Automotive Industry Statistics

Automotive industry statistics are no longer limited to trade journals. In previous years the interest in automotive industry statistics was limited to automotive companies, component suppliers, raw material suppliers, unions and the government. Now the consumers and investors have begun to take an interest in the automotive business, which has prompted mainstream newspapers and magazines to publish automotive industry statistics on a regular basis. While consumers are interested in sales data and new models, investors are more interested in how well the company is doing.

Some consumers purchase vehicles partly on the basis of sales data. This trend is more prevalent in developing countries rather than developed ones. While consumers in developed countries base their purchasing decision on needs, vehicle performance and styling, consumers in developing countries rely heavily on sales figures, and the advice of friends and family.

Automotive industry statistics can be broadly classified into two categories:

• Production
• Sales.

The automotive industry statistics related to production and sales can be classified into sub-sets on the basis of time, vehicle, cylinder capacity, fuel, company, region, country and model. Other statistics related to production include inventories, number of employees and wages. The automotive industry statistics related to sales such as new registrations, exports and imports are also popular.

The automotive industry statistics concerning automotive components largely relate to production. The production figures are disclosed at an aggregate rather than component level. The sales figures relating to automotive components are difficult to obtain. The suppliers of automotive components target two markets: original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. While sales to original equipment manufacturers are somewhat easier to obtain, data on aftermarket sales can be difficult to access.

Who supply automotive industry statistics?

The providers of automotive industry statistics include automotive companies, automotive component suppliers, government, industry associations and private information providers. Most automotive companies disclose details of production at regular intervals. Industry associations provide industry statistics in addition to company-specific details. The governments tend to focus on broad aggregates. The transport departments of governments publish useful information on the vehicles-on-road such as the type of vehicle and the geographic distribution of vehicles. The private information providers provide exhaustive information on all facets of the automotive business.

Availability of automotive industry statistics

The availability of automotive industry statistics varies across different regions. Usually, automotive industry statistics are easier to obtain in developed markets. The data availability in developing regions is relatively poor. The home-grown automotive companies in most developing countries do not disclose as much data as most global automotive companies do.

Now the global automotive industry is concentrated in developed countries such as the USA, Germany, France, UK and Japan. But sluggish growth in developed market is forcing global automotive companies to pursue growth in developing regions. This trend could lead to better data availability and automotive industry statistics in developing regions.

The data availability is also a major issue in the automotive components industry, which is aggravated by the growing trend of outsourcing production of automotive components to countries such as China and India. With an increasing number of automotive component companies passing into the hands of private equity players, data availability and automotive industry statistics has fallen even further.

Furthermore, the variance in the classification of vehicles particularly commercial vehicles across the globe makes comparison difficult. If the above problems are addressed, then the usefulness of automotive industry statistics will increase further.