Globalization Of The Automobile Industry Essay

USA is the second among the biggest producers in the world in terms of the number of cars produced, with approximately 8-10 million manufactured per year (oica.net, 2014). The American auto industry has been in good shape since it’s emerging in the early years of 20th century. Although the initial design of up to date automobile was introduced in European countries in 19th century, Americans managed to prevail the industry in the first half of the 20th century. Henry Ford introduced and polished mass production assembly which was heavily utilized in Ford, General Motors and Chrysler that became the “Big Three” auto manufacturers on the eve of 1920s” (Foner, Garraty, 1991). Currently the global automotive industry includes such major manufacturers as General Motors, Ford Company, Hyundai, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Daimler. Each of these behemoths operate in a global competitive environment. It has been widely agreed that the globalization of the industry considerably accelerated during in 1990s thanks to the construction of important offshore manufacturing lines and plants and establishment of company mergers & acquisitions among big international automakers. Industry specialists suggest that the source of the expansion of foreign business in the automotive industry dates back to the technology transfer of Ford Motor …show more content…
A study made by DuPont and the Society of the Automotive Industry (SAE) shows that for the first time in 14 years, environmental concerns outpaced cost reduction to top the list of challenges that the automotive industry is pressed to challenge. Over 50% of survey participants pointed out the environmental factors, such as fuel economy, emissions or clean air regulations, to be the industry’s most acute challenges. Meanwhile only 32 % said cost as the biggest concern (L.Walter, 2008). The survey also casted light on how the concern is