According to experts, higher discounts have helped the US car market to grow in 2024. Experts assume that more than 15.8 million new cars will be in the market USA were sold, which is more than ever since 2019. General Motors (GM) with CEO Mary Teresa Barra (63) is likely to defend its crown as the largest US manufacturer.
“It was a volatile year for the new car market, but it arguably ended on a strong note,” said Charlie Chesbrough, economist at Cox Automotive. The companies benefited from a “remarkably robust” purchasing mood among consumers, as GM CFO Paul Jacobson said.
According to Cox’s estimates, GM alone may have sold almost 2.7 million new cars. The US automobile company recently announced to give up his daughter Cruise’s robotaxi business. This step marked a turnaround for the company: General Motors bought the cruise start-up in 2016 and has since invested around 10 billion in the project.
Stellantis suffers from aggressive pricing policies
However, things may have gone worse on the new car market for the Chrysler parent company Stellantis and at the electric car manufacturer Tesla. At Stellantis, the vehicles at the dealers had flat tires. The company is suffering from the consequences of its aggressive pricing policy – which ultimately cost long-time boss Carlos Tavares (66) his job.
Tavares was controversial as a leading figure: There have been repeated conflicts in the past between Stellantis traders and Tavares. Numerous partners repeatedly raged because of the brutal methods, with which the 66-year-old ran the group, including Tavares’ austerity measures. In the past, Tavares has repeatedly posted astonishing returns, but in September last year he had However, he cut his profit outlook must. Cleared in December he finally left his post. A new boss is expected to be found in the first half of 2025; until then, a management committee under board chairman John Elkann (48) will run the group.
Tesla disappoints with delivery figures
Tesla with CEO Elon Musk (53), on the other hand, felt the drop in demand for electric cars, and the fleet is also aging. The company In 2024, for the first time, fewer cars were sold worldwide than in the previous year. Last year, fewer vehicles were delivered to customers than planned. The company recently announced that around 1.79 million cars were delivered to end customers in 2024. More than 1.81 million were actually planned – i.e. more than were sold in 2023. Registrations for Tesla cars also fell on the European market, by 24 percent in October alone.
Uncertainty about electric subsidies
According to Cox calculations, a total of around 1.3 million electric cars were sold on the US market, which corresponds to a market share of around 8 percent. In 2023 there were still around 100,000 fewer electric cars. The vehicles may have received a boost at the end of the year because many consumers still wanted to secure government funding. The Republican will take office in January Donald Trump (78) takes office, and it is unclear whether he will stick to the electric subsidy.
The US car market was also boosted at the end of the year by higher purchasing incentives, as the experts at J.D. Power wrote. This is likely to have an impact on the current year. J.D.Power expert Thomas King pointed out that dealers’ inventories were full and that cheap vehicles in particular were available. That should help for 2025.