Automotive World Forecast Tracks Lifecycle Demand Across 1,400 Models

For manufacturing professionals trying to read where global light vehicle output is heading, the granularity of a forecast matters as much as its top-line figure. Automotive World's latest data and analysis, produced by Jonathan Storey and Ian Henry and reported by author Will Girling, drills down to more than 50 automaker groups, 140 brands, and 1,400 models. The attached data set — titled Global light vehicle production, 2025 and 2026 (forecast) — was updated in July 2026.

Built on one industry outlook

The production forecasts align with Automotive World's total industry volume (TIV) outlook, with figures for each model reflecting expected demand over its lifecycle. That lifecycle framing matters for anyone doing capacity or plant planning: the numbers are not static snapshots but expectations tied to how demand for each model is projected to play out over time.

The quantitative and the qualitative

The methodology runs on two tracks. On the quantitative side, the forecasters consider historical performance and available manufacturing capacity. On the qualitative side, they weigh variables such as initial market reception, the credibility of OEM-stated targets, and internal and external competition.

That second track deserves attention. Building "credibility of OEM-stated targets" into a forecast is an explicit acknowledgment that announced production ambitions cannot always be taken at face value — a realistic posture that manufacturing professionals burned by over-optimistic volume promises will appreciate.

New platforms get different treatment

The forecasters are candid about the limits of their own criteria. The applicability of these factors varies between models, particularly for brand new platforms or new generations of existing models. That caveat is well placed: a nameplate with no historical performance behind it simply cannot be scored the same way as an established line, and the methodology says so.

For engineers and planners, the value here is the combination of model-level depth and a stated, structured methodology — 1,400 models assessed against a single TIV outlook, with the reasoning made visible.