In this piece, we are going to look at 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World. If you wish to skip directly to the top 5 best selling car brands in the world, you can go to 5 Best Selling Car Brands in the World.
So, in the past year, the car industry had its fair share of challenges – from a dip in electric vehicle sales to strikes in U.S. factories and all the way to supply chain headaches and pricey materials. But hey, it wasn’t all doom and gloom! Car and commercial vehicle sales hit a high of over 90 million with some impressive double-digit growth. India even stepped up to become the fourth-largest market for light vehicles. And despite a bit of a hiccup in electric vehicle sales, things are looking up for 2024.
Over in the U.S., electric vehicle sales are set to rise by 16% year-over-year in 2024, while in China, we’re looking at an 11.1% growth rate. China’s leading the way in global electric vehicle sales, snagging a 60% share with their slick supply chains and top-notch innovation. They’re on track to capture 12% of Europe’s electric vehicle market by 2025. Luxury cars are shifting gears too, with SUVs becoming the hot choice for the wealthy. And electric vehicles are revving up their engines in the luxury market, aiming for 15-17% of sales by 2024.
In contrast, the used car market in the Asia-Pacific region is on a roll, with sales hitting 94-96 million vehicles in 2023 and expected to grow by 5-6% in 2024. The business-to-consumer segment is gaining ground, eyeing over 50% market share in Asia-Pacific and North America. Looks like things are shaping up for a well-organized market.
That was a quick recap on the automotive market's standing as of 2024; now before we move on to our list of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World, we must shed light on some of the biggest players in the automotive industry. Namely, we are going to discuss General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY).
So, let’s talk about General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) - you know, that big American car company based in Detroit, Michigan. They’re the brains behind popular car brands like Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick. Now, here’s the scoop: GM is gearing up to roll out a bunch of medium-duty trucks that run on hydrogen fuel cells. This whole gig is part of a test run backed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The aim? To show off hydrogen as a promising alternative to good old diesel vehicles. The project is getting a sweet $65 million budget boost, with $26 million chipped in by the DOE and the rest covered by GM and its partners. This move is tied to the SuperTruck program, a plan to cut carbon emissions from heavy- and medium-duty vehicles. Looks like GM is revving up innovation in the green vehicle game!
Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) is a big German company behind all kinds of wheels - from cars to motorcycles and everything in between. Guess what? Volkswagen and JAC Motors are teaming up to amp up their shared venture in China.
They disclosed just recently in March 2024, their intentions of aiming to beef up the venture's capital from $1.03 billion to $1.94 billion, with some cash coming from JAC and the rest from Volkswagen. This boost won't change their 25% and 75% ownership stakes, though. Volkswagen's eyeing a comeback in the Chinese market after facing a bit of a setback with tensions between the West and Beijing. They're also feeling the heat to pull out of their Urumqi production site in Xinjiang.
15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World
An overhead view of a factory floor, teeming with robotic arms assembling cars.
Methodology
To curate our list of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World, we listed down the top-selling car brands of the world, as of 2024. The metric that we used to rank these brands is their 2023 global sales units’ figure. With this let’s now move to our list of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World.
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1st on our line up of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World is Stellantis N.V. (NYSE:STLA), the big shot formed from merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group. It is based in Amsterdam and boy, did they make waves in 2023! They hauled in some serious cash with net revenues hitting $206.26 billion, a 6% jump from the year before. Stellantis N.V. (NYSE:STLA) net profit climbed by 11% to reach $20.25 billion, while adjusted operating income edged up by 1% to $26.45 billion, with an AOI margin of 12.8%.
Now, let's dive into Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), the cool American company from Austin, Texas that's all about electric vehicles and clean energy. In the last quarter of 2023 alone, they churned out around 495,000 cars and delivered over 484,000. And get this, in 2023, they really turned up the heat with deliveries spiking by 38% to hit 1.81 million vehicles, while production ramped up by 35% to hit 1.85 million. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is definitely owning the roads in 2023!
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (XETRA:MBG.DE) - the German auto powerhouse based in Stuttgart – has really turned heads in 2023, selling a total of 2,043,800 cars, and finds for itself 13th spot on our list of Best Selling Car Brands in the World. The demand for top-notch rides saw a 19% surge in Mercedes-Maybach, an 11% boost in G-Class, and a 4% uptick in Mercedes-AMG models, reaching 328,200 luxury vehicles last year.
