The global light vehicle (LV) market saw its second-highest sales month of the year in October, with an annualized selling rate of 96 million units. This performance was slightly below August’s peak but marked a 3% growth compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of 8.2 million vehicles sold globally.
Year-to-date (YTD) figures show that 75 million vehicles have been sold as of October, representing a 5% increase from the corresponding period in 2024. Key markets such as the US, Western Europe, and China saw varied outcomes: the US experienced a notable decline attributed to the termination of EV tax credits, while sales in Western Europe showed improvement thanks to new electrification incentives. In contrast, China reported record results for October due to consumers purchasing vehicles ahead of anticipated decreases in NEV tax discounts.
In North America, US light vehicle sales dropped by 4.7% YoY in October to 1.27 million units despite having the same number of selling days as the previous year. The daily selling rate fell to 47,200 units/day from September’s 52,100 units/day, and the annualized selling rate slowed down to 15.3 million units/year compared with 16.4 million in September. Efforts by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to bolster demand through incentives were not as effective as hoped due to the removal of EV tax credits.
Average transaction prices increased to US$46,412, marking a US$485 increase month-over-month and a 3.0% rise year-over-year. Meanwhile, the average incentive was recorded at US$2,835, down by US$378 from September’s figure.
Canada reported an estimated 157k units in light vehicle sales for October, showcasing a 7.7% YoY growth. This robust performance led to the highest selling rate since March, reaching 1.95 million units/year compared with September’s 1.81 million units/year.
Finally, Mexico saw its sales increase by 7.4%, totaling 138k units sold in October and achieving a selling rate of 1.63 million units/year, up from the previous month’s 1.59 million units/year.
