To gain an understanding of the current state of the U.S. automobile industry, we plotted historical data which represents the total annual sales in million USD from 1965-2022. We see fairly consistent trends throughout the later half of the 20th century, with three peaks during the 1970s and 1990s. However, after the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a significant decline in the number of sales. After the 2008/2009 financial crisis, there was a slight rebound but quick drop once again. There was also a sharp decline since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Even through 2022, the graph does not show a recovery in sales. This chart bar graph is useful to understand an overview of the industry, which does not seem to have a promising future.
The following table contains the total production of automobiles from 2000-2021, which offers a different perspective from the total sales shows in the stacked bar graph to the left.
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Both the bar graph to the left and table above reveal an increase in the total sales and production of automobiles in the world. Especially throughout the past ten years, many regions of the world have seen consistency in sales including the United States, European Union, India, and Japan. Most notably, China has seen significant growth in sales especially since 2010. This can be tied to economic and political circumstances within the country. The graph offers a visual breakdown of the global automobile market, providing further insight into the industry.
Global Sales by Region Dataset Global Production Dataset
The pie charts to the left reveal U.S. automobile sales by company or group of group of companies that operate within a similar category. The table below indicates which companies are included in the Asian, U.S., E.V., and Luxury groups.
Group | Make |
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U.S. | Chevrolet |
U.S. | Jeep |
U.S. | Ram |
U.S. | GMC |
Asian | Toyota |
Asian | Honda |
Asian | Hyundai |
Asian | Nissan |
Asian | Kia |
Asian | Subaru |
Asian | Mazda |
E.V. | Tesla |
Luxury | Mercedes-Benz |
Luxury | BMW |
In the United States, Asian automobile manufacturers have a significant market share (almost 50%). Ford has a substantial share of the overall market, where it makes up almost the same market share of many other U.S. manufacturers combined.
It is expected that luxury and electric vehicle manufacturers would have less of a market share than others. However, as we will see in upcoming panels, the market share of electric vehicles is expected to increase significantly in upcoming years.
U.S. Auto Sales by Company/Group Dataset
[1] "F" "GM" "STLA"
The stock performance plots visualize stock Low, High, and Adjusted reports from January 3, 2007 through December 31, 2022. Each of the three manufacturers were subject to the industry volatility.
Ford Stock Data GM Stock Data Stellantis Stock Data
The plot to the left represents the Adjusted Close price of each manufacturer from January 1, 2011 through today. Once again, we see GM’s overall firm size being greater than Ford and Stellantis, however, were not immune from industry trends and volatility.
We have indicated important events in the industry, with a particular focus on Ford, that may influence financial performance. These events include: (1) 2016 GM acquisition of Cruise Automation self-driving technology, (2) 2018 Ford recipient of Motor Trend Truck of Year for F-150, (3) 2020 COVID-19 quarantine begins, and (4) 2021 Ford introduction of electric pickup.
Ford Stock Data GM Stock Data Stellantis Stock Data
Event Timeline Data Source 1 Event Timeline Data Source 2
Electric vehicles are the future of the automobile industry, especially with many state and federal governments enacting legislation promoting or requiring the use of them. There is expected to be a significant increase in the use of them. Between 2016-2027, the sales of E.V.s are expected to grow by more than 10 million units.
Automobile manufacturers, such as Ford, must be ready to respond to such changes in the industry. They currently sell electric vehicles including the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit. Their largest competitor by far is Tesla, however, Volkswagen and Chevy’s introduction of competitive vehicles proves a challenge for Ford to retain and/or grow the firm’s market share.
EV Sales/Production Trends Dataset Ford Electric Vehicles U.S. Top EV Market by Make/Model