Global Automotive Market Grows at an Average Annual Rate of Over 4% for 10 Years... Impact of Expanded Production in China

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Last year, the global automobile market expanded to approximately 1.49 billion vehicles, recording an average annual growth rate of around 4% over the past decade. This growth was mainly driven by the expansion of automobile distribution in emerging markets and China's increasing role as a global production hub.

According to the "2019 World Automobile Statistics Yearbook" released by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on the 1st, the total number of vehicles in operation worldwide last year reached 1.49 billion, a 52% increase compared to 980 million in 2009.

This represents an average annual growth rate of about 4%, attributed to the rapid increase in distribution rates in emerging markets supported by the expansion of China's production capacity. As of last year, the number of vehicles in operation in Asia was 526 million, a 115% increase compared to ten years ago. This growth rate significantly outpaced that of North America (23%) and Europe (22%).

Photo by Yonhap News

The number of vehicles per 1,000 people, an indicator of automobile distribution penetration, also highlighted the growth in emerging markets. However, the absolute distribution rate in emerging countries remains relatively low compared to developed countries, indicating potential for market growth.

In Asia, the number increased from 66 vehicles per 1,000 people in 2009 to 129 in 2019, while North America rose from 639 to 723, and Europe from 447 to 533. Notably, China experienced a significant growth from 46 to 182 vehicles per 1,000 people, and India from 15 to 45, more than tripling.

This expansion in global automobile distribution was made possible by the recovery of production in North America and the expansion of production capacity in the Chinese market. North America regained competitiveness after the automobile industry restructuring in 2009, increasing production from 8.7 million units in 2009 to 16.8 million units in 2019, a 91% increase. China also led the growth in the Asian market, nearly doubling production from 13.8 million to 25.7 million units.

The share of Asia, including China, in global production has rapidly increased over the past decade. While the production share of advanced markets such as North America and Europe has stagnated in the 40% range over the past ten years, Asia's share rose from 48.9% ten years ago to 52.5% last year, surpassing half.

Jung Manki, Chairman of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, stated, "The background of the global automobile market's approximately 4% growth over the past decade includes the growth of China's automobile industry, which nearly doubled its production scale during the same period." He emphasized, "As China secures competitiveness centered on future vehicles, our domestic automakers must increase R&D investment to prepare for technological competition with China."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.