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The automotive industry comprises a wide range of and involved in the , development, , , , , and of .

(2025). 9781118802397, John Wiley & Sons.
It is one of the world's largest industries by (from 16% such as in France up to 40% in countries such as Slovakia).

The word automotive comes from the autos (self), and motivus (of ), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. This term, as proposed by Elmer Sperry (1860–1930), first came into use to describe automobiles in 1898.


History
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. In the 1960s, robotic equipment was introduced, and most cars are now mainly assembled by automated machinery.

For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production, with the U.S. Big Three , Ford Motor Company, and 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 , 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. 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 2024, China produced more than 31 million vehicles in a year, after breaking 30 million in 2023, reaching 29 million for the first time in 2017 and 28 million the year before. In 2024, China produced the most passenger cars in the world, with Japan, India, Germany, and South Korea trailing. This was achieved by Chinese car companies signing joint ventures with foreign manufacturers. From 1970 (140 models) to 1998 (260 models) to 2012 (684 models), the number of automobile models in the U.S. has grown exponentially.


Safety
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 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. and other 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.

In case of safety issues, danger, , 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 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 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
In 2007, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road, consuming over of and yearly. The automobile is a primary mode of 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. 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. Other potentially powerful automotive markets are and . 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. However, more recent reports (2012) confirmed the opposite; namely that the automotive industry was slowing down even in BRIC countries. In the United States, vehicle sales peaked in 2000, at 17.8 million units.

In July 2021, the European Commission released its "Fit for 55" legislation package, 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.

The governments of 24 developed countries and a group of major car manufacturers including , Ford, , , Jaguar Land Rover and 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". Major car manufacturing nations like the United States, Germany, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as , , , , and Hyundai, did not pledge.


Environmental impacts
The global automotive industry is a major consumer of water. Some estimates surpass 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.

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.


World motor vehicle production

By year
199754,434,000
199852,987,0002.7%
199956,258,8926.2%
200058,374,1623.8%
200156,304,9253.5%
200258,994,3184.8%
200360,663,2252.8%
200464,496,2206.3%
200566,482,4393.1%
200669,222,9754.1%
200773,266,0615.8%
200870,520,4933.7%
200961,791,86812.4%
201077,857,70526.0%
201179,989,1553.1%
201284,141,2095.3%
201387,300,1153.7%
201489,747,4302.6%
201590,086,3460.4%
201694,976,5694.5%
201797,302,5342.36%
201895,634,5931.71%
201991,786,8615.2%
202077,621,58216%
202180,145,9883.25%
202285,016,7286.08%


By country
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).


30,160,966
(30,446,928)
10,611,555
8,997,440
5,851,507
4,243,597
4,109,371
4,002,047
2,451,221
2,324,838
1,841,663
1,553,026
1,505,076
1,468,393
1,404,501
1,395,717
1,080,000
1,025,474


By manufacturer

Top 10 (2016–2020)
These were the ten largest manufacturers by production volume as of 2017, of which the eight largest were in the top 8 positions since Fiat's 2013 acquisition of the Corporation (although the 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 ; only was degraded to 11th place, in 2022, when being surpassed by both (which became the 10th largest in 2021) and Chang'an.

10,741,556
10,975,352
7,724,163
7,189,893
5,385,972
5,176,211
5,323,319
4,612,673
3,749,815
3,479,152


Top 20 (2012–2013)
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.

8,050,181
9,031,670
8,525,573
6,616,858
5,516,931
4,631,673
2,336,954
2,909,016
3,582,410
2,725,899
2,825,089
2,137,067
1,999,017
1,738,160
1,478,502
1,197,192
1,165,591
1,108,949
1,140,282
1,167,208
897,107


Notable company relationships

Stake holding
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:

