The internationalization of automobile production since 2000 - part 1 automobile countries
How the world-wide automobile production internationalized
76% of the world-wide automobile production rolls from the assembly belts that are located in the 10 strongest automobile countries. The share of each country at this world production was dramatically changed from 2000 to 2011.
This article shows how these market shares were mixed up by the engine of the internationalization of automobile production. A second article highlights the 10 largest automobile manufacturers how they internationalized their productions.
"Internationalization of production" or "Globalization"?
June 4th, 2012 - The internationalization of production has been becoming the main strategy particularly with large and very large enterprises since the nineties. It is produced where the highest profits are to be achieved and for this purpose many factors must work together. Just to mention sales market nearby, important subcontractors nearby, low labour costs, favourable facilities of transport, communication and infrastructures, low taxes, subsidies as high as possible, investor friendly surrounding field, international capital market nearby and other more.
In this connection one often refers to globalization. However, globalization already originated in 15. Century, as the Spanish king Philipp II governed the first world realm of mankind history. This global, thus worldwide realm extended from America over Europe to Asia. Since then many national states as well as large enterprises have globally actively been, there were colonialism, imperialism and two world wars.
Today, however, the internationalization of production, its organization in a world-wide interlaced production network has been becoming the new, the specific.
So since the last 10 years the internationalization of production in the world-wide automobile industry has been leading to a dramatic rearrangement of the world-wide production locations.
The dramatic rearrangement of the production locations from 2000 to 2011
Still in 2000 59.7% of the world-wide automobile production came from the USA, Japan, Germany, France and Spain. Just 11 years later this world market shares was dropped to 35%.
Brazil, India and China, however, could more than quadruple their world market shares during this time being almost up with 32.1% with the formerly leading automobile countries.
- Source: OICA - Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d`Automobiles, Paris; www.oica.net. Calculations of our own.
China’s jump to the top of the world automobile production is surely the most spectacular change in the ranking of the 10 strongest automobile countries.
- Source: OICA - Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d`Automobiles, Paris; www.oica.net. Market shares consider passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses.
China could more than sextuple its world market share within 11 years catapulting itself from rank 7 on rank 1. In China more automobiles are now produced than in the USA and Japan. More than each fifth (22.9%) world-wide produced automobile is already manufactured in China; of it each second rolls from the assembly belt of the 10 largest automobile manufacturers.
India could more than triple its world market share, Brazil increased its share by the 1.5fold. 11 years ago both countries still formed the tail lights in the ranking of the 10 strongest automobile countries. Now France and Spain are swivelling the red lantern in this ranking.
At the same time the market shares of the formerly leading automobile countries broke in. So the world market shares of the USA, Spain and France were cut into halves in the 11 years. While in 2000 each third automobile still came from these countries, it is actually even still each sixth. Also Japan and Germany experienced declining market shares.
Continuous growth of the world-wide automobile production
The described dramatic shift of the market shares of the individual countries could be compelled by stagnation or even a decrease in world automobile production. A view of the diagram shows us that the world-wide automobile production was neither stagnating nor declining; in fact it continuously grew with exception of the economic crises 2001 and 2008/2009, affecting the total industrial production.
The index of the world-wide automobile production increased from 87.8 (2000) to 116.8 (2010), this means in absolute production figures a growth from 58.3 Mio. to 77.6 Mio. automobiles. So the automobile production grew by 19.2 Mio. automobiles or by 33%.
- Source: OICA - Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d`Automobiles, Paris; www.oica.net. Calculations of our own.
So the market shares of the 10 strongest automobile countries did not change due to cyclical market conditions, in fact they are result of structural changes, evenly the internationalization of production.
