several other countries such as Russia (-10.5%), Turkey (-9.6%) and the Netherlands (-6.3%) witnessed downfalls in 2014.

Toyota remained the world’s top seller for the third straight year in 2014 with more than 10 million units sold worldwide. Volkswagen also topped the 10 million-unit mark, but fell short of the top spot by about 100,000 vehicles.

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