Automotive industry

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The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2008, more than 70 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide.^[1]

In 2007, a total of 71.9 million new automobiles were sold worldwide: 22.9 million in Europe, 21.4 million in Asia-Pacific, 19.4 million in USA and Canada, 4.4 million in Latin America, 2.4 million in the Middle East and 1.4 million in Africa.^[2] The markets in North America and Japan were stagnant, while those in South America and Asia grew strongly. Of the major markets, Russia, Brazil, India and China saw the most rapid growth.

About 250 million vehicles are in use in the United States. Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; they burn over 260 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.^[3] In the opinion of some, urban transport systems based around the car have proved unsustainable, consuming excessive energy, affecting the health of populations, and delivering a declining level of service despite increasing investments.^{[citation needed]} Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups who are also least likely to own and drive cars.^[4][5][6] The sustainable transport movement focuses on solutions to these problems.

In 2008, with rapidly rising oil prices, industries such as the automotive industry, are experiencing a combination of pricing pressures from raw material costs and changes in consumer buying habits. The industry is also facing increasing external competition from the public transport sector, as consumers re-evaluate their private vehicle usage.^[7] Roughly half of the US's fifty one light vehicle plants are projected to permanently close in the coming years with the loss of another 200,000 jobs in the sector, on top of the 560,000 jobs lost this decade.^[8]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Brazil 1.2 Britain 1.3 Canada 1.4 China 1.5 Germany 1.6 India 1.7 Japan 1.8 South Korea 1.9 Thailand 1.10 United States 2 Crisis in the auto industry 3 World motor vehicle production 4 Company relationships 5 Top vehicle manufacturing groups (by volume) 6 Minor automotive manufacturers 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Brazil

The Brazilian automotive industry produced almost 3 million vehicles in 2007. Most of large global companies are present in Brazil, such as Fiat, Volkswagen, Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Renault etc, and also the emerging national companies such as Troller, Marcopolo S.A., Agrale, Randon among others. The Brazilian industry in regulated by the Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Anfavea), created in 1956, which includes Auto makers (automobiles, light vehicles, trucks and buses)and Agriculture machines with factories in Brazil. Anfavea is part of the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), based in Paris.

[edit] Britain

The British motor industry has always been export oriented^{[citation needed]}. Today it employs about 850,000 people and produces about 1.5 million cars and 216,000 commercial vehicles per year, 75% of which are exported.^[9] The top five UK car producers are Nissan, Toyota, Honda, MINI and Land Rover.^[10] However, international competitiveness of UK cars have declined consistently since the 1990s and the country became unable to sustain production on par with Germany or France. Since 2000, motor vehicle production fell from 1,813,894 to 1,750,253.^[11] The country was overtaken by fast industrializing economies such as Brazil, India and Mexico.^[11] The UK is the 12th largest automobile producer in the world but Russia is poised to overtake it in 2008.^[11]

[edit] Canada

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Automotive industry in the United States. (Discuss)

Canada is currently the 9th largest auto producer in the world, down from 7th a few years ago. Brazil and Spain recently surpassed Canadian production for the first time ever. Canada's highest ranking ever was 2nd largest producer in the world between 1918 and 1923. The Canadian auto industry traces its roots to the very beginning of the automobile. The first large-scale production of automobiles in Canada took place in Walkerville, near Windsor, Ontario in 1904. In the first year of operations, Gordon McGregor and Wallace Campbell, along with a handful of workmen produced 117 Model "C" Ford vehicles at the Walkerville Wagon Works factory. Through marquees such as Brooks Steam, Redpath, Tudhope, McKay, Galt Gas-Electric, Gray-Dort, Brockville Atlas, C.C.M., and McLaughlin, Canada had many domestic auto brands. In 1918 McLaughlin was bought by an American firm, General Motors, and was re-branded as General Motors of Canada. Driven by the demands of World War I, Canada's automotive industry had grown, by 1923, into the second-largest in the world, although it was still comprised of relatively inefficient plants producing many models behind a high tariff wall. High consumer prices and production inefficiencies characterized the Canadian auto industry prior to the signing of the 1965 Automotive Products Trade Agreement with the United States. The 1964 Automotive Products Trade Agreement or “Auto Pact” represents the single most important factor in making the Canadian automotive industry what it is today: a strong, successful industry that has a significant positive impact on the Canadian economy. Key features of the Auto Pact were the 1:1 production to sales ratio and Canadian Value Added requirements. Magna International is Canada's biggest domestic firm in the sector, and is the world's third-largest auto parts firm, producing entire vehicles at its Magna Steyr plant in Austria.

