Industrial robots welding a car body in the white section of a production line.

The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of motor vehicles. In 2007, more than 73 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide.^[1] In 2006, 16 million new automobiles were sold in the USA, 15 million in Western Europe, 7 million in China, ^[2] and 2 million in India. In 2007, the markets in Canada, USA, Western Europe and Japan are stagnating, while those in South America (especially Brazil), Eastern Europe (especially Russia), and Asia (South Korea and India) are growing.

Oil price effect

In 2008, with rising oil prices, industries downstream of the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production industry, like the Automobile manufacturing industry, are experiencing the effects of the price rise. Despite suggestions that the broader inflationary effects will take months to flow through to prices, consumers have already begun to respond. Marginal consumption has declined and consumers are altering habits. There's been a shift in the size of vehicles being purchased across the globe, with smaller more fuel-efficient hybrid models becoming increasingly important to the Automobile and Light Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry. Moreover, the car industry is facing increasing external competition from the public transport sector, as consumers re-evaluate their private vehicle usage.^[3]

World motor vehicle production

v • d • e « previous year Top 20 motor vehicle producing countries 2007
Motor vehicle production (1000 units)
Country																				1000										2000										3000										4000										5000										6000										7000										8000										9000										10000										11000										12000
Japan																																																																																				11596
United States																																																																																				10781
PR China																																																																																				8882
Germany																																																																																		6213 (includes GM Belgium)
South Korea																																																													4086
France																																																		3019
Brazil																																																		2971
Spain																																																	2890
Canada																																														2578
India																																											2307
Mexico																																									2095
UK																																						1750
Russia																																					1660
Italy																																	1284
Thailand																																1238
Turkey																															1099
Iran																														997
Czech Rep.																													939
Belgium																												844
Poland																												785
Reference: World Motor Vehicle Production by Country: 2006–2007. OICA. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.

World's largest vehicle manufacturing groups (by volume)

The table below gives the world's largest motor vehicle manufacturing groups, along with their subsidiary or joint venture companies, and marques produced. The table is ranked by the latest production figures from OICA^[4] for the parent group, and then by marque.

Marque	Country of origin	Ownership	Markets
1. Toyota Motor Corporation ( Japan)
Daihatsu		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Hino		Subsidiary	Asia Pacific, Canada, South America
Lexus		Division	Global, apart from South America with the exception of Chile.
Scion		Division	United States
Toyota		Division	Global
2. General Motors Corporation ( United States)
Buick		Division	North America, China
Cadillac		Division	Global
Chevrolet		Division	Global
Daewoo		Subsidiary	Asia, Europe, South America
GMC		Division	North America, Middle East
Holden		Subsidiary	Asia Pacific, Middle East
Pontiac		Division	North America
Opel		Subsidiary	Continental Europe, South Africa
Saab		Subsidiary	Global
Saturn		Subsidiary	North America
Vauxhall		Subsidiary	United Kingdom
3. Ford Motor Company ( United States)
Ford		Division	Global
Lincoln		Division	North America, Middle East
Mercury		Division	North America, Middle East
Troller		Subsidiary	South America
Volvo Cars		Subsidiary	Global
4. Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG) ( Germany)
Audi		Subsidiary	Global
Bentley		Subsidiary	Global
Bugatti		Subsidiary	Global
Lamborghini		Subsidiary	Global
Scania		Subsidiary	Global
SEAT		Subsidiary	Europe, Latin America, South Africa
Škoda		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Volkswagen Passenger Cars		Subsidiary	Global
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles		Subsidiary	Global
5. Honda Motor Company ( Japan)
Acura		Division	North America, China
Honda		Division	Global
6. PSA Peugeot Citroën ( France)
Citroën		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Peugeot		Subsidiary	Global, except United States and Canada
7. Nissan Motors ( Japan)
Infiniti		Division	North America, Middle East, Taiwan, Korea
Nissan		Division	Global
8. Chrysler LLC ( United States)
Chrysler		Division	Global
Dodge		Division	Global
Jeep		Division	Global
9. Renault S.A. ( France)
Dacia		Subsidiary	Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa
Renault		Division	Global, except United States and Canada
Renault Samsung Motors		Subsidiary	Asia, South America
10. Hyundai Motor Company ( South Korea)
Hyundai		Division	Global
11. Fiat S.p.A. ( Italy)
Abarth		Subsidiary	Global, except United States and Canada
Alfa Romeo		Subsidiary	Global, except United States and Canada
CNH Global		Subsidiary	Global
Ferrari		Subsidiary	Global
Fiat		Division	Global, except United States and Canada
Fiat India Automobiles		Joint venture	India
Iveco		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Lancia		Subsidiary	Global, except North America
Maserati		Subsidiary	Global
Sevel		Joint venture	-
Zastava		Subsidiary	-
12. Suzuki Motor Corporation ( Japan)
Maruti Suzuki		Subsidiary	India, Middle East, South America
Suzuki		Division	Global
13. Daimler AG ( Germany)
Freightliner		Subsidiary	North America, South Africa
Maybach		Division	Global
Mercedes-Benz		Division	Global
Mitsubishi Fuso		Subsidiary	Global
Smart		Division	Western Europe, Southeast Asia, North America, South Africa
14. Mazda Motor Corporation ( Japan)
Mazda		Division[5]	Global
15. Kia Motors ( South Korea)
Kia		Subsidiary	Global
16. BMW AG ( Germany)
BMW		Division	Global
MINI		Division	Global
Rolls-Royce		Subsidiary	Global
17. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation ( Japan)
Mitsubishi		Division	Global
18. AvtoVAZ ( Russia)
Lada		Division	Russia, Finland, Sweden
VAZ		Division	Russia, Eastern Europe
19. Fuji Heavy Industries ( Japan)
Subaru		Division	Global
20. Tata Motors Limited ( India)
Hispano		Subsidiary	Europe
Jaguar		Subsidiary	Global
Land Rover		Subsidiary	Global
Tata		Division	India, South Africa
Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle		Subsidiary	South Korea
21. Isuzu Motors ( Japan)
Isuzu		Division	Global
22. Chang'an Motors ( People's Republic of China)
Chana		Division	China, South Africa
Chang'an Ford		Joint venture	China
Chang'an Suzuki		Joint venture	China
23. First Automobile Works ( People's Republic of China)
Besturn		Division	China
Hongqi		Division	China
Xiali		Subsidiary	China
FAW-Audi		Joint venture	China
FAW-Volkswagen		Joint venture	China
24. Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation ( People's Republic of China)
Beijing		Division	China
Beijing-Benz DaimlerChrysler Automotive		Joint venture	China
25. Dongfeng Motor Corporation ( People's Republic of China)
Dongfeng		Division	China
Dongfeng Honda Automobile Company		Joint venture	China
Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile		Joint venture	China
26. Chery Automobile ( People's Republic of China)
Chery		Division	China, South Africa
27. Harbin Hafei Automobile Industry Group ( People's Republic of China)
Hafei		Division	China
28. GAZ ( Russia)
GAZ		Division	Russia
LDV		Subsidiary	Europe
LiAZ		Subsidiary	Russia
29. AB Volvo ( Sweden)
Mack Trucks		Subsidiary	Global
Renault Trucks		Subsidiary	Global
Volvo Trucks		Division	Global
30. Geely ( People's Republic of China)
Geely		Division	China
31. Brilliance China Automotive Holdings ( People's Republic of China)
Brilliance		Division	China
Jinbei		Subsidiary	China
32. Paccar ( United States)
DAF Trucks		Subsidiary	Global
Kenworth		Division	-
Leyland Trucks		Subsidiary	-
Peterbilt		Division	-
33. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation ( People's Republic of China)
MG		Subsidiary	UK
Roewe		Division	China
SsangYong		Subsidiary	South Korea, South Africa
Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation		Subsidiary	China
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile		Joint venture	China
Shanghai GM		Joint venture	China
Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive		Joint venture	China

Note: The OICA statistics rank the Toyota subsidiary companies Daihatsu and Hino separately, here they are included with Toyota.

Company relationships

It is not uncommon 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:

• Porsche holds a 20% stake in the Volkswagen Group (30.97% voting rights), as of 2006-12-31.^[6]
• 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 Renault shares.
• Ford holds a 33.9% stake in Mazda.^[7] and an 8.3% share in Aston Martin.
• Hyundai Motor Co. holds a 38.67% stake in Kia Motors.^[8]
• Daimler AG holds a 19.9% stake in Chrysler Holding LLC.^[9]
• General Motors still holds a 3% stake in Suzuki. Suzuki is also partner with GM in GMDAT and CAMI.^[10]
• Toyota holds a 51% stake in Daihatsu hence having a controlling interest in the company, and 16.5% in Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company of Subaru.^[11]

See also

• Automotive market
• Memorandum of understanding
• U.S. Automobile Production Figures

References

External links

• Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers at Wikipedia
• Automotive Industry Analysis
• The British Library - finding information on the automotive industry UK emphasis
• Car makes of the world, 1894—present
• Automotive history and photos
• Automaker Rankings 2007: The Environmental Performance of Car Companies
• Computer Systems for Vehicle Distribution and Aftersales Support