World light vehicle production will grow 9% in 2023, to 79 million 818,000 units, according to information from S&P Global.

To note: light vehicles are automobiles designed to transport passengers and cargo efficiently and comfortably, with a relatively low overall weight compared to other types of vehicles such as trucks and buses. 

Which was the largest production center? China manufactured 27 million 844,000 units, a year-on-year growth of 9 percent.

Japan, meanwhile, recorded the greatest dynamism among the main producing countries, with a year-on-year advance of 16 percent, to 8 million 422,000 units.

Light vehicle production

In Europe, light vehicle production increased by 13% to approximately 2.0 million light vehicles during the same period. 

In North America, production rose by 1.4 million units, or 8.7% compared to 2022.

During 2023, the share of the Americas and Europe in this same global production remained at around 20% each. 

Despite macroeconomic uncertainties in some parts of the world, Autoliv expects light vehicle markets to grow in both the medium and long term, driven by pent-up end-user demand, rebuilding new vehicle inventories and a growing GDP per capita.

Recent Developments

In the second half of 2023, several North American OEMs experienced union-led labor strikes at some of their facilities. 

As the automotive industry relies heavily on «just-in-time» delivery of components, these strikes led to labor shortages, work stoppages and other related disruptions. 

Also, these disruptions limited product purchases, resulting in negligible impact on product revenues for some companies.

On December 15, 2022, the European Union (EU) member states formally adopted the EU Pillar 2 Directive, which generally provides for a minimum effective tax rate of 15%, as established by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Pillar.