Top 50 markets by new vehicle sales (units) in 2024
New vehicle sales by market provide a consistent, unit-based view of market size. This snapshot ranks markets by the latest year available in a consolidated cross-country table (2024) and adds short trend context for 2022–2024.
Disclaimer
This material is for educational purposes only and is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Markets are volatile; decisions and risks remain with the reader. No outcomes are guaranteed. Consult a qualified professional before acting on any information.
Scope note: Totals may reflect differences in how national sources classify passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and how “sales” align with registrations or deliveries. Depending on jurisdiction, totals may reflect registrations rather than dealer-reported deliveries. Treat this ranking as a unit-based market-size comparison.
Quick highlights (largest markets in the reference year)
China (2024)
Largest market by unit volume
United States (2024)
Second-largest market by unit volume
India (2024)
Large-growth market with high absolute volume
Japan (2024)
Large market with a negative YoY swing
Germany (2024)
Largest European market by units in this snapshot
Interpretation approach
Two signals matter here: units (market size) and YoY (short-term direction). The most reliable reading comes from combining both with a multi-year view. Sustained increases across multiple years are more likely to reflect durable conditions than a single-year spike. Sales totals can be influenced by financing conditions, pricing, inventory availability, fleet replacement cycles, and policy shifts. YoY is best used as a prompt to investigate causes rather than a standalone verdict.
Top 10 markets (2024) — table
| Rank | Market | Sales (2024) | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 31,436,193 | +4.5% |
| 2 | United States | 16,340,472 | +2.1% |
| 3 | India | 5,226,784 | +2.9% |
| 4 | Japan | 4,421,494 | −7.5% |
| 5 | Germany | 3,192,031 | −0.4% |
| 6 | Brazil | 2,634,904 | +14.1% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 2,368,574 | +2.6% |
| 8 | France | 2,155,052 | −2.4% |
| 9 | Canada | 1,906,866 | +8.2% |
| 10 | Russia | 1,833,852 | +39.2% |
Charts
Top 10 markets by new vehicle sales (2024)
| Market | Sales (2024) |
|---|---|
| China | 31,436,193 |
| United States | 16,340,472 |
| India | 5,226,784 |
| Japan | 4,421,494 |
| Germany | 3,192,031 |
| Brazil | 2,634,904 |
| United Kingdom | 2,368,574 |
| France | 2,155,052 |
| Canada | 1,906,866 |
| Russia | 1,833,852 |
Global new vehicle sales (2022–2024)
| Year | Global total |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 82,985,782 |
| 2023 | 92,850,055 |
| 2024 | 95,314,731 |
Methodology
This page uses a consolidated cross-country series for world motor vehicle sales as a benchmark for unit-based market size comparisons. The reference year is 2024 (latest comparable year in the consolidated table; published January 2026). YoY is computed as the percentage change from 2023 to 2024. Cross-country comparability is strongest when interpreted as “market size in units,” while edge differences can arise from vehicle classification (passenger cars vs light commercial vehicles) and whether totals align with registrations or deliveries. Historical series may be revised after initial publication; refreshes should update prior years rather than only append the newest year.
Key insights
The global market is highly concentrated: the largest markets account for a substantial share of worldwide unit sales, so modest percentage moves can shift global totals. Outside the top tier, several European markets form a dense mid-volume cluster where YoY swings are often better read as financing/inventory and replacement-cycle signals than as structural demand breaks. Large YoY in smaller markets can reflect base effects and normalization after prior constraints; pairing YoY with absolute unit volume reduces the risk of over-weighting percentage changes.
What this means for the reader
For supply chains and production planning, units show where scale is real and where growth is “loud” in percentage terms but smaller in operational volume. For consumers, YoY is not a direct affordability measure: sales can rise even when prices are high if credit loosens, inventories recover, or fleet replacement accelerates. For infrastructure planning, large markets typically set downstream requirements (dealer capacity, parts availability, charging/fueling networks) because their absolute unit changes are large even at modest YoY rates.
FAQ
Why can a big market show “small” YoY but still matter globally?
Does “new vehicle sales” mean passenger cars only?
Can YoY be driven by financing and inventory rather than demand?
Why do definitions differ across countries?
What’s the safest way to interpret this ranking?
Top 50 markets (2024)
This ranking is a unit-based market-size comparison. It includes markets and one territory (Puerto Rico) as presented in the consolidated table. Toggle switches between units and each market’s share of the global total (2024: 95,314,731 units).