[edit] China

China's automobile industry is in rapid development since the year 2000. In 2008, 9.345 million motor vehicles were manufactured in China, surpassing United States as the second largest automobile maker, after Japan. Moreover, due to the current financial crisis, China was the largest automobile market in the world for the first half of year 2009, with total sale of 6.1 million vehicles. China may surpass United States and become the largest car market for the whole year of 2009. The top 5 car sellers are Volkswagen, GM, Toyota, Nissan and Chery.

[edit] Germany

The automobile was invented in Germany by Carl Benz. Furthermore, the four-stroke internal combustion engine used in most automobiles worldwide today was invented by Nikolaus Otto in Germany. In addition, the diesel engine was also invented by German Rudolf Diesel. Germany is famous for the high-performance and high-quality sports cars made by Porsche, and the cars of Mercedes-Benz are famous for their quality, safety and technological innovation. Daimler-Benz is the industry's oldest firm, building automobiles since the late 1880s;^{[citation needed]} its current structure dates from 1926. In 1998 it bought the American automobile manufacturer Chrysler, then sold out in 2007 at a heavy loss as it never managed to bring the division to long term profitability. In the popular market, Opel and Volkswagen are most well known. Opel was a bicycle company that started making cars in 1898; General Motors bought it out in 1929, but the Nazi government took control and GM wrote off its entire investment. In 1948 GM returned and restored the Opel brand. Volkswagen is dominant in the popular market; it purchased Audi in 1964. VW's most famous car was the small, beetle-shaped economical "people's car" with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. It was designed in the 1930s by Ferdinand Porsche upon orders from Adolf Hitler, who was himself a car enthusiast. However production models appeared only after the war; until then only rich Germans had automobiles. By 1950 Volkswagen was the largest German automobile producer,^[12] today, it is one of the three biggest automotive companies, but it is now part of the Porsche Automobil Holding SE. In the meantime, ten different car manufacturers belong to the multicorporate enterprise: Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Bentley, Škoda Auto, MAN, SEAT and Scania AB. Germany is famous for its upscale sedans. They feature suspension systems that provide both a soft ride and good handling characteristics. Many manufacturers limit their automobiles electronically to driving speeds of 250 km/h (155 mph) for safety reasons.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] India

An embryonic automotive industry started in India in the 1940s. However, for the next 50 years, the growth of the industry was hobbled by the Socialist policies and the bureaucratic hurdles of the license raj. Following, the economic liberalization in India from 1991, and the gradual easing of restrictions on industry, India has seen a dynamic 17% annual growth in automobile production and 30% annual growth in exports of automotive components and automobiles. India produces around 2 Million automobiles currently. Total turnover of the Indian automobile industry is expected to grow from USD 34 Billion in 2006 to USD 122 Billion in 2016.^[13] Tata Motors has just launched Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world at USD 2200.^[14]

[edit] Japan

Japan, with its large population squeezed into very high density cities with good public transit, has limited roadways that carry very heavy traffic. Hence, most automobiles are small in terms of size and weight. From a humble beginning, Japan is now the biggest auto manufacturing country in the world. Nissan began making trucks in 1914, and sold cars under the Datsun brand until it switched to Nissan in the 1980s. It opened its first U.S. plant in Tennessee in the early 1980s and a U.K. plant in 1986. Its luxury models carry the brand Infiniti. Honda, which began with motorcycles, emerged after World War II. Its luxury vehicles are sold under the Acura brand. Toyota began making cars in the 1930s and is now the world's largest producer. The Toyota Corolla is the world's best selling nameplate. Its luxury models carry the Lexus brand. Toyota is famous for its innovative, quality-conscious management style, and its hybrid gas-electric vehicles, especially the Prius, which was launched in 1997. Other major companies include Subaru, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Daihatsu, Suzuki, and Isuzu. Japan's production of cars increased from 3.179 million to 7.038 million between 1970 and 1980, while demand for larger American cars was disastrously falling.^[15] Japanese cars are often credited with superior dependability, efficiency and advanced technology.