  • subsidiary holds a 25% stake in .
  • Mercedes-Benz Group holds a 30.01% stake in and holds a 6.49% stake.
  • Daimler Truck holds an 89.29% stake in Fuso.
  • Mercedes-Benz Group held a combined 6.2% stake in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance also held a combined 6.2% stake in Mercedes-Benz Group until 2021.
  • Mercedes-Benz Group holds a 12% stake in , while BAIC Group holds 5% stake in Mercedes-Benz Group.
  • holds a 12.23% stake and a 19.94% exercisable voting rights in .
  • holds a 49% stake of .
  • holds a 67% stake in .
  • FCA holds a 37.8% stake in Tofaş with another 37.8% stake hold by Koç Holding.
  • Fiat Automobili Srbija holds a 54% stake in .
  • holds a 46% stake in .
  • Fujian Motors Group holds a 15% stake in . FMG, Beijing Automotive Group, China Motor, and Mercedes-Benz Group has a joint venture called . FMG, China Motor, and Mitsubishi Motors has a joint venture called , FMG holds a 50% stake, and both China Motor and Mitsubishi Motors holds an equal 25% stake.
  • holds a 23% stake in London EV Company.
  • Geely Automobile holds a 49.9% stake in and a 51% stake in .
  • Geely Holding Group holds a 9.69% stake in Mercedes-Benz Group.
  • Geely Holding Group holds an 8.3% stake and a 15.9% exercisable voting rights in .
  • holds a 93% stake in GM India and holds a 7% stake.
  • owns (historically ) as its Korean operations.
  • General Motors holds a 20% stake in Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines.
  • holds a 10% stake in Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines.
  • holds a 19% stake in New Flyer Industries.
  • Mitsubishi Corporation holds a 20% stake in Mitsubishi Motors.
  • held a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors beginning October 2016, thus having the right to nominate the chairman of Mitsubishi Motors' board and a third of its directors. Mitsubishi bought some of its shares back from Nissan in November 2024, decreasing Nissan's stake to 24%.
  • Nissan holds a 43% stake in .
  • holding company holds a 53.3% voting stake in . The automotive business is fully owned by the Volkswagen Group.
  • and have an alliance (Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, with Mitsubishi joining in 2016 through Nissan's acquisition of a 34% stake in the company) involving two global companies linked by cross-shareholding, with Renault holding a 43.4% stake in Nissan shares, and Nissan holding a 15% stake of (non-voting) Renault shares. In January 2023, Renault said it intended to transfer almost 30% of its controlling stake in Nissan to a French trust, reducing its shares with voting rights to a minority 15% and, in doing so, matching Nissan shares in Renault to gain equal voting rights. The share transfer was completed in November 2023.
  • Renault formerly held a 25% stake in ; on December 2018, Renault and Russian state-owned holding company acquired all shares of AvtoVAZ (with Renault owning a 67.61% stake), but in 2022 Renault sold all of its shares to state-owned Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute (NAMI), re-nationalising AvtoVAZ.
  • Renault holds an 52.8% stake in .
  • holds a 51% stake in .
  • holds a 100% stake in Jaguar Land Rover.
  • holds a 100% stake in .
  • Toyota holds a 100% stake in .
  • Toyota holds a 4.6% stake in .
  • Toyota holds a 5.05% stake in , while Mazda holds a 0.25% stake in Toyota. Toyota buys stake in Mazda, joint US factory, EV development planned | CarAdvice
  • Toyota holds a 16.7% stake in transportation, automotive, and defense conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly Fuji Heavy Industries), parent company of .
  • Toyota holds a 4.94% stake in , while Suzuki holds a 0.2% stake in Toyota.
  • holds a 99.55% stake in the .
  • Volkswagen Group holds a 37.73% stake in (68.6% voting rights), a 53.7% stake in (55.9% voting rights). Volkswagen is integrating Scania, MAN, and its own truck division into one division.
  • holds a 19% stake in Tatra.
  • ZAP holds a 51% stake in .


