This Is the World’s Largest Car Company

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24/7 Wall St. Insights

• The U.S. is the second largest consumer automotive market in the world
• Still, many of the world's largest automakers do not compete in the United States
• Also : Discover the next Nvidia

The United States is the second largest consumer auto market in the world, and in 2023, new vehicle sales hit a post-pandemic high of 15.5 million nationwide. Through its brands -- including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC -- Detroit-based automaker General Motors leads the domestic market with an annual sales volume of nearly 2.6 million vehicles. GM was followed closely by Japanese automaker Toyota, the only other company to sell over 2 million vehicles in the U.S. last year.

As of 2021, the most recent year of available data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics , there were nearly 232.8 million licensed drivers in the United States, and that same year, Americans spent over $351 billion on new cars. With such a large and relatively affluent market, the U.S. is, not surprisingly, a key source of revenue for many of the world's largest automakers.

Still, the U.S. accounted for only about 16.9% of new vehicle sales globally in 2023. Because most motor vehicles are sold outside of the United States, there are several auto industry leaders that do compete in the U.S. -- and even though these companies sell hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of vehicles annually, their names may be unfamiliar to most Americans.

Using data from a range of sources, including media outlets, corporate press releases, and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 24/7 Wall St. identified the world's largest car companies. We ranked 24 major, publicly-traded automobile manufacturers on reported revenue for the most recent fiscal year. Companies based outside of the U.S. were ranked on annual earnings in U.S. dollars, converted from foreign currencies on July 30, 2024. Unit sale data are from GoodCarBadCar and SEC filings.

Of the 24 companies on this list, six are based in Japan and four are headquartered in China. Meanwhile, Germany and the United States are each home to three. A range of other countries, including France, India, Italy, and South Korea are each represented by at least one automaker on this list. (Here is a look at America's most dependable car brands. )

Annual revenue for these companies ranges from about $2.1 billion to more than $384.4 billion, with global sales volume ranging from 6,620 vehicles to 9.4 million annually. Most of these companies do business in the United States, but several do not. Japanese automaker Suzuki, for example, pulled out of the U.S. market in 2012, after selling only 26,619 vehicles the previous year. (Here is a look at the best-selling cars of all time .)

A disproportionate number of companies without a foothold in the U.S. are headquartered in China. Motor vehicle sales nearly topped 25.7 million in China last year, making it the world's leading auto market by a wide margin. With a large and rapidly growing domestic customer base, Chinese automakers appear to have little incentive to develop distribution networks within the United States.

Why It Matters

Automobile manufacturing is a highly competitive, global industry. For the countries home to major automakers, the auto industry is a critical economic pillar. According to the American Automotive Policy Council, automobile production and sales accounts for as much as 3% of U.S. gross domestic product and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employs nearly 4.4 million Americans. Of the 10 largest automakers worldwide today, three are American companies.

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