Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2007, more than 73 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide.
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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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.
History
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.
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.
Canada
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.
Today,
the Canadian auto industry is closely linked to that of the U.S., due
to the Automotive Products Trade Agreement and later the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). There are five firms manufacturing
automobiles in Canada, all in the province of Ontario: General Motors of
Canada, Honda Canada, Chrysler Canada, Toyota Canada, and Ford of
Canada. True Canadian domestics have long since gone under or been
absorbed into the US "Big 3". The auto industry is Canada's biggest
sector, and the province of Ontario surpassed Michigan in 2006 to become
the largest auto-producing jurisdiction on the American continent. In
addition to production facilities, 3,500 car dealers employ 140,000
individuals.
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.
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 five months of year
2009, with total sale of 4.95 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 Chevy.
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]
Daimler AG produces the upscale Mercedes-Benz, long a famous name in racing, as well as the innovative city vehicle Smart. BMW (founded 1916), Audi and Porsche are major factors in the sportive luxury market worldwide.[13] Porsche formed his own company, which today produces expensive, high-quality sports cars.[14]
In 2008 the Porsche company sought control of the much larger
Volkswagen company; Porsche cornered the market for Volkswagen stock and
made profits of tens of billions of Euros, while apparently gaining
control of the bigger company.
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, 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.
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.
source: wikipedia
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar