Commercial vehicles - worldwide production 2016-2021

Roughly 23.24 million heavy buses, light commercial vehicles, and trucks were produced worldwide in 2021. That year, light commercial vehicles accounted for around 80 percent of the worldwide commercial vehicle production.

Commercial vehicle production decline

Global commercial vehicle production contracted by just under thirteen percent between 2019 and 2020, before recovering in 2021. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the transportation and logistics industry put manufacturing plants at a standstill during national lockdowns through 2020. While demand and output picked up in 2021, the global chip shortage slowed down the sector's recovery, as manufacturing plants had to slow down production again.

Recovering demand

Worldwide commercial vehicle sales came to over 26 million units in 2021, a year-on-year rise of close to five percent. Vehicle demand had slumped down during the first quarter of 2020 due to the pandemic, which an increase in the fourth quarter did not offset. Despite the pandemic, demand came back over the course of 2021, as the market has the potential to thrive amid increased demand in the e-commerce and logistics sectors.