| Rank | Market | Sales (2024) | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 31,436,19332.98% | +4.5% |
| 2 | United States | 16,340,47217.14% | +2.1% |
| 3 | India | 5,226,7845.48% | +2.9% |
| 4 | Japan | 4,421,4944.64% | −7.5% |
| 5 | Germany | 3,192,0313.35% | −0.4% |
| 6 | Brazil | 2,634,9042.76% | +14.1% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 2,368,5742.49% | +2.6% |
| 8 | France | 2,155,0522.26% | −2.4% |
| 9 | Canada | 1,906,8662.00% | +8.2% |
| 10 | Russia | 1,833,8521.92% | +39.2% |
| 11 | Italy | 1,793,0381.88% | −0.3% |
| 12 | South Korea | 1,632,7511.71% | −6.7% |
| 13 | Mexico | 1,555,1151.63% | +9.8% |
| 14 | Turkey | 1,285,7891.35% | +0.1% |
| 15 | Australia | 1,222,7851.28% | +0.4% |
| 16 | Spain | 1,219,2411.28% | +8.1% |
| 17 | Indonesia | 865,7230.91% | −13.9% |
| 18 | Malaysia | 816,7470.86% | +2.1% |
| 19 | Saudi Arabia | 805,0340.84% | +6.1% |
| 20 | Thailand | 572,6750.60% | −26.2% |
| 21 | Netherlands | 530,5670.56% | +16.5% |
| 22 | Belgium | 524,1800.55% | −5.6% |
| 23 | South Africa | 515,8530.54% | −3.0% |
| 24 | Philippines | 468,8950.49% | +12.1% |
| 25 | Taiwan | 444,9980.47% | +2.5% |
| 26 | Argentina | 411,4060.43% | +1.1% |
| 27 | Sweden | 314,4850.33% | −8.0% |
| 28 | Israel | 307,4100.32% | −0.3% |
| 29 | United Arab Emirates | 306,2790.32% | +18.2% |
| 30 | Chile | 296,4630.31% | −3.8% |
| 31 | Austria | 295,8520.31% | +6.0% |
| 32 | Switzerland | 275,8360.29% | −4.2% |
| 33 | Czech Republic | 263,8610.28% | +3.2% |
| 34 | Portugal | 249,2500.26% | +5.6% |
| 35 | Denmark | 206,4930.22% | +1.3% |
| 36 | Kazakhstan | 200,1860.21% | +0.7% |
| 37 | Colombia | 186,7570.20% | +10.5% |
| 38 | Romania | 179,7580.19% | +6.1% |
| 39 | Morocco | 176,4010.19% | +9.2% |
| 40 | Norway | 164,1410.17% | +0.1% |
| 41 | Ireland | 155,4220.16% | +0.8% |
| 42 | Hungary | 152,0900.16% | +12.1% |
| 43 | Greece | 148,7010.16% | +2.2% |
| 44 | Peru | 146,7600.15% | −11.1% |
| 45 | New Zealand | 128,9300.14% | −13.3% |
| 46 | Kuwait | 128,3180.13% | −0.9% |
| 47 | Puerto Rico | 126,9910.13% | +7.0% |
| 48 | Pakistan | 125,0500.13% | +52.1% |
| 49 | Slovakia | 106,1340.11% | +4.2% |
| 50 | Egypt | 96,8620.10% | +12.6% |
Scatter: market size vs short-term direction (2024 units vs YoY)
Interpretation and limitations
Market concentration
The ranking is highly concentrated. In the largest markets, small percentage changes translate into large absolute unit shifts, which can move the global total and influence manufacturing allocation, supplier capacity, and model strategy.
YoY is a directional prompt
YoY can reflect credit conditions, pricing, inventory normalization, fleet replacement cycles, and policy or tax changes. A positive YoY does not automatically imply better affordability, and a negative YoY does not automatically imply structural contraction. The safest read combines units, YoY, and multi-year direction.
Comparability notes
- Classification: reporting may bundle passenger cars and light commercial vehicles differently.
- Timing: totals may align with registrations rather than dealer-reported deliveries in some jurisdictions.
- Revisions: historical series can be revised after initial publication; updates should refresh prior years.
- Scope: unit totals measure volume, not price levels, revenue, or the vehicle stock.
- Coverage wording: the Top 50 list includes countries and one territory (Puerto Rico) as presented in the consolidated table.
Policy and industry takeaways
- Supply chains: unit-volume markets often anchor regional parts logistics and supplier investment decisions.
- Retail and finance: financing conditions can shift unit sales quickly; multi-year context reduces one-year noise.
- Infrastructure planning: large markets tend to set downstream requirements for service capacity and energy/charging build-out.
Sources
- OICA — Sales statistics Consolidated world motor vehicle sales tables used for cross-country comparisons.
- ACEA — Reliable figures and statistics European registrations context and reporting notes for EU/EEA/UK market metrics.
- U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Official U.S. transportation statistics for cross-checking vehicle indicators and related context.
- Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) Japan industry reporting resources and national-level context.
- SIAM — Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers India automotive statistics and reporting references for national market context.
- International Energy Agency (IEA) — Transport Transport energy and fleet-transition context when pairing unit sales with powertrain indicators.
Top 50 New Vehicle Sales by Market (2024) — Data & Charts (ZIP)
Download the dataset and ready-to-use chart images for this ranking. The package includes the full Top 50 table and global totals used in the trend chart.
- Top 50 table (CSV): rank, market, sales (2024 units), YoY (%), share of global (%)
- Global totals (CSV): 2022–2024 worldwide sales totals
- Chart PNG: Top 10 markets by sales (2024)
- Chart PNG: Global sales trend (2022–2024)
- Chart PNG: Scatter (sales vs YoY, Top 50)
- README: file descriptions