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (XETRA:MBG.DE) also sold an extra 60,000 V-class and EQV models in 2023. In Q4, sales hit 514,000 units, even with limited product availability, including a sweet 17% jump in high-end vehicles. Mercedes-Maybach was the superstar, selling 19% more vehicles in 2023, thanks to the hot selling Mercedes-Maybach GLS and S-Class models across all key regions.
Renault SA (PARIS:RNO.PA) had a killer year in 2023, selling a cool 2,235,345 vehicles worldwide, a nice 9.4% bounce from the year before. They’re proudly repping as the top-selling French brand globally. When it comes to Light Commercial Vehicles, Renault SA (PARIS:RNO.PA) is crushing it with a 19.9% surge in a market that’s up by 10.4%.
Their big move in 2023 was unveiling their "International Game Plan 2027" with 8 new models lined up from now till 2027, aiming to boost their presence outside Europe. Brazil, Turkey, and Morocco were the star players in their growth outside Europe last year. And get this - they’re planning to launch a whopping 7 new vehicles in 2024, including groovy stuff like the Scenic E-Tech electric with over 600 km range and the trendy Renault 5 E-tech electric. Plus, new hybrid beauties like Rafale E-Tech and the revamped Renault Master.
11. Chongqing Changan Automobile Company Limited (Shenzhen:000625.SZ)
2023 Sales Volume (million): 2.55
Chongqing Changan Automobile Company Limited (Shenzhen:000625.SZ) - the OG Chinese car maker from Jiangbei, Chongqing – had this past year as a big win, selling a whopping 2,553,052 vehicles in 2023, up by 8.82% from the year before. It is placed 11th on our list of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World.
December was a bit slow with 215,089 vehicles sold, but they still rocked it with 59,366 new energy vehicles under their own brands flying off the shelves, marking a cool 31.27% boost from last year. Chongqing Changan Automobile Company Limited (Shenzhen:000625.SZ) is definitely showing everyone how it's done in the car game!
10. Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (XETRA:BMW.DE)
2023 Sales Volume (million): 2.56
Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (XETRA:BMW.DE), or as commonly known as “BMW”, is the luxury powerhouse from Germany! In 2023, they were absolutely killing it in the sales game, hitting a record high of 2,555,341 units sold, up by 6.5%. Their electric vehicle sales were on fire too, making up 15% of their total sales and growing across the globe. The brand of Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (XETRA:BMW.DE) once again took the crown in the premium segment, with their electric models shooting up by a whopping 92.2%. And that's not all - Rolls-Royce and the Motorrad brands also saw some record-breaking numbers.
9th on our list of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World is Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (OTC:GELYF), the Chinese car giant; it is making waves in the automotive world! In 2023, they smashed records with aggregate sales climbing by 20% to hit 2.79 million units across all their brands. This marks the sixth year in a row that Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (OTC:GELYF) has hit the impressive milestone of over 2 million units in sales.
BYD Company Limited (OTC:BYDDY), the car wing of the Chinese manufacturing giant BYD Company, has totally smashed it with record sales in 2023, zooming past their 3 million target and snagging the global new energy vehicle sales crown for the second year running. It's a big deal - BYD even made it into the top 10 car sales globally for the first time!
In China, BYD Company Limited (OTC:BYDDY) kept their spot as the top-selling brand. December was crazy good, with 341,043 units sold, a sweet 45% jump. And get this - throughout the whole year, they pushed out a massive 3,024,417 vehicles, a whopping 61.9% increase from the year before.
Suzuki Motor Corporation (OTC:SZKMY) is a Japanese mobility whiz based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, and sits at 7th spot on our list of 15 Best Selling Car Brands in the World. In 2023, they were on fire in Japan with sales skyrocketing by 107.9%, thanks to the boost in mini vehicles and small cars. Their overseas sales were no slouch either, jumping by 102.4% with strong performances in India, Europe, and the Middle East. And hey, the Middle East region hit record sales numbers too! Suzuki Motor Corporation (OTC:SZKMY) is definitely turning heads in the car world!
Kia Corporation (KSE:000270.KS), the awesome South Korean car brand, has been rocking it from Seoul. In 2023, they hit a home run with global sales hitting 3,085,771 vehicles, marking a new record for them! That's a cool 6.3% jump from the year before. Outside of Korea, Kia Corporation (KSE:000270.KS) sales soared by 6.7% to reach 2,516,383 units, while they also saw a sweet 4.6% increase in their home turf with 563,660 units sold.