Explore the Automotive Industry Outlook 2025

Adarsh R.

January 24, 2025

The automotive industry is addressing challenges such as transitioning to electric vehicles, navigating supply chain disruptions, and meeting evolving regulatory standards. The 2025 Automotive Industry Outlook highlights key trends, advancements in mobility technologies, and investment strategies, offering insights into the sector’s growth and its transformation towards sustainability and innovation.

The 2025 Automotive Industry Outlook analyzes the global automotive sector, focusing on transformation through electrification, automation, connectivity, and more.

The report highlights trends such as the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), advancements in autonomous driving, and the integration of connected car systems with IoT and AI. It profiles startups driving mobility advancements and analyzes market trends, investment flows, and regulatory developments.

Executive Summary: Automotive Market Report 2025

  • Industry Growth Overview: The automotive industry includes over 146 000 companies globally, including 5400 startups, with an annual growth decline of 1.56%. Further, the global automotive industry market size, valued at USD 3564.67 billion in 2023, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.77%, reaching USD 6861.45 billion by 2033.
  • Manpower & Employment Growth: The industry employs 16.6 million people worldwide and added 650 000 employees last year. This is a reflection of its significant role in global employment.
  • Patents & Grants: The sector has filed over 310 000 patents by 31 000 applicants and received 9000 grants, showcasing strong innovation.
  • Global Footprint: Major country hubs include the USA, India, Germany, the UK, and China. Leading city hubs are Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, London, and New York City.
  • Investment Landscape: The industry has attracted more than 32 000 funding rounds, supported by over 19 000 investors, with an average investment value of USD 63.5 million per round.
  • Top Investors: Key investors include the European Investment Bank, BNP Paribas, SoftBank Vision Fund, and more with combined investments exceeding USD 28 billion.
  • Startup Ecosystem: Five innovative startups include VIVID EV (Lithium-powered Electric Vehicles), MATT3R (Automated Driving Systems), Movitronic (Digital Key and Car Connectivity), Brego (Automotive Valuations and Analytics), and VicOne (Automotive Threat Intelligence).

 

Explore the Automotive Industry Outlook 2025 | StartUs Insights

 

What Data is Used to Create This Automotive Market Outlook?

  • News Coverage & Publications: The automotive industry generated over 65 000 news publications in the past year. This highlights its media attention and updates.
  • Funding Rounds: Our database recorded 32 000+ funding rounds, emphasizing its focus on financial investments for growth.
  • Manpower: The industry employs over 16.6 million workers globally and added 650 000 new employees last year. It showcases its employment capacity and economic contribution.
  • Patents: With over 310 000 patents filed, the industry underscores its commitment to technological advancement.
  • Grants: More than 9000 grants awarded highlight support for research and development initiatives.
  • Yearly Global Search Growth: The industry saw a 6.20% increase in yearly global search growth, reflecting increased interest and relevance among stakeholders and consumers.

Methodology: How We Created This Automotive Industry Report

This report is based on proprietary data from our AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which tracks 25 million companies and 20 000 technologies and trends globally, including detailed insights on approximately 5 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies. Leveraging this extensive database, we provide actionable insights on emerging technologies and market trends.

For this report, we focused on the evolution of the automotive sector over the past 5 years, utilizing our platform’s trend intelligence feature. Key data points analyzed include:

  • Total Companies working on the trend
  • News Coverage and Annual Growth
  • Market Maturity and Patents
  • Global Search Volume & Growth
  • Funding Activity and Top Countries
  • Subtrends within the automotive industry

Our data is refreshed regularly, enabling trend comparisons for deeper insights into their relative impact and importance.

Additionally, we reviewed external resources to supplement our findings with broader market data and predictions, ensuring a reliable and comprehensive overview of the automotive market.

Explore the Data-driven Automotive Industry Outlook for 2025

Did you know China leads the world in passenger car manufacturing, producing over 26 million cars in 2023? This accounts for nearly one-third of global passenger vehicle production.

The heatmap presents key metrics in the automotive industry, featuring over 5400 startups and 146000 companies globally.

The SNS Insider reports that the global automotive industry market size was USD 436.89 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 1789 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.25% from 2023 to 2030.

 

Global-Automotive-Industry-Market

Credit: SNS Insider

 

As per our platform data, despite a 1.56% decline in industry growth last year, innovation continues with over 310 000 patents and 9000 grants recorded. The industry employs 16.6 million people worldwide and added 650 000 employees in the past year.

Major country hubs include the USA, India, Germany, the UK, and China. Prominent city hubs include Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, London, and New York City, highlighting regional leadership and talent in automotive advancements. These metrics provide insights into innovation, employment, and geographic focus within the industry.

A Snapshot of the Global Automotive Market

The automotive industry saw an annual growth decline of 1.56%, but remains innovative and developing. With over 5400 startups, the sector includes 3300 early-stage ventures and has recorded 8700 mergers and acquisitions, reflecting dynamic corporate activity.

 

Company Distribution Across Various Funding Stages

 

Over 310 000 patents have been filed by 31 000 applicants, with a yearly patent growth rate of 1.75%. China leads with 86 000 patents, followed by the USA with 77 000. This highlights the industry’s resilience and its ongoing focus on technological advancements.