[edit] South Korea

The South Korean automobile industry is today the fifth largest in the world in terms of production volume and the sixth largest in terms of export volume. 50 years ago, its initial operations were merely the assembling of parts imported from Japan and the United States. The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group is today the second largest automaker in Asia, after Toyota. Annual domestic output exceeded one million units in 1988. In the 1990s, the industry manufactured numerous in-house models, demonstrating not only its capabilities, and signalling its coming of age thanks to the heavy investment to infrastructure in the country over the decades. The quality of their automobiles have improved dramatically in recent years, gaining international recognition. Hyundai has been named the 2009 North American car of the year.

[edit] Thailand

The Thai-based automobile manufacturer is ThaiRung or well-known as TR, manufactured by Thai Rung Union Car Public Co. Ltd. (TRU). The company was established in 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. Original name was Thai Rung Engineering Co. Ltd., and changed its name to Thai Rung Union Car Co. Ltd. in 1973. TRU was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1994. TRU business is ranging from product design and development, automotive parts manufacturing, industrial equiptemnts manufacturing, car assembly lines and financial business. Some discontinued TR vans powered by Land Rover engine in combination with Thai-developed body design and platform. Modern TR cars are built on small or medium trucks base into SUV or seven-seat multi-purpose vehicles using TR-owned technology, design, development and assembly skills. The current models are 2009 TR Adventure and TR Allroader.

[edit] United States

[edit] Crisis in the auto industry

[edit] World motor vehicle production

v • d • e « previous year Top 20 motor vehicle producing countries 2008 next year »
Motor vehicle production (1000 units)
Country																				1000										2000										3000										4000										5000										6000										7000										8000										9000										10000										11000										12000
Japan																				11564
PR China																				9345
United States																				8705
Germany																				6041
South Korea																				3807
Brazil																				3220
France																				2569
Spain																				2542
India																				2315
Mexico																				2191
Canada																				2078
Russia																				1790
UK																				1650
Thailand																				1394
Turkey																				1147
Iran																				1051
Italy																				1024
Poland																				951
Czech Rep.																				946
Belgium																				724
Reference: "Production Statistics". OICA. http://oica.net/category/production-statistics/. Retrieved on 2009-06-24.

v • d • e « previous year — Top motor vehicle manufacturing companies by volume 2008
Total motor vehicle production
Group																				1,000,000										2,000,000										3,000,000										4,000,000										5,000,000										6,000,000										7,000,000										8,000,000										9,000,000										10,000,000
Key																				Cars																									Light Commercial Vehicles																									Heavy Commercial Vehicles																									Heavy Buses
Toyota																																																																																																		9,237,780
General Motors																																																																																																							8,282,803
Volkswagen*																																																																																						6,517,288
Ford																																																																										5,407,000
Honda																																																											3,912,700
Nissan																																																						3,395,065
PSA																																																					3,325,407
Hyundai**																																																2,777,137
Suzuki																																														2,623,567
Fiat																																													2,524,325
Renault																																												2,417,351
Daimler																																										2,174,299
Chrysler																																							1,893,068
B.M.W.																																		1,439,918
Kia**																																		1,395,324
Mazda																																	1,349,274
Mitsubishi																																	1,309,231
AvtoVAZ																												801,563
Tata																												798,265
FAW																										637,720
Fuji																										616,497
Isuzu																									538,810
Chana Automobile																									531,149
Dongfeng																									489,266
Beijing Automotive																								446,680
Chery																								350,560
SAIC																							282,003
Volvo																						248,991
Brilliance																						241,553
Harbin Hafei																						226,754
Geely																						220,955
Anhui Jianghuai																						207,711
BYD																						192,971
GAZ																						187,053
Mahindra																						162,816
Proton																						157,306
Great Wall																					129,651
Paccar																					125,084
Chongqing Lifan																					122,783
M.A.N.																					108,053
Jiangxi Changhe																					107,422
China National																					106,377
Porsche																					96,721
LUAZ																					90,548
Navistar																					90,264
Shannxi Auto																					75,220
UAZ																					72,181
Ashok Leyland																					71,485
Kuozui																					67,891
Key																				Cars																									Light Commercial Vehicles																									Heavy Commercial Vehicles																									Heavy Buses
Total global production: 69,561,356
Reference: "World motor vehicle production by manufacturer: World ranking of manufacturers 2008". OICA. July 2009. http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/world-ranking-2008.pdf.
*Volkswagen Group total includes Scania production figures, which OICA lists separately. Scania is a VW Group subsidiary. **Hyundai Kia Automotive Group and Kia Motors are listed separately as the former owns only 38.67% of the latter.

