The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (Acea) has published the full year 2019 edition of its Economic and Market Report with the latest figures on the registration, production and trade of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, both in Europe and around the world.

Key takeaways

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

EU economic outlook

  • In 2019, overall economic activity in the European Union expanded by 1.5%.
  • However, the outlook for 2020 has changed dramatically because of COVID-19.
  • EU GDP is set to contract by 7.4% in 2020 before growing by 6.1% in 2021, assuming that the pandemic remains under control.
  • Unemployment in the EU is expected to increase to 9% in 2020.

Passenger car registrations

  • In 2019, new car registrations increased by 1.2% in the European Union.
  • Car demand in the United States contracted by 3.2% last year.
  • Japanese passenger car sales fell 1.8% compared to 2018.
  • Car registrations in China decreased by 8.9% to 21.2m units.

Passenger car production

  • European car output decreased by 4.6% to 18.5m units.
  • Car production in the United States declined by 7.2% in 2019.
  • Chinese production contracted by 9.0%, with 20.7m cars made in 2019.

Exports and imports of passenger cars

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The European Union exported 5m cars with a value of €124 billion in 2019.
Over the same period, the value of EU car imports substantially increased (+15.6%) to a total of EUR53bn.

Commercial vehicle registrations

  • In 2019, EU commercial vehicle registrations increased by 2.5% to 2,546,830 units.
  • Van registrations reached 2.1m units in 2019, a 2.8% year-on-year increase.
  • Truck demand increased slightly by 0.9% to 388,342 units last year.

Commercial vehicle production

  • Commercial vehicle output on the European continent posted a 3.0% decline in 2019, with 3.5m units built in total.
  • North America's production expanded by 3.6% in 2019, driven by pickup trucks.
  • Chinese production declined by 1.7% in 2019, with 5.3m units built.
  • Full-year commercial vehicle output fell sharply (-10.1%) in South America.

Exports and imports of commercial vehicles

Truck and bus exports generated a EUR4.8bn trade surplus for the EU in 2019.
However, van imports outstripped exports by EUR2.3bn.