According to Fitch Rating, car sales around the world are expected to see the steepest drop year-over-year in 2019, the biggest decline since the Great Recession of 2008, as consumer demand from the USA to China weakens.
Passenger car sales fell from 81 million new cars sold in 2017 to 80 million in 2018 – the first annual drop since 2009 – and this year, it’s expected to fall by about 3.1 million.
Falling demand in China, the world’s largest auto market is a major factor in this worldwide decline with a rise in used car sales and new emission standards as the driving factor.
The increasing number of ride-hailing and car-sharing services are also contributing to this. Other countries experiencing a slump in vehicle sales include Russia, India and Brazil.
In Malaysia, 2018 actually saw a jump in car sales from 2017 which in part was due to the “tax holiday” by the government. More than 50% of the automotive brands in Malaysia reported an increase in sales.