[edit] Company relationships

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It is common for automobile manufacturers to hold stakes in other automobile manufacturers. These ownerships can be explored under the detail for the individual companies.

Notable current relationships include:

• Daimler AG holds a 40.0% stake in McLaren Group and a 10% stake in Tesla Motors .
• Daimler AG holds a 20% stake in Eicher Motors , a 6.75% stake in Tata Motors and a 10.0% stake in KAMAZ .
• Dongfeng Motor Corporation is involved in joint ventures with several companies in China, including: PSA Peugeot Citroen of France, Honda, Nissan of Japan, Nissan Diesel (Volvo Group) of Japan, and Hyundai Kia of South Korea.
• Fiat holds a 85% stake in Ferrari^[16]
• Fiat holds a 20% stake in Chrysler, that can be increased to 35%; with the option of increasing its stake further.^[17].
• Ford holds a 13.4% stake in Mazda and an 8.3% share in Aston Martin.
• Geely Automobile holds a 23% stake in Manganese Bronze Holdings, manufacturing the London taxi.
• General Motors and SAIC have two joint ventures in Shanghai General Motors and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile.
• GM and Toyota have a joint venture in New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc, an automobile plant in Fremont, California.
• Hyundai Kia Automotive Group holds a 38.67% stake in Kia Motors, down from the 51% that it acquired in 1998.^[18]
• MAN holds a 17.01% voting stake in Scania.
• Porsche Automobil Holding SE announced on January 6, 2009 that it now owns 50.76% of Volkswagen, making the Volkswagen Group a subsidiary.
• The Renault-Nissan alliance involves two global companies linked by cross-shareholding, with Renault holding 44.3% of Nissan shares, and Nissan holding 15% of (non-voting) Renault shares.
• Renault holds a 25% stake in AvtoVAZ.
• Renault holds 20.5% of the voting stakes in Volvo Group.
• Suzuki is a partner with GM in GMDAT, CAMI, and GM Argentina.^[19]
• Toyota holds a 51% controlling stake in Daihatsu, and 16.5% in Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company of Subaru.
• The Volkswagen Group holds a 37.73% stake in Scania (68.6% voting rights), and a 29% stake in MAN.
• Volkswagen Group and SAIC have a joint venture in Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive.

[edit] Top vehicle manufacturing groups (by volume)

The table below shows the world's largest motor vehicle manufacturing groups, along with the marques produced by each one. The table is ranked by the latest production figures from OICA 2008^[20] for the parent group, and then alphabetically by marque.

Marque	Country of origin	Ownership	Markets
1. Toyota Motor Corporation ( Japan)
Daihatsu		Subsidiary	Global, except North America and Australia
Hino		Subsidiary	Asia Pacific, Canada and South America
Lexus		Division	Global
Scion		Division	North America
Toyota		Division	Global
2. General Motors Corporation* ( United States)
Buick		Division	North America, China, Israel, Taiwan
Cadillac		Division	Global
Chevrolet		Division	Global
Daewoo		Subsidiary	Asia, Europe, South America, South Africa
GMC		Division	North America, Middle East
Holden		Subsidiary	Australia, New Zealand, Middle East
Hummer		Division	Global
Opel		Division	Europe (except UK), South Africa, China, Southeast Asia
Pontiac		Division	North America
Saab		Subsidiary	Global
Saturn		Subsidiary	North America, Taiwan, Japan
Vauxhall		Subsidiary	United Kingdom
3. Porsche Automobil Holding SE** ( Germany)
Audi		Subsidiary	Global
Bentley		Subsidiary	Global
Bugatti		Subsidiary	Global
Lamborghini		Subsidiary	Global
Porsche		Subsidiary	Global
Scania		Subsidiary	Global
SEAT		Subsidiary	Europe, Latin America, South Africa
Škoda		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Volkswagen		Subsidiary	Global
Volkswagen CV		Subsidiary	Global
4. Ford Motor Company*** ( United States)
Ford		Division	Global
Lincoln		Division	North America, Middle East
Mercury		Division	North America, Middle East
Troller		Subsidiary	South America and Africa
Volvo (cars)		Subsidiary	Global
5. Honda Motor Company ( Japan)
Acura		Division	North America, China, Russia
Honda		Division	Global
6. Nissan Motor Company ( Japan)
Infiniti		Division	North America, Middle East, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, Europe
Nissan		Division	Global
7. PSA Peugeot Citroën S.A. ( France)
Citroën		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Peugeot		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
8. Hyundai Motor Company**** ( South Korea)
Hyundai		Division	Global
9. Suzuki Motor Corporation ( Japan)
Maruti Suzuki		Subsidiary	India, Middle East, South America
Suzuki		Division	Global
10. Fiat S.p.A. ( Italy)
Abarth		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Alfa Romeo		Subsidiary	Global
Ferrari		Subsidiary	Global
Fiat		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Fiat Professional		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Irisbus		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Iveco		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Lancia		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Maserati		Subsidiary	Global
11. Renault S.A. ( France)
Dacia		Subsidiary	Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa
Renault (cars)		Division	Global, except North America
Renault Samsung		Subsidiary	Asia, South America
12. Daimler AG ( Germany)
Freightliner		Subsidiary	North America, South Africa
Maybach		Division	Global
Mercedes-AMG		Division	Global
Mercedes-Benz		Division	Global
Mitsubishi Fuso		Subsidiary	Global
Orion		Subsidiary	North America
Setra		Subsidiary	Europe
Smart		Division	North America, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, South Africa
Thomas Built		Subsidiary	North America
Western Star		Subsidiary	North America
13. Chrysler Group LLC ( United States)
Chrysler		Division	Global
Dodge		Division	Global
GEM		Division	North America
Jeep		Division	Global
14. BMW AG ( Germany)
BMW		Division	Global
MINI		Division	Global
Rolls-Royce		Subsidiary	Global
15. Kia Motors Corporation**** ( South Korea)
Kia		Division	Global, except Middle East and Africa
16. Mazda Motor Corporation ( Japan)
Mazda		Division	Global
17. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation ( Japan)
Mitsubishi		Division	Global
18. OAO AvtoVAZ ( Russia)
Lada		Division	Russia, Europe
VAZ		Division	Russia, Eastern Europe
19. Tata Motors Ltd ( India)
Daimler		Subsidiary	United Kingdom
Hispano		Subsidiary	Europe
Jaguar		Subsidiary	Global
Land Rover		Subsidiary	Global
Tata		Division	India, South Africa
Tata Daewoo		Subsidiary	South Korea
20. First Automotive Group Corporation ( People's Republic of China)
Besturn		Division	China
Freewind		Subsidiary	China
Haima		Subsidiary	China
Hongqi		Division	China
Jiaxing		Subsidiary	China
Vita		Subsidiary	China
Xiali		Subsidiary	China
21. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd ( Japan)
Subaru		Division	Global
22. Isuzu Motors Ltd ( Japan)
Isuzu		Division	Global, except North America
23. Chana Automobile Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Chana		Division	China, South Africa
24. Dongfeng Motor Corporation ( People's Republic of China)
Dongfeng		Division	China
25. Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation, Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
BAW		Division	China
Foton		Subsidiary	China
26. Chery Automobile Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Chery		Division	China, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Russia
27. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation ( People's Republic of China)
MG		Subsidiary	UK
Roewe		Division	China
Soyat		Division	China
SsangYong		Subsidiary	South Korea, South Africa, Europe, Australia
Yuejin		Division	China
28. AB Volvo ( Sweden)
Mack		Subsidiary	Global
Nissan Diesel		Subsidiary	Global
NovaBus		Subsidiary	North America
Prevost		Subsidiary	North America
Renault (trucks)		Subsidiary	Global
Volvo (trucks)		Division	Global
29. Brilliance China Automotive Holding Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Brilliance		Division	China
Jinbei		Subsidiary	China
30. Harbin Hafei Automobile Industry Group Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Hafei		Division	China
31. Geely Automobile ( People's Republic of China)
Geely		Division	China, Russia
Maple		Division	China
32. Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Anhui Jianghuai		Division	China
33. BYD Auto ( People's Republic of China)
BYD		Division	China, Russia
34. GAZ Group ( Russia)
GAZ		Division	Russia
KAvZ		Subsidiary	Russia
LDV		Subsidiary	Europe
LiAZ		Subsidiary	Russia
Ural		Subsidiary	Russia
35. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd ( India)
Mahindra		Division	India, South East Asia, Eastern Europe
36. Proton Holdings Bhd ( Malaysia)
Proton		Division	Asia, Australia, South Africa, UK
Lotus		Subsidiary	Global
37. Great Wall Motor Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Great Wall		Division	China, South Africa, Russia
38. Paccar Inc ( United States)
DAF		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Kenworth		Division	North America
Leyland		Subsidiary	Europe
Peterbilt		Division	North America
39. Chongqing Lifan Automobile Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Lifan		Division	China
40. MAN SE ( Germany)
MAN		Division	Europe
Neoplan		Division	Europe and Middle East
VW Trucks		Division	South America
41. Jiangxi Changhe Automobile Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Changhe		Division	China
42. China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Sinotruk		Division	China
43. LuAZ ( Ukraine)
LuAZ		Subsidiary	Ukraine
44. Navistar International Corporation ( United States)
IC		Subsidiary	North America
International		Division	North America
45. Shaanxi Automobile Group Company Ltd ( People's Republic of China)
Shannxi		Division	China
46. UAZ OJSC ( Russia)
UAZ		Subsidiary	Russia
47. Ashok Leyland ( India)
Ashok Leyland		Division	China
48. Kuozui Motors Ltd ( Taiwan)
Toyota*****		Subsidiary	Taiwan