Joint ventures

China joint venture
  • Beijing Automotive Group has a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Group called , both companies hold a 50-50% stake. both companies also have a joint venture called Beijing Foton Daimler Automobile.
  • Beijing Automotive Group also has a joint venture with Hyundai called , both companies hold a 50-50% stake.
  • and have a joint venture called . BMW owns a 50% stake, Brilliance owns a 40.5% stake, and the Shenyang municipal government owns a 9.5% stake.
  • Changan Automobile has a joint venture with (), and both hold a 50-50% stake.
  • Changan Automobile has a joint venture with (), and both hold a 50-50% stake.
  • Changan Automobile has a 50-50% joint venture with ().
  • Changan Automobile and Ford have a 50-50% joint venture called .
  • Changan Automobile and have a joint venture called Jiangling Motor Holding.
  • has a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover called Chery Jaguar Land Rover, both companies hold a 50-50% stake.
  • Chery and Israel Corporation have a joint venture called , and both companies hold a 50-50% stake.
  • Dongfeng Motor Corporation and have a 50-50% joint venture called Dongfeng Motor Company.
  • Mercedes-Benz Group and have a joint venture called , both companies hold a 50-50% stake.
  • Mercedes-Benz Group and Geely Holding Group have a joint venture called smart Automobile, both companies hold a 50-50% stake.
  • Dongfeng Motor and (until 2021 PSA Group) have a 50-50% joint venture called Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën.
  • Dongfeng Motor has a 50-50% joint venture with called .
  • Dongfeng Motor formerly had a joint venture with called Dongfeng Nissan-Diesel.
  • Dongfeng Motor has a 50-50% joint venture with named in , which was founded in the end of 2013
  • and has a 50-50 joint venture called .
  • FAW Group has a 50-50 joint venture with called .
  • FAW Group has a 50-50 joint venture with called Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor and both companies also have another joint venture called .
  • and , both have two joint ventures in and , the latter alongside .
  • Navistar International and JAC has a joint venture called Anhui Jianghuai Navistar.


Outside China
  • Ford and International Motors have a 50-50 joint venture called Blue Diamond Truck.
  • Ford and have a 50-50 joint venture called .
  • Ford and Koç Holding have a 50-50 joint venture called .
  • Ford and Lio Ho Group have a joint venture called Ford Lio Ho, Ford owns 70% and Lio Ho Group owns 30%.
  • General Motors and UzAvtosanoat have a joint venture called , UzAvtosanoat owns 75% and General Motors owns 25%.
  • General Motors, , and EBRD have a joint venture called , Both GM and AvtoVAZ owns 41.61% and EBRD owns 16.76%.
  • Hyundai Motor Company and Kibar Holding has a joint venture called Hyundai Assan Otomotiv, Hyundai owns 70% and Kibar Holding owns 30%.
  • and Anadolu Group have a 50-50% joint venture called Anadolu Isuzu.
  • Isuzu and has a 50-50% joint venture called Isuzu Truck South Africa.
  • Isuzu, , and Imperial Sojitz have a joint venture called , Sollers JSC owns 66%, Isuzu owns 29%, and Imperial Sojitz owns 5%.
  • Mahindra & Mahindra and International Motors have a joint venture called Mahindra Trucks and Buses Limited. Mahindra & Mahindra owns 51% and International Motors owns 49%.
  • and UzAvtosanoat have a joint venture called MAN Auto-Uzbekistan, UzAvtosanoat owns 51% and MAN SE owns 49%.
  • and formerly owned a 50-50% joint venture called Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile Czech, however on 1 January 2021 Toyota bought all of PSA's shares and renamed the now wholly-owned plant to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic.
  • PSA and CK Birla Group (AVTEC) have a 50-50% joint venture called PSA AVTEC Powertrain Pvt. Ltd.
  • is involved in joint ventures with Ford ( ) and to produce cars.
  • also formed a joint venture in India with and gained access to Fiat's diesel engine technology.
  • Tata Motors and Marcopolo have a joint venture called , where Tata owns 51% and Marcopolo owns 49%.
  • and have a 50-50% joint venture called VE Commercial Vehicles.


