Automobile Industry

Motor vehicle production constitutes an important industrial sector for many countries. More than 70 million light vehicles (defined as passenger cars and light trucks but excluding heavy-duty trucks) were produced worldwide in 2006. Production exceeded 1 million vehicles in 2006 in 16 countries on every continent: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. During the first decade of the 21st century, global production of light vehicles was increasing at an annual rate of 4%.

With the growth of motor vehicle production worldwide has come an increasing concentration of producers. The two leading motor vehicle producers, Toyota and General Motors (GM), together manufactured one fourth of the world total. Eight other companies ...