Automotive industry

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Modern assembly line

File:Škoda cars being transported by rail at Kutná Hora město train station, Czech Republic -
20140710.ogv

A video showing new SEAT, Škoda & Volkswagen cars being transported by rail at Kutná Hora město
train station in the Czech Republic

The automotive industry is a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design,
development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles,[1] some of them are called
automakers. It is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue. The automotive
industry does not include industries dedicated to the maintenance of automobiles following delivery to
the end-user, such as automobile repair shops and motor fuel filling stations.

The term automotive was created from Greek autos (self), and Latin motivus (of motion) to represent
any form of self-powered vehicle. This term was proposed by Elmer Sperry.[2]

Contents

1 History

2 Safety

3 Economy

4 World motor vehicle production

4.1 By year

4.2 By country

4.3 By manufacturer

4.4 By market segment

5 Company relationships

5.1 Stake holding

5.2 Joint ventures

6 Top vehicle manufacturing groups by volume

7 Car brands and parent companies

8 See also

9 Notes

10 References

11 External links

History

Main article: History of the automobile

Thomas B. Jeffery automobile factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin, c.1916

Citroën assembly line in 1918

The automotive industry began in the 1860s with hundreds of manufacturers that pioneered the
horseless carriage. For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production. In
1929, before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, and the U.S.
automobile industry produced over 90% of them. At that time the U.S. had one car per 4.87 persons.[3]
After World War II, the U.S. produced about 75 percent of world's auto production. In 1980, the U.S.
was overtaken by Japan and then became world's leader again in 1994. In 2006, Japan narrowly passed
the U.S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million
units. With 19.3 million units manufactured in 2012, China almost doubled the U.S. production, with
10.3 million units, while Japan was in third place with 9.9 million units.[4] From 1970 (140 models) over
1998 (260 models) to 2012 (684 models), the number of automobile models in the U.S. has grown
exponentially.[5]

Safety

Main article: Automobile safety

Safety is a state that implies to be protected from any risk, danger, damage or cause of injury. In the
automotive industry, safety means that users, operators or manufacturers do not face any risk or danger
coming from the motor vehicle or its spare parts. Safety for the autmobiles themselves, implies that
there is no risk of damage.

Safety in the automotive industry is particularly important and therefore highly regulated. Automobiles
and other motor vehicles have to comply with a certain number of norms and regulations, whether local
or international, in order to be accepted on the market. The standard ISO 26262, is considered as one of
the best practice framework for achieving automotive functional safety.[6]
In case of safety issues, danger, product defect or faulty procedure during the manufacturing of the
motor vehicle, the maker can request to return either a batch or the entire production run. This
procedure is called product recall. Product recalls happen in every industry and can be production-
related or stem from the raw material.

Product and operation tests and inspections at different stages of the value chain are made to avoid
these product recalls by ensuring end-user security and safety and compliance with the automotive
industry requirements. However, the automotive industry is still particularly concerned about product
recalls, which cause considerable financial consequences.

Economy

See also: Automotive industry by country

Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007, consuming
over 980 billion litres (980,000,000 m3) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly.[7] The automobile is a primary
mode of transportation for many developed economies. The Detroit branch of Boston Consulting Group
predicts that, by 2014, one-third of world demand will be in the four BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India
and China). Meanwhile, in the developed countries, the automotive industry has slowed down.[8] It is
also expected that this trend will continue, especially as the younger generations of people (in highly
urbanized countries) no longer want to own a car anymore, and prefer other modes of transport.[9]
Other potentially powerful automotive markets are Iran and Indonesia.[10] Emerging auto markets
already buy more cars than established markets. According to a J.D. Power study, emerging markets
accounted for 51 percent of the global light-vehicle sales in 2010. The study, performed in 2010
expected this trend to accelerate.[11][12] However, more recent reports (2012) confirmed the opposite;
namely that the automotive industry was slowing down even in BRIC countries.[8] In the United States,
vehicle sales peaked in 2000, at 17.8 million units.[13]

World motor vehicle production

World Motor Vehicle Production[14]

Production volume (1000 vehicles)

1960s: Post war increase

1970s: Oil crisis and tighter safety and emission regulation.

1990s: production started in NICs

2000s: rise of China as top producer

Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010

to 1950: USA had produced more than 80% of motor vehicles.[15]

1950s: UK, Germany and France restarted production.

1960s: Japan started production and increased volume through the 1980s. US, Japan, Germany, France
and UK produced about 80% of motor vehicles through the 1980s.

1990s: Korea became a volume producer. In 2004, Korea became No. 5 passing France.

2000s: China increased its production drastically, and 2009 became the world largest producing country.

2013: The share of China (25.4%), Korea, India, Brazil and Mexico rose to 43%, while the share of USA
(12.7%), Japan, Germany, France and UK fell to 34%.