See also
  • 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis
  • Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
  • Automotive industry by country
  • Automotive industry in the United States
  • Big Three (automobile manufacturers)
  • Effects of the 2008–10 automotive industry crisis on the United States
  • List of countries by motor vehicle production
  • Automotive acronyms and abbreviations


Notes

Further reading
  • Ajitha, P. V., and Ankita Nagra. "An Overview of Artificial Intelligence in Automobile Industry–A Case Study on Tesla Cars." Solid State Technology 64.2 (2021): 503–512. online
  • Banerjee, Preeta M., and Micaela Preskill. "The role of government in shifting firm innovation focus in the automobile industry" in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability (Routledge, 2017) pp. 108–129.
  • Bohnsack, René, et al. "Driving the electric bandwagon: The dynamics of incumbents' sustainable innovation." Business Strategy and the Environment 29.2 (2020): 727–743 online.
  • Bungsche, Holger. "Regional economic integration and the automobile industry: automobile policies, division of labour, production network formation and market development in the EU and ASEAN." International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 18.4 (2018): 345–370.
  • Chen, Yuan, C-Y. Cynthia Lin Lawell, and Yunshi Wang. "The Chinese automobile industry and government policy." Research in Transportation Economics 84 (2020): 100849. online
  • Clark, Kim B., et al. "Product development in the world auto industry." Brookings Papers on economic activity 1987.3 (1987): 729–781. online
  • Guzik, Robert, Bolesław Domański, and Krzysztof Gwosdz. "Automotive industry dynamics in Central Europe." in New Frontiers of the Automobile Industry (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020) pp. 377–397.
  • Imran, Muhammad, and Jawad Abbas. "The role of strategic orientation in export performance of China automobile industry." in Handbook of Research on Managerial Practices and Disruptive Innovation in Asia (2020): 249–263.
  • Jetin, Bruno. "Who will control the electric vehicle market?" International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 20.2 (2020): 156–177. online
  • Kawahara, Akira. The origin of competitive strength: fifty years of the auto industry in Japan and the US (Springer Science & Business Media, 2012).
  • Kuboniwa, Masaaki. "Present and future problems of developments of the Russian auto-industry." RRC Working Paper Series 15 (2009): 1–12. online
  • Lee, Euna, and Jai S. Mah. "Industrial policy and the development of the electric vehicles industry: The case of Korea." Journal of technology management & innovation 15.4 (2020): 71–80. online
  • Link, Stefan J. Forging Global Fordism: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the Contest over the Industrial Order (2020) excerpt; influential overview
  • Liu, Shiyong. "Competition and Valuation: A Case Study of Tesla Motors." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science . Vol. 692. No. 2. (IOP Publishing, 2021) online
  • Miglani, Smita. "The growth of the Indian automobile industry: Analysis of the roles of government policy and other enabling factors." in Innovation, economic development, and intellectual property in India and China (Springer, Singapore, 2019) pp. 439–463.
  • (2025). 9781009453196, Cambridge University Press. .
  • Qin, Yujie, Yuqing Xiao, and Jiawei Yuan. "The Comprehensive Competitiveness of Tesla Based on Financial Analysis: A Case Study." in 2021 International Conference on Financial Management and Economic Transition (FMET 2021). (Atlantis Press, 2021). online
  • Rawlinson, Michael, and Peter Wells. The new European automobile industry (Springer, 2016).
  • Rubenstein, James M. The changing US auto industry: a geographical analysis (Routledge, 2002).
  • Seo, Dae-Sung. "EV Energy Convergence Plan for Reshaping the European Automobile Industry According to the Green Deal Policy." Journal of Convergence for Information Technology 11.6 (2021): 40–48. online
  • Shigeta, Naoya, and Seyed Ehsan Hosseini. "Sustainable Development of the Automobile Industry in the United States, Europe, and Japan with Special Focus on the Vehicles' Power Sources." Energies 14.1 (2021): 78+ online
  • Ueno, Hiroya, and Hiromichi Muto. "The automobile industry of Japan." on Industry and Business in Japan (Routledge, 2017) pp. 139–190.
  • Verma, Shrey, Gaurav Dwivedi, and Puneet Verma. "Life cycle assessment of electric vehicles in comparison to combustion engine vehicles: A review." Materials Today: Proceedings (2021) online.
  • Vošta, M. I. L. A. N., and A. L. E. Š. Kocourek. "Competitiveness of the European automobile industry in the global context." Politics in Central Europe 13.1 (2017): 69–89. online
  • Zhu, Xiaoxi, et al. "Promoting new energy vehicles consumption: The effect of implementing carbon regulation on automobile industry in China." Computers & Industrial Engineering 135 (2019): 211–226. online


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