Notes

* General Motors is in the process of selling Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong; Opel and Vauxhall to Magna and Sberbank;Saturn to Penske Automotive Group; and Saab to Koenigsegg; and eliminating Pontiac.

** Porsche is listed as parent company of Volkswagen Group. This is only the case since January 2009, when Porsche acquired more than 50% of the shares of Volkswagen.

*** Ford is looking to sell Volvo.

**** Hyundai Kia Automotive Group owns only a minority stake in Kia Motors.

***** Kuozui Motors manufactures Toyota cars under licence.

[edit] Minor automotive manufacturers

There are many automobile manufacturers other than the major global companies. They are mostly regional or operating in niche markets.

[edit] See also

Look up automotive industry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Big Three automobile manufacturers
• Category:Automotive industry by country
• Automotive market
• Automotive industry crisis of 2008
• Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
• Top 20 motor vehicle producing companies

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
• Automotive engineering learning website
• Plunkett Research, "Automobile Industry Introduction" (2008)
• Automotive Industry Analysis
• All vehicle manufacturers in the world (in Dutch with English etc. translation)
• Car makes of the world, 1894—present
• Automotive history and photos
• Automaker Rankings 2007: The Environmental Performance of Car Companies
• GFC - Motor Industry Repurcussions - Carsguide - Chrysler to file for bankruptcy
• GFC - Motor Industry Repercussions - Carsguide - GM kills Pontiac