Automotive production fell 17.1% in 2024, but ended with a strong rebound

2024 automotive production was 506,571 vehicles17.1% below that of 2023, as reported by the Association of Automotive Manufacturers (ADVERTISEMENT). It is a major drop compared to the 610,715 vehicles manufactured a year ago, but at the same time the last month of the year ended with upward indicators: During December, production was 38,018 vehicles, an increase of 2,8% in relation to the same month of the previous year.

ADEFA figures refer only to production of automobiles and light utility vehicles, since the automotive entity does not release production figures for heavy vehicles. Even so, it is more than 90% of automotive production as a whole and the statistics show two very different periods.

During the first half of the year, the drop compared to the same month of the year began with -16.7% in January and deepened as the months went by until reaching -40.2% in June.

In the second half, production continued to be lower than the same month of the previous year, but more attenuated (after the 32,029 units in June, in July it dropped to 44,436 vehicles, with which the drop was cut to -9,8%).

In October, for the first time in the year, more units were manufactured than a year ago (52,419) and the same thing happened again in December.

“There were concrete measures to improve competitiveness, such as the elimination of the COUNTRY tax or the decree of no payment of withholdings on incremental exportswhich generated a new, more positive scenario than the one initially projected,” said the head of ADEFA, Martin Zuppi. “These measures, together with new investments as well as the announcement of others for the coming years by more than 1.7 billion dollarsand productivity improvements in the plants, allowed the sector to close the year with results higher than expected,” added the manager, who also presides over the subsidiary of the automotive company Stellantis.

Exports drove this recovery, which was evident throughout the second semester: in August and throughout the last quarter, the numbers compared to the same month of the previous year were upward, and the total exported in 2024, with 314,735 units, showed a much more attenuated fall (-3,4%) than that of production as a whole.

“In relation to December data, considerable year-on-year growth was recorded both in production and in exports and wholesale sales,” Zuppi said. “The 22% growth in exports stands out, which ratifies the long-term sustainable business model, by reaffirming the productive export profile of the sector,” added Zuppi.

According to the president of ADEFA, “all key indicators show growth compared to 2024 of the order of 10% to 15% and this positive outlook could be strengthened thanks to the ongoing measures.”

In wholesale sales, the automotive companies sold 49,462 units to the dealer network in December, 23.3% above the volume of the previous month and registered an increase of 97.3% compared to deliveries in December of the previous year.

Between January and December, the sector sold a total of 411,406 units to its network, 1.1% more in its comparison with the 406,940 units that were delivered in the same period of 2023: the highest import opening after a 2023 with strong restrictions, began to be felt in the sales rooms of the dealerships.