EV adoption and safety pressures are changing fast, and the latest snapshot is full of sharp turns. In 2022, Europe hit a 14.6% EV market share and global EV sales reached 10.2 million units, while global road deaths still total 1.19 million each year and US traffic fatalities reached 42,939. We pull together the full mix of production, sales, jobs, and recalls to show how the industry’s momentum and its real world impact are moving at the same time.
Key Takeaways
- Global EV sales surged to 10.2 million units in 2022
- Tesla Model Y was the best-selling EV with 1.2 million units in 2022
- BYD sold 1.86 million NEVs in 2022
- US auto industry employs 1.0 million direct workers
- Global auto sector supports 60 million jobs
- Michigan employs 900,000 in auto-related jobs
- Global vehicle production reached 85 million units in 2022
- Toyota produced 10.5 million vehicles in 2022
- Volkswagen Group manufactured 8.3 million cars in 2022
- US traffic fatalities reached 42,939 in 2022
- Global road deaths total 1.19 million annually
- US vehicle recall numbers hit 42 million in 2022
- Global light vehicle sales reached 81.6 million units in 2022
- US new vehicle sales were 13.9 million in 2022
- China's passenger car sales hit 20.5 million in 2022
In 2022 global EV growth and record vehicle production reshaped autos alongside ongoing safety and job impacts.
Related reading
01 · Category
Electric Vehicles24 stats
01
Global EV sales surged to 10.2 million units in 2022
02
Tesla Model Y was the best-selling EV with 1.2 million units in 2022
03
BYD sold 1.86 million NEVs in 2022
04
Europe's EV market share reached 14.6% in 2022
05
US EV sales hit 805,000 units in 2022
06
China's EV sales were 6.9 million in 2022
07
Global BEV sales grew 55% to 7.3 million in 2022
08
PHEV sales worldwide reached 2.8 million in 2022
09
Volkswagen EV sales were 464,000 units in 2022
10
Hyundai EV deliveries hit 240,000 in 2022
11
Ford sold 61,000 EVs in US in 2022
12
BMW i-series sales were 215,000 in 2022
13
Mercedes EQ sales reached 205,000 in 2022
14
Global EV market share was 14% in 2022
15
Norway EV penetration hit 88% of new sales in 2022
16
California EV sales share was 16.5% in 2022
17
Battery costs fell to $132/kWh in 2022
18
Global public EV chargers reached 2.7 million in 2022
19
Tesla Supercharger network grew to 50,000 stalls in 2022
20
Rivian delivered 20,000 vehicles in 2022
21
Lucid produced 7,180 vehicles in 2022
22
Polestar sales were 71,000 cars in 2022
23
NIO delivered 122,486 vehicles in 2022
24
XPeng sales hit 120,757 in 2022
Interpretation
Electric Vehicles Interpretation
In 2022, electric vehicles surged worldwide with 10.2 million units sold, while China alone accounted for 6.9 million and Europe reached a 14.6% EV market share, showing rapid, uneven but clearly accelerating adoption across major regions.
02 · Category
Employment And Labor27 stats
01
US auto industry employs 1.0 million direct workers
02
Global auto sector supports 60 million jobs
03
Michigan employs 900,000 in auto-related jobs
04
Toyota employs 370,000 worldwide
05
Volkswagen Group has 675,000 employees
06
GM employs 163,000 people globally
07
Ford has 177,000 employees
08
Stellantis workforce is 272,000
09
Hyundai-Kia employs 120,000 outside Korea
10
US auto manufacturing jobs at 950,000 in 2022
11
China's auto industry employs 4.5 million
12
Germany's auto sector has 835,000 jobs
13
India's auto industry supports 37 million jobs
14
Auto R&D employment grew 5% in 2022
15
Supplier jobs account for 70% of auto employment
16
Women represent 25% of US auto workforce
17
Average auto worker wage is $28/hour in US
18
EV transition to create 10 million new jobs by 2030
19
Auto industry labor productivity up 2.5% in 2022
20
Japan auto employment stable at 5.5 million
21
Brazil auto sector employs 1.3 million
22
Mexico auto jobs at 900,000 in 2022
23
UK automotive employment 183,000
24
South Korea auto workers 250,000
25
Automation reduced assembly jobs by 10% since 2018
26
Dealer employment in US is 1.1 million
27
Global auto average salary $45,000/year
Interpretation
Employment And Labor Interpretation
The employment footprint of the auto industry is enormous, with the US supporting 1.0 million direct workers while the global auto sector totals 60 million jobs, and individual company scales like Toyota at 370,000 and Volkswagen Group at 675,000 show how deeply auto manufacturing influences employment and labor worldwide.
03 · Category
Production And Manufacturing30 stats
01
Global vehicle production reached 85 million units in 2022
02
Toyota produced 10.5 million vehicles in 2022
03
Volkswagen Group manufactured 8.3 million cars in 2022
04
US auto production hit 10.6 million units in 2022
05
China's vehicle output was 27 million in 2022
06
Hyundai-Kia produced 7.3 million vehicles globally in 2022
07
Ford Motor Company output was 4.4 million units in 2022
08
Stellantis produced 6.1 million vehicles in 2022
09
General Motors manufactured 6.1 million units in 2022
10
Honda's global production was 3.7 million vehicles in 2022
11
Nissan produced 3.4 million vehicles in FY2022
12
Renault Group output reached 2.2 million units in 2022
13
BMW Group produced 2.4 million cars in 2022
14
Mercedes-Benz Cars production was 2.0 million units in 2022
15
Tata Motors produced 945,000 vehicles in FY2022/23
16
Suzuki global production hit 2.9 million units in 2022
17
Mazda produced 1.15 million vehicles in FY2022
18
Subaru output was 951,000 units in FY2022
19
Global truck production was 3.5 million in 2022
20
India's vehicle production reached 25.9 million units in FY2022/23
21
Japan auto production was 7.8 million vehicles in 2022
22
Germany's car production fell to 3.7 million in 2022
23
South Korea produced 4.0 million vehicles in 2022
24
Mexico vehicle output was 3.5 million units in 2022
25
Brazil produced 2.3 million vehicles in 2022
26
Thailand auto production hit 1.84 million in 2022
27
Indonesia vehicle production was 1.37 million units in 2022
28
Turkey produced 1.35 million cars in 2022
29
Spain's auto output was 2.2 million vehicles in 2022
30
France produced 1.75 million vehicles in 2022
Interpretation
Production And Manufacturing Interpretation
In the Production and Manufacturing category, 2022 vehicle output was dominated by China’s 27 million units, dwarfing other major producers like Toyota’s 10.5 million and the US’s 10.6 million within the global total of 85 million.
More related reading
04 · Category
Safety And Environment20 stats
01
US traffic fatalities reached 42,939 in 2022
02
Global road deaths total 1.19 million annually
03
US vehicle recall numbers hit 42 million in 2022
04
Euro NCAP 5-star ratings for 95% new models in 2022
05
Tesla Autopilot crashes 1 per 5.9 million miles in 2022
06
CO2 emissions from cars fell 2.5% in EU 2022
07
Global fleet average fuel economy 7.5 L/100km in 2022
08
US CAFE standards target 49 mpg by 2026
09
ADAS-equipped vehicles rose to 45% in 2022
10
Pedestrian deaths up 77% since 2010 in US
11
China's NEV credits system saved 200 Mt CO2 in 2022
12
EU auto CO2 fleet average 108.4 g/km in 2022
13
Japan new car average fuel economy 16.2 km/L in 2022
14
Global NOx emissions from vehicles down 20% since 2010
15
US airbag deployment saved 50,000 lives since 1987
16
Automatic emergency braking standard in 50% new US cars 2022
17
Tyre pressure monitoring systems reduced fatalities 10%
18
Global seatbelt use prevents 1 million deaths yearly
19
EV battery recycling rate reached 95% in EU 2022
20
US auto industry recycled 88% of materials in 2022
Interpretation
Safety And Environment Interpretation
In the Safety and Environment space, road safety and emissions improvements are showing up alongside major remaining risks, with US traffic fatalities at 42,939 in 2022 and global road deaths totaling 1.19 million annually while EU car CO2 emissions fell 2.5% in 2022.
05 · Category
Sales And Revenue23 stats
01
Global light vehicle sales reached 81.6 million units in 2022
02
US new vehicle sales were 13.9 million in 2022
03
China's passenger car sales hit 20.5 million in 2022
04
Europe new car registrations totaled 10.1 million in 2022
05
Toyota sold 10.5 million vehicles worldwide in 2022
06
Volkswagen Group deliveries were 8.2 million cars in 2022
07
Hyundai Motor Group sales reached 7.3 million units in 2022
08
Ford sold 4.2 million vehicles globally in 2022
09
Stellantis delivered 6.0 million vehicles in 2022
10
GM US sales were 2.3 million vehicles in 2022
11
Honda global sales hit 3.9 million units in 2022
12
Nissan worldwide sales were 3.4 million vehicles in FY2022
13
BMW Group sales reached 2.4 million cars in 2022
14
Mercedes-Benz sold 2.0 million passenger cars in 2022
15
Tesla delivered 1.31 million vehicles in 2022
16
India's auto sales were 23.6 million units in FY2022/23
17
Japan vehicle sales totaled 4.3 million in 2022
18
Global auto revenue was $2.8 trillion in 2022
19
Toyota revenue reached $275 billion in FY2022
20
Volkswagen revenue was $293 billion in 2022
21
Ford revenue hit $158 billion in 2022
22
GM revenue was $156 billion in 2022
23
Stellantis revenue reached $189 billion in 2022
Interpretation
Sales And Revenue Interpretation
In 2022, auto sales were dominated by major regional markets, with global light vehicle sales reaching 81.6 million units while China led passenger car demand at 20.5 million and industry giants such as Toyota sold 10.5 million vehicles worldwide, underscoring how revenue is closely tied to these concentrated volume centers.
report visual · Comparison
EV sales leaders and regional context (2022)
China led with the highest EV sales, with the US and Europe following—together showing strong global momentum in 2022.
US EV sales hit 805,000 units in 2022805,000
Europe's EV market share reached 14.6% in 2022
14.6%
Global EV sales surged to 10.2 million units in 2022
10.2
China's EV sales were 6.9 million in 2022
6.9
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Auto Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/auto-industry-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Auto Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/auto-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Auto Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/auto-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
78 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level