5 Automotive Market Trends That Will Dominate 2024

automotive trends

The automotive market has been fairly volatile over the last few years immediately following the pandemic. The leading causes include a historic increase in vehicle costs, steep drops in supply and unprecedented crests, and troughs in interest rates.

This is about to change in 2024.

The auto market is predicted to return to stability after years of turbulence. Automotive sales reached a four-year high in 2023, and the upward trend will likely continue in 2024.


Source: Marklines

Our report is an important resource for sellers and marketplaces to gain a deeper understanding of automotive market trends that will dominate the global auto market in 2024.

So, how will the report help you?

In this ultimate guide, we’ve covered five key projections to help you plan and strategize your way into a successful 2024. You’ll find valuable market insights on how to enhance your customer experience, shorten lead response times, and secure high margins in a competitive auto industry.

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Table of Contents

5 Key Automotive Market Trends to Watch Out For in 2024

With sustainability a prime concern of modern businesses and consumers alike, electric vehicles have been gaining popularity over the last few years.

But will this trend continue in 2024?

Businesses continue to embrace the shift towards online sales in the post-pandemic world.

Does the automotive sector, too, need to focus on becoming digital-first?

You’ll find answers to these questions and more in this section.

Let’s get started:

  1. Automobile Supply Will be Restored

    The COVID-19 pandemic heavily disrupted the global automotive supply chain. This led to a weaker supply of new vehicle inventories and a consequent record surge in automotive prices.

    Cox Automotive predicts that new global vehicle inventory will rise to pre-pandemic levels, increasing to around 3 million units by the end of 2024. This number is almost three times more than when the inventory hit its lowest mark following the global semiconductor chip shortage.

    This increased inventory will lead to higher incentives and discounts being offered to customers from sellers and marketplaces.

    While this might imply an increase in new vehicle sales, the reality of the auto market will differ from the predictions.

    High federal fund interest rates and declining (but still high) inflation in the U.S. have slowed income growth and limited consumer spending. Although new vehicle prices will decrease, sales could be relatively flat due to slow market growth.

    Another interesting study demonstrates that the roughly $103.24 billion global connected car market will likely expand to $191.83 billion by 2028. The growing demand for connected vehicles can be attributed to the expansive adoption of IoT and 5G technologies across the globe.


    Source: ExplodingTopics

  2. The Used Car Market Will Witness a Steady Upward Trend

    While the global used-car market increased by 3% to 4% last year, it might witness a spike of 5% to 6% in 2024.


    Source: Forbes

    However, there will be a shift in how buyers purchase used cars.

    Certified pre-owned (CPO) car sales are expected to dominate the market and grow more than retail used-car sales. This indicates a greater buyer propensity for the organized used-car market. The CPO sales are expected to reach 2.7 million units in North America in 2024.

    A study indicates a 5.1% YoY plummet in used car prices in 2024. Driven by an increased supply of budget-friendly vehicles under $30K, the used car inventory has also witnessed a spike of almost 5%


    Source: carscommerce.inc

    Additionally, there is an upsurge of online used-car sellers/aggregators (such as Droom in India) that continue to disrupt the automotive industry and shape the future of user-car sales worldwide.

  3. It Will Be an Important Year for Electric Car Markets

    With the world shifting towards sustainability, electric vehicles (EVs) are the definitive future of automobiles across the globe. In 2024, the focus of the auto market will witness a sharp shift towards creating awareness about choosing EVs as the preferred automobile.

    The automotive industry finally understands the need for conscious efforts to convince the average consumer to go electric. Automotive companies will launch more EV models to provide consumers with more variety.

    Several countries worldwide are adopting the net zero emission approach and have committed to phase out all new sales of internal combustion engine vehicles over the next few decades.


    Source: ExplodingTopics

    Federal incentives in the U.S. on EV purchases are further likely to fuel the adoption of electric vehicles in 2024. Sellers and marketplaces will also focus on promoting EV sales by enhancing their automotive marketing efforts.

    Cox Automotive predicts EV sales in the U.S. will exceed the 1-million-unit record sales in 2023. There will also be a 5% increase in the leasing of EVs this year.


    Source: IEA

    On the global front, the popularity of EVs has been a mixed bag. First-quarter retail sales of EVs in North America, Europe, and India have gone up by 2%, 0.7%, and 3%, respectively. On the flipside, there has been a 14% decrease in EV sales in China.


    Source: carscommerce.inc

    A study indicates a 33.2% YoY increase in combined online searches of new and used EVs in March 2024, fueled by renewed interest in EVs. The used electric vehicle market will likely emerge as the fastest-growing segment of the wholesale and used-car market.


    Source: carscommerce.inc

    In addition to an increasing focus on marketing and selling EVs, sellers can expect an infrastructural boost that will further fuel the adoption of EVs.

    With OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and governments investing heavily in EV-friendly charging infrastructure and electrification, there will be a whopping 2 million EV charging stations across the globe in 2024. There will also be a significant increase in the number of e-forecourts and depot-charging solutions.

    With advanced solutions like ultra-fast charging and DC fast charging readily available, more consumers will consider switching to the environment-friendly EV. Even if consumers aren’t ready for the EV switch, hybrids are another appealing option.

    For instance, a study predicts a likely boom in the popularity of hybrid cars over EVs this year. South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai recently revealed its plans to spend more on propelling hybrid sales worldwide. The company’s hybrid car sales recorded a 17% YoY growth in the first quarter, contributing to high profitability.

    In addition to the battery-powered EVs, there is a tremendous market growth potential for fuel cell electric vehicles or FCEVs that run on a reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. A study indicated that the FCEV market is expected to grow to a noteworthy 70% CAGR by 2026.


    Source: ExplodingTopics

  4. SUVs Will Witness Price Drops This Year

    Although it might be too early to predict that the cost of purchase and ownership of cars will decrease in 2024, there are certain indications that point towards this. As per the latest KBB data, there was a 1.4% dip in the average new vehicle price in January 2024 compared to last year. This could be an indicator that car prices might go down in 2024.

    Experts also predict that oil prices might rise this year. Since gasoline and other car fuels (petrol and diesel) are all petroleum-based, increasing crude oil prices would cause a spike in the cost of all car fuels, leading to a higher cost of ownership.

    Historically, fuel price increases have almost always led to decreased vehicle demand. The cost of fueling a large vehicle, such as an SUV or a pickup truck, might increase, and consumers will likely look for more fuel-efficient alternatives.

    To push the sales for their less fuel-efficient variants, automakers might quote more competitive pricing for their SUVs and other models that consume more fuel. Since they become less fuel-efficient after years of use, used sedans could also sell cheaper in 2024.

    However, the prices for advanced hybrids and EVs might stay relatively stable or even rise. This is likely due to the availability of government incentives and a rise in consumer interest.

    Experts also predict that the shortage of semiconductor chips might not go away anytime soon. As such, cars relying on chips might be sold at higher rates in 2024.

  5. Expect a Surge in Online Sales of Vehicles

    Digital platforms enable easy access to detailed comparisons among multiple automobiles and boost purchase confidence. Their transparency and convenience mean that more customers are turning to online sources for information when planning to buy a car.

    Millennials rely more on online sources to research options than the average car buyer. This is true for both new and used car purchases.

    But it’s not just information they’re looking for. Consumers are also likely to turn to online car buying in 2024. Experts predict that the global online sales of cars will hit 7.1 to 7.3 million units this year.

    EV manufacturers are also advancing into online sales to boost their target market reach. Interestingly, North America holds a third of the market share and is the global leader in online automotive sales of EVs — closely followed by the markets in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Now that you know the automotive industry trends that will dominate the market in 2024 let’s look at how you can make the most of them.

How Do You Capitalize on These Automotive Market Trends in 2024

Despite the emergence of EVs and the ascendency of online platforms, phone calls remain the go-to choice for customers to vet their future automobile purchases.

While it’s crucial to fine-tune your online presence, you cannot afford to ignore your call channels.

Rather, it’s time to bridge the gap between offline and online with the human-to-human connection of live calls.

And iovox is just the tool to help you do this. 

  1. Redesign Pipelines for EV Sales

    While SUV prices are likely to drop, EVs and hybrid cars will become more expensive in 2024. That said, sellers must focus on setting up their operations to accommodate EV sales to secure higher margins.

    How can you tell where to shift your focus?

    Pick up on your consumer preferences early on with the help of iovox’s conversational AI. Analyze conversations to spot trends via keywords and intent recognition.

    Set up trigger alerts for ‘EV’ or ‘Hybrid’ to route calls to relevant agents and shorten your sales cycles.

  2. Prioritize Responsiveness

    Proactive responses are critical to effective customer engagement. A slow response is as bad as no response when closing a deal for a ready shopper. And in a highly competitive market, this could be the defining factor between a user choosing you or a competitor.

    Provide your potential customers with the right information at the right time to gain a competitive edge in a market flooded with options. Gather and analyze daily, weekly, and monthly answer rates and lead response times to monitor the responsiveness of your sales reps.

    Here’s how you can do this with iovox:

    Your inbound leads can submit their queries and personal information effortlessly through an online form. The iovox lead response time tracking tool conceals the email address or phone number and routes the lead to the relevant sales rep.

    iovox then tracks and analyzes the conversation between the lead and your rep on voice calls, emails, and SMS.

    Finally, you can view the conversational data on the iovox Dashboard and gain data-driven insights into your lead response times and quality.

    iovox also lets you add a WebCallBack button to your site that visitors can use to schedule instant callbacks from your agents.

  3. Develop a ‘Customer First’ Attitude

    Given the predicted boost in automotive supply and a consequent lowering of prices, 2024 is likely to globally reverse the seller’s market dynamic.

    Customers are spoilt for choice in a sea of alternatives. Service speed and quality will be your key differentiators in a highly competitive buyer’s market.

    As such, the onus to deliver unquestionable customer service lies on the seller to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

A strong after-sales strategy is a foolproof way of reinforcing your reputation as a world-class seller that delivers on client expectations and more.

The quickest way to achieve this outcome?

iovox Insights!

Our Conversational AI automatically transcribes and analyzes client conversations to uncover key trends, opportunities, and market insights. Measure and improve customer satisfaction by identifying keywords that highlight a sentiment.

Use Call Whispers to alert agents on the exact source of the call so they can respond suitably in real-time and enhance customer experience.

Full Throttle Forward: Maximizing 2024 Sales

While the fundamentals for auto sales remain the same, this year marks a transition to a digital-first and EV-forward approach for the automobile industry.

Car manufacturers and sellers who keep pace with these automotive market trends will surely come out with flying colors.

But to stay ahead of the curve, you’ll need more than a few sharp tools in your kit.

It’s time to wave the green flag for record-breaking sales — with iovox!

This revolutionary solution can help you design a robust EV sales pipeline to secure high profits amid EV-friendly market projections.

It can also help you monitor and lower lead response times to improve responsiveness and boost customer satisfaction. With iovox’s powerful conversation intelligence, you can gather valuable customer insights and enhance your service quality to world-class standards.

Want to see how iovox can help boost your auto sales in 2024?

Get in touch with us today!

To connect, simply click the call button below, and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.

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