Light vehicle sales are on the rise, following three years of decline. A new report from Statista predicts sales to increase by 7.7 percent by the end of 2023. Further growth is expected into 2024, with sales expected to climb 2.6 percent year-on-year. 

The COVID-19 pandemic put significant pressure on the auto industry, causing a drop in sales, supply chain issues and chip shortages. The industry continues to undergo a slow recovery, with sales once again on the rise. 

Global sales of light vehicles had contracted by 0.6 percent in 2022 due to the influence of the pandemic. 

S&P Global Mobility saw a sales volume of approximately 1.2 million units in November 2023. 

"While the end of the UAW strikes provides some potential relief to those automakers impacted, the ever-present affordability concerns remain prevalent for the foreseeable future," reported Chris Hopson, principal analyst at S&P Global Mobility. 

"Over the course of the next few months, it's difficult to imagine auto sales getting a jump start from the current pace of demand, with the upshot being a bounce in early 2024 production creating a progression for inventory and incentive levels to develop come spring of 2024," Hopson said. 

ING, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation, is predicting a 2 percent to 3 percent growth by the end of 2024, with automakers in China, the U.S. and Europe seeing the greatest increase. 

The corporation also believes that electrification of the auto industry will drive sales in a new direction, with more countries adopting an all-electric vehicle policy over the next 10 to 20 years. China has already seen its electric car sales grow by more than 30 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle sales now make up 23 percent of car sales in Europe. 

The U.S. has been slower to adopt electric vehicles. Overall sales remain at less than 10 percent but are slowly increasing.