Asian Passenger Car Sales for 2018
In 2018, the Asian automotive market exhibited diverse trends in car sales across different countries, selling almost 40 million new passenger cars sold. China’s automotive industry continued to be the largest automobile market globally in 2018. However, car sales experienced a decline for the first time in over two decades, down 4.08% and 23.7 million passenger cars sold. The decline was attributed to factors such as the economic slowdown, trade tensions, government restrictions on vehicle ownership, and changes in subsidy policies for electric vehicles.
Japan’s car market was basically flat for 2018 as was South Korea. The Indian automobile industry faced some challenges in 2018 but managed to grow by 5%. Car sales growth slowed down compared to previous years due to factors such as liquidity constraints, rising fuel prices, and policy changes such as the implementation of goods and services tax (GST). However, demand for SUVs continued to rise, and automakers focused on launching new models in this segment. Thaland, Malaysia and Indonesia all saw growth this year.