Explore the Funding Landscape of the Automotive Market

The automotive industry shows strong financial engagement, with an average investment of USD 63.5 million per round. Over 19 000 investors have participated in more than 32 000 funding rounds, reflecting consistent capital flow and confidence.

These investments support over 11 000 companies, demonstrating the industry’s vast scope and diverse opportunities for stakeholders. These figures highlight the industry’s ability to attract substantial funding and drive innovation.

Who is Investing in the Compliance Management Market?

The top investors in the automotive industry have invested over USD 28 billion, reflecting strong financial support for innovation and growth.

 

Top Automotive Investors (All time)

 

Top Automotive Innovations & Trends with the Discovery Platform

The automotive industry advances through key trends, highlighting transformative technologies and employment contributions:

 

Trends-and-CAGR-Template-Industry-Reports

 

  • Electric Vehicles: This segment includes 23 000 companies globally, employing 2.9 million people. The industry added 169 000 employees last year, with a growth rate of 5.67%, showing innovation in sustainable mobility solutions.
  • Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): The ADAS sector has 900 companies with 445 000 employees. In the past year, 16 000 new employees joined, with an annual growth rate of 18.71%, highlighting the adoption of vehicle safety and automation technologies.
  • Automotive Internet of Things (IoT): This trend involves 900 companies and 88 000 employees. The sector added 7000 employees last year, with a 10.68% growth rate, emphasizing the importance of connectivity in creating intelligent, connected vehicles.

5 Top Examples from 5400+ Innovative Automotive Startups

The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.

VIVID EV builds Lithium-powered Electric Vehicles

US startup VIVID EV manufactures neighborhood electric vehicles with maintenance-free lithium batteries. Its V Series features scratch-resistant ABS plastic bodies, LED lights, and onboard chargers for durability and practicality.

The Anthem line offers luxury features like diamond-stitched seats, a 10-inch touchscreen, and four-wheel disc brakes for comfort and safety.

 

 

Moreover, the Anthem Pro provides commercial-grade capabilities with customizable seating layouts, reinforced construction, and higher weight capacities for specialized applications.

VIVID EV combines innovative design with tailored functionality to deliver reliable, eco-friendly solutions for diverse short-distance travel needs.

MATT3R makes Automated Driving Systems

Canadian startup MATT3R develops AI solutions for vehicle telematics and automated driving systems. It transforms raw driving data into simulation-ready scenarios using efficient data processing.

The startup’s K3Y product integrates Tesla cameras with proprietary AI to enhance safety and real-world scenario analysis. Its features include access to diverse driving situations, improving reliability and research efficiency.

MATT3R leverages cutting-edge hardware and software to enhance vehicle safety and accelerate autonomous driving development.

Movitronic provides Digital Key and Car Connectivity

Estonian startup Movitronic builds digital vehicle access and management solutions for mobility services. Its KeyBox.One device secures vehicle key fobs while enabling keyless access and monitoring via cloud integration.

The device features encrypted Bluetooth keys, GPS tracking, and an onboard inertia meter for driver behavior analysis and damage detection.

It connects via the OBD II port, supporting real-time data collection, including speed and mileage. The device is compact, easy to install, and integrates with SDKs and APIs for customization.

Movitronic provides secure and scalable tools to support efficient operations for car rental, sharing, and fleet management services.

Brego delivers Automotive Valuations and Analytics

UK startup Brego offers AI solutions for vehicle valuations and analytics for lenders, insurers, dealerships, and brokers. The startup’s Brego Platform predicts vehicle depreciation and ownership costs using advanced algorithms and market insights.

It includes APIs for developers and tools like Brego-Dealer for market intelligence, Brego-Broker for valuation access, and Brego-Insurer for claims analysis.

Key features include real-time data integration, predictive analytics, and fraud prevention tools like Brego Check. Brego simplifies automotive data management which allows businesses to optimize decision-making and enhance operational efficiency.

VicOne offers Automotive Threat Intelligence

Japanese startup VicOne develops automotive cybersecurity solutions to secure connected vehicles and their ecosystems. Its xNexus platform offers real-time detection and response through telemetry analysis to prevent cyber threats in vehicle systems.

The xCarbon software protects on-board electronic control units (ECUs) by detecting anomalies and deploying virtual patches to block exploits.

 

 

Further, the xZETA tool uncovers software vulnerabilities, malware, and backdoor attacks with multilayered scanning, while xScope provides penetration testing for zero-day vulnerability assessment.

VicOne delivers scalable and customizable cybersecurity tools to enhance vehicle safety and enable stakeholders to mitigate evolving cyber risks.

Gain Comprehensive Insights into Automotive Trends, Startups, or Technologies

The 2025 automotive industry is moving toward sustainable and intelligent solutions, driven by advancements in electric vehicles, ADAS, and IoT technologies.

Trends such as autonomous driving and vehicle connectivity are reshaping mobility and creating new opportunities for innovation.

Get in touch to explore all 5400+ startups and scaleups, as well as all market trends impacting automotive companies.

 

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