External Analysis of the Auto Industry
Cars play an important role in our lives. Cars allow us to move around in less time than walking and they also give us more autonomy considering that we can go wherever we want.
Having a car allows us the convenience that public transportation cannot. Cars have an enormous effect on our lives that we must understand how the auto industry affects or economy. Furthermore, we must be aware of external factors that affect the auto industry. Having knowledge of the environmental factors influencing the automotive industry allows us to make better decisions when purchasing a vehicle. The environmental factors that we must look at include political, economic, technological, demographic, socio-cultural, and global.
“In January of 1972, NHTSA began requiring that all passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection.(2) The main dynamic performance requirement in this standard involves successful crash testing of a test vehicle into a rigid barrier with both restrained and unrestrained adult dummies at any speed up to and including 48 kilometers per hour (kph), or 30 miles per hour” (National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, 1997). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the
Environmental Protection Agency have taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The newest fuel economy standards are “protected to: Cut 6 billion metric tons of GHG over the lifetimes of the vehicles sold in model years 2012-2025; Save families more than $1.7
Page 2 of 6 trillion in fuel costs; Reduce America’s dependence on oil by more than 2 million barrels per day in 2025” (US EPA, 2015). Evidently, government intervention in the automotive industry determines how auto makers produce and market their vehicles.
The auto industry has been facing economic pressures as more car companies enter
The auto industry will have to adapt to the changing preferences of the everyday citizen. More and more people are moving into the city close to their jobs (Dawid, 2016). Younger people are more reliant on their smartphones. These are lifestyles trends that car companies will have to keep up with. Globalization allows for a competitive automotive industry. It has allowed for cars to be “designed in one country and built
Page 4 of 6 from components that originated in a number of countries by a company based in a third country” (Global Education, 2014). Globalization gives people more options to choose from, which in turn increases competition within the automotive industry.
Indeed, understanding how the automotive industry responds to external factors helps us, the drivers, make better decisions at the time of buying a new vehicle. This also helps us better predict where the future of the auto industry is heading. Even though less people will be driving cars, technological innovations and an ever increasing population will surely allow this industry
to
This paper will focus on the future of the U.S. Automobile industry as the United States recovers from the worst recession we have experienced in the past 75 years. I will provide information on the following topics pertaining to the U.S. automobile industry:
on the automotive industry and with the population encouraging more fuel efficient and lower polluting transportation the future of the automotive industry will likely respond to those demands. The environment will likely become an increasing concern with the automotive industry. The effects of a change to a more environmentally friendly automotive industry are yet to be seen but I can assure you that all American households as well as the United States government and other countries will be watching.
Increasing environmental awareness, coupled with a responsible American government and improved technology, have all contributed to the comeback of low-and zero-emissions vehicles in the US. It remains to be seen whether the automakers and oil companies will once again work to halt this progress, or embrace it as the technology of a more responsible future.
As the nation was introduced into the current recession, the auto industry and its labor was likely hurt more than any other industry. Few years ago it was the homebuilding industry that was troubled the most and held the first place, but it gave that position over to the auto industry the following year. Why was this industry affected more than any other is very interesting and complex situation. There are several factors why there was such a huge negative impact on this industry, its performance, and the labor involved. Some of the major reasons are very high foreign competition, higher oil prices, and certainly the recession.
The world of technology is ever changing and advancing. With the automotive industry in play technology is constantly surpassing what is available today with what can be done for tomorrow. Technology and the automotive industry go hand in hand with constant improvement to components of cars. Due to technology advancement there is competition within the car industry, especially between American car companies and European car companies. European car companies provide their buyers with innovative variety and revolutionary luxuries. European car technology is superior to American car technology due to their safety, entertainment, and luxury features.
As the economic integration of Europe continues, it is likely that increasing international competition will affect firms in European industries. As other countries expand and have more trade worldwide, the more the European economy will be affected. The economy will tend to buy from outside of Europe due to taste and lower prices. There would be more firms to choose from decreasing Economies of scale are significant because motor vehicle manufacturing is an industry based on growth. Since the automotive industry being discussed is in Italy, it is based primarily around one company, Fiat. The majority of sales of automobiles in Italy are acquired by Fiat. The automotive industry constitutes a substantial part in the European economy because this industry makes up 10 percent of total manufacturing output.
Most American cars are not hybrids or fuel-efficient, they are usually big SUV’s or trucks that get eighteen to ten miles per gallon. Most of Hondas, Toyotas, and Hyundai’s get around 20 to 30 miles per gallon, and hybrids get 50 miles per gallon. Peoples demand fuel-efficient cars because oil is i...
Automobiles play an essential role in American society. As if being the major means of transportation was not impressive enough, automotives can be seen on T.V., in movies, in magazines, and can sometimes be indicative of a person’s wealth and social status. On average, Americans drive nearly 40 miles and drive for just over 50 minutes driving per person per day (http://www.bts.gov). That means a person spends roughly one-sixteenth of a day driving. It would make sense, then, to make such an essential part of society as efficient, cost effective, and clean as possible. However, that is not the case. As the years have passed cars have actually begun to move away from efficiency. Hawken writes, “[The automobile] design process has made cars ever heavier, more complex, and usually costlier. These are all unmistakable signs that automaking has beco...
The automotive industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy for every country in the world. It involves a large number of corporations and institutions engaged in the manufacturing process of motor vehicles including designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling. It contributes to the global economic growth by generating a significant return and creating a ripple effect on supporting the supply chain as well as providing job opportunities for the skilled workers (ACEA, 2016).
Today, people use their own personal vehicles to travel more than ever before. Personal transportation is no longer considered a luxury; it is now considered a necessity. The number of cars in the United States has been growing steadily since the 1970s. The number of miles traveled by cars has risen nearly 150 percent, yet the United States population has only grown roughly 40 percent during that time (hybridcars.com, Driving Trends). Although it may seem like we are advancing into the future, in reality, we are moving backwards from the effects these vehicles have on our bodies and the environment. The pollution produced by these vehicles has brought us to the day where we must find other modes of transportation that cause less harm to the world in which we live. Advances in technology have developed hybrid vehicles to try and slow down the amount of pollution. Driving a hybrid vehicle, instead of a conventional gas powered vehicle, can reduce the amount of pollution that affects our lives and the environment around us.
The American Automotive Industry, popularly known as the U.S. Automotive Industry is one of the most rapidly evolving industries in North America