The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, repairing, and modification of motor vehicles. [1] It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16% such as in France up to 40% to countries such as Slovakia). [2] [ failed verification ]
The word automotive comes from the Greek autos (self), and Latin motivus (of motion), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. This term, as proposed by Elmer Sperry [3] [ need quotation to verify ] (1860–1930), first came into use to describe automobiles in 1898. [4]
This section needs to be updated.(January 2024) |
The automotive industry began in the 1860s with hundreds of manufacturers pioneering the horseless carriage. Early car manufacturing involved manual assembly by a human worker. The process evolved from engineers working on a stationary car, to a conveyor belt system where the car passed through multiple stations of more specialized engineers. Starting in the 1960s, robotic equipment was introduced to the process, and most cars are now mainly assembled by automated machinery. [5]
For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production, with the U.S. Big Three General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler being the world's three largest auto manufacturers for a time, and G.M. and Ford remaining the two largest until the mid-2000s. In 1929, before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, of which the U.S. automobile enterprises produced more than 90%. At that time, the U.S. had one car per 4.87 persons. [6] After 1945, the U.S. produced around three-quarters of the world's auto production. In 1980, the U.S. was overtaken by Japan and then became a world leader again in 1994. Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production during 2006 and 2007, and in 2008 also China, which in 2009 took the top spot (from Japan) with 13.8 million units, although the U.S. surpassed Japan in 2011, to become the second-largest automobile industry. In 2023, China had for the first time in history more than 30 million produced vehicles a year, after reaching 29 million for the first time in 2017 and 28 million the year before. From 1970 (140 models) over 1998 (260 models) to 2012 (684 models), the number of automobile models in the U.S. has grown exponentially. [7]
Safety is a state that implies being 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 automobiles 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 regulations, whether local or international, in order to be accepted on the market. The standard ISO 26262, is considered one of the best practice frameworks for achieving automotive functional safety. [8]
In case of safety issues, danger, product defect, [9] [10] 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 raw materials.
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.
In 2007, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road, consuming over 980 billion litres (980,000,000 m3) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. [11] The automobile is a primary mode of transportation for many developed economies. The Detroit branch of Boston Consulting Group predicted that, by 2014, one-third of world demand would be in the four BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Meanwhile, in developed countries, the automotive industry has slowed. [12] 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, and prefer other modes of transport. [13] Other potentially powerful automotive markets are Iran and Indonesia. [14] Emerging automobile 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. [15] [16] However, more recent reports (2012) confirmed the opposite; namely that the automotive industry was slowing down even in BRIC countries. [12] In the United States, vehicle sales peaked in 2000, at 17.8 million units. [17]
In July 2021, the European Commission released its "Fit for 55" legislation package, [18] which contains important guidelines for the future of the automotive industry; all new cars on the European market must be zero-emission vehicles from 2035. [19]
The governments of 24 developed countries and a group of major car manufacturers including GM, Ford, Volvo, BYD Auto, Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz committed to "work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets". [20] [21] Major car manufacturing nations like the United States, Germany, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as Volkswagen, Toyota, Peugeot, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, did not pledge. [22]
The global automotive industry is a major consumer of water. Some estimates surpass 180,000 L (39,000 imp gal) of water per car manufactured, depending on whether tyre production is included. Production processes that use a significant volume of water include surface treatment, painting, coating, washing, cooling, air-conditioning, and boilers, not counting component manufacturing. Paintshop operations consume especially large amounts of water because equipment running on water-based products must also be cleaned with water. [25]
In 2022, Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg ran into legal challenges due to droughts and falling groundwater levels in the region. Brandenburg's Economy Minister Joerg Steinbach said that while water supply was sufficient during the first stage, more would be needed once Tesla expands the site. The factory would nearly double the water consumption in the Gruenheide area, with 1.4 million cubic meters being contracted from local authorities per year — enough for a city of around 40,000 people. Steinbach said that the authorities would like to drill for more water there and outsource any additional supply if necessary. [26]
Year | Production | Change | Source |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | 54,434,000 | — | [29] |
1998 | 52,987,000 | 2.7% | [29] |
1999 | 56,258,892 | 6.2% | [30] |
2000 | 58,374,162 | 3.8% | [31] |
2001 | 56,304,925 | 3.5% | [32] |
2002 | 58,994,318 | 4.8% | [33] |
2003 | 60,663,225 | 2.8% | [34] |
2004 | 64,496,220 | 6.3% | [35] |
2005 | 66,482,439 | 3.1% | [36] |
2006 | 69,222,975 | 4.1% | [37] |
2007 | 73,266,061 | 5.8% | [38] |
2008 | 70,520,493 | 3.7% | [39] |
2009 | 61,791,868 | 12.4% | [40] |
2010 | 77,857,705 | 26.0% | [41] |
2011 | 79,989,155 | 3.1% | [42] |
2012 | 84,141,209 | 5.3% | [43] |
2013 | 87,300,115 | 3.7% | [44] |
2014 | 89,747,430 | 2.6% | [45] |
2015 | 90,086,346 | 0.4% | [46] |
2016 | 94,976,569 | 4.5% | [47] |
2017 | 97,302,534 | 2.36% | [48] |
2018 | 95,634,593 | 1.71% | [49] |
2019 | 91,786,861 | 5.2% | [50] |
2020 | 77,621,582 | 16% | [51] |
2021 | 80,145,988 | 3.25% | [52] |
2022 | 85,016,728 | 6.08% | [53] |
The OICA counts over 50 countries that assemble, manufacture, or disseminate automobiles. Of those, only 15 countries (boldfaced in the list below) currently possess the capability to design original production automobiles from the ground up, and 17 countries (listed below) have at least one million produced vehicles a year (as of 2023). [55]
Country | Produced vehicles 2023 [56] |
---|---|
China (plus Taiwan) | 30,160,966 (30,446,928) |
USA | 10,611,555 |
Japan | 8,997,440 |
India | 5,851,507 |
Republic of Korea | 4,243,597 |
Germany | 4,109,371 |
Mexico | 4,002,047 |
Spain | 2,451,221 |
Brazil | 2,324,838 |
Thailand | 1,841,663 |
Canada | 1,553,026 |
France | 1,505,076 |
Turkey | 1,468,393 |
Czechia | 1,404,501 |
Indonesia | 1,395,717 |
Slovakia | 1,080,000 |
U.K. | 1,025,474 |
These were the ten largest manufacturers by production volume as of 2017, [57] of which the eight largest were in the top 8 positions since Fiat's 2013 acquisition of the Chrysler Corporation (although the PSA Group had been in the top 8 1999 to 2012, and 2007 to 2012 one of the eight largest along with the seven largest as of 2017) and the five largest in the top 5 positions since 2007, according to OICA, which, however, stopped publishing statistics of motor vehicle production by manufacturer after 2017. All ten remained as the ten largest automakers by sales until the merger between Fiat-Chrysler and the PSA Group in early 2021; only Renault was degraded to 11th place, in 2022, when being surpassed by both BMW (which became the 10th largest in 2021) and Chang'an. [58]
Rank [a] | Group | Country | Produced vehicles (2017) [57] | Sold vehicles (2018) | Sold vehicles (2019) [59] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toyota | Japan | 10,466,051 | 10,521,134 | 10,741,556 |
2 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | 10,382,334 | 10,831,232 | 10,975,352 |
3 | General Motors (except SAIC-GM-Wuling) [b] | United States | 9,027,658 (6,856,880) | 8,787,233 | 7,724,163 |
4 | Hyundai | South Korea | 7,218,391 | 7,437,209 | 7,189,893 |
5 | Ford | United States | 6,386,818 | 5,734,217 | 5,385,972 |
6 | Nissan | Japan | 5,769,277 | 5,653,743 | 5,176,211 |
7 | Honda | Japan | 5,235,842 | 5,265,892 | 5,323,319 |
8 | Fiat-Chrysler (now part of Stellantis) | Italy / United States | 4,600,847 | 4,841,366 | 4,612,673 |
9 | Renault | France | 4,153,589 | 3,883,987 | 3,749,815 |
10 | PSA Group (now part of Stellantis) | France | 3,649,742 | 4,126,349 | 3,479,152 |
These were the twenty largest manufacturers by production volume in 2012 and 2013, or the 21 largest in 2011 (before the Fiat-Chrysler merger), of which the fourteen largest as of 2011 were in the top 14 in 2010, 2008 and 2007 (but not 2009, when Changan and Mazda temporarily degraded Chrysler to 16th place). The eighteen largest as of 2013 have remained in the top 20 as of 2017, except Mitsubishi which fell out of top 20 in 2016, while Geely fell out of the top 20 in 2014 and 2015 but re-entered it in 2016.
Rank [c] | Group | Country | Produced vehicles (2013) [60] | Produced vehicles (2012) [61] | Produced vehicles (2011) [62] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toyota | Japan | 10,324,995 | 10,104,424 | 8,050,181 |
2 | General Motors | United States | 9,628,912 | 9,285,425 | 9,031,670 |
3 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | 9,379,229 | 9,254,742 | 8,525,573 |
4 | Hyundai | South Korea | 7,233,080 | 7,126,413 | 6,616,858 |
5 | Ford | United States | 6,077,126 | 5,595,483 | 5,516,931 |
6 | Nissan | Japan | 4,950,924 | 4,889,379 | 4,631,673 |
7 | Fiat / FCA | Italy | 4,681,704 | 4 498 722 [d] | 2,336,954 |
8 | Honda | Japan | 4,298,390 | 4,110,857 | 2,909,016 |
9 | PSA Peugeot Citroën | France | 2,833,781 | 2,911,764 | 3,582,410 |
10 | Suzuki | Japan | 2,842,133 | 2,893,602 | 2,725,899 |
11 | Renault | France | 2,704,675 | 2,676,226 | 2,825,089 |
12 | Daimler | Germany | 1,781,507 | 2,195,152 | 2,137,067 |
Chrysler | United States | part of FCA | part of FCA | 1,999,017 | |
13 | BMW | Germany | 2,006,366 | 2,065,477 | 1,738,160 |
14 | SAIC | China | 1,992,250 | 1,783,548 | 1,478,502 |
15 | Tata | India | 1,062,654 | 1,241,239 | 1,197,192 |
16 | Mazda | Japan | 1,264,173 | 1,189,283 | 1,165,591 |
17 | Dongfeng | China | 1,238,948 | 1,137,950 | 1,108,949 |
18 | Mitsubishi | Japan | 1,229,441 | 1,109,731 | 1,140,282 |
19 | Changan | China | 1,109,889 | 1,063,721 | 1,167,208 |
20 | Geely | China | 969,896 | 922,906 | 897,107 |
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: several of these have changed.(September 2024) |
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:[ citation needed ]
Peugeot S.A., trading as Groupe PSA was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles and motorcycles under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands. On 18 December 2019, PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced that they had agreed to the terms of a binding $50 billion merger. On 16 July 2020, both companies announced the new name for their merged operations, Stellantis. The deal closed on 16 January 2021. As of 2022, Stellantis is the fourth largest automaker by sales behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, and Hyundai Motor Group.
Yulon Motor Co., Ltd. is a Taiwanese automaker and importer. Taiwan's biggest automaker as of 2010, Yulon is known for building Nissan models under license. The original romanization of the company's name is Yue Loong, but in 1992 the company renewed its logo and switched to the shorter Yulon name. Historically, it is one of Taiwan's "big four" automakers. The company has over time evolved as a holding company that encompassed multiple public entities such as Yulon-Nissan Motor, Yulon Financial, Yulon Rental, Carnival Industrial Corporation and others. The group currently has a rivalry with Hotai Motor Group as the two largest Taiwanese automotive companies.
Lists of automobile-related articles cover a wide range of topics related to cars. The lists are organized by manufacturer, region, sport, technology and so on.
Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën, formerly Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile Co., Ltd. (DPCA) from 1992 to 2021, is an equally owned Chinese joint venture between the automobile manufacturers Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Stellantis. Based in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, it manufactures Peugeot and Citroën models for sale in China.
China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, also called Guangzhou International Motor Show or Auto Guangzhou, is an auto show held by Guangzhou Zhanlian Exhibition Service Co., Ltd, in November and December every year in the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, China. It is not a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles.
The automotive industry inmainland China has been the largest in the world measured by automobile unit production since 2008. As of 2024, mainland China is also the world's largest automobile market both in terms of sales and ownership.
Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Beijing Motor Show or Auto China is an auto show held biennially in Beijing, China since 1990.
TACO Faurecia Design Center Pvt. Ltd. (TFDC) was an Indo French engineering design company. It was a 50:50 joint venture between Tata AutoComp Systems Limited (TACO) of India and Faurecia Automotive Holdings of France. It provided automotive components design services exclusively to Faurecia.
The automotive industry in Pakistan is one of fastest-growing industries in the country, growing by 171% between 2014 and 2018. It accounts for 7% of Pakistan's GDP and employed a workforce of over 6.8 million people as of 2024. Pakistan is the 15th largest producer of automobiles. Its contribution to the national exchequer is nearly US$5.4 billion. Pakistan's auto market is among the fastest growing in Asia. 384,000 cars were sold in 2023. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Pakistan had many Japanese cars. With the launch of the first Auto Policy in 2005, Pakistan launched its first indigenous car, Adam Revo. However, after the 2008 elections, the dollar started depreciating, and due to bad governance, many automakers began to halt production, with some exiting Pakistan. Currently, the auto market is dominated by Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and Suzuki. However, on 19 March 2016, Pakistan passed a second "Auto Policy 2016-21," which offers tax incentives to new automakers to establish manufacturing plants in the country. In response, Renault, Nissan, Proton Holdings, Kia, SsangYong, Volkswagen, FAW, and Hyundai have expressed interest in entering the Pakistani market. MG JW Automobile Pakistan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Morris Garages (MG) Motor UK Limited, owned by SAIC Motor, to bring electric vehicles to Pakistan. NLC signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to manufacture Mercedes Actros trucks in Pakistan. On 8 July 2021, Jolta Electric launched the production of electric motorcycles.
The automotive industry in Germany, is one of the largest employers in the world, with a labor force of over 857,336 (2016) working in the industry.
This article provides an overview of the automotive industry in countries around the world.
Dongfeng Motor Corporation Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan, Hubei. Founded in 1969, it is currently the smallest of the "Big Four" state-owned car manufacturers of China with 671,000 sales in 2023, below SAIC Motor, Changan Automobile and FAW Group.
Automotive production is a significant industry in Russia, directly employing around 600,000 people or 1% of the country's total workforce. Russia produced 1,767,674 vehicles in 2018, ranking 13th among car-producing nations in 2018, and accounting for 1.8% of the worldwide production. The main local brands are light vehicle producers AvtoVAZ and GAZ, while KamAZ is the leading heavy vehicle producer. Eleven foreign carmakers have production operations or are their plants in Russia.
The automotive industry in Malaysia consists of 27 vehicle producers and over 640 component manufacturers. The Malaysian automotive industry is the third largest in Southeast Asia, and the 23rd largest in the world, with an annual production output of over 500,000 vehicles. The automotive industry contributes 4% or RM 40 billion to Malaysia's GDP, and employs a workforce of over 700,000 throughout a nationwide ecosystem.
As of 2019, the automotive industry in Thailand is the largest in Southeast Asia and the 10th largest in the world. The Thai industry has an annual output of more than two million vehicles, more than countries such as Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Czech Republic and Turkey.
The automotive industry in Egypt has been developing for 50 years. It can sell more than 200,000 vehicles annually and is now the second-largest market in Africa and the 42nd largest in the world, with an annual production output of over 70,000 vehicles. After experiencing many failures and success, the Egyptian Automotive industry is focusing more on assembly operations rather than manufacturing.
There are currently about 150 active brands in the Chinese automobile market. Among them are 97 Chinese domestic brands and 43 joint venture (JV) brands. Before 2010, the traditional "Big Four" refers to the four major state-owned car manufacturers, SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng and Changan. Other Chinese car manufacturers, both from public and private sectors, like Geely, BAIC, BYD, Chery, GAC, Great Wall, JAC and Seres emerged as the major players with the expansion of Chinese automotive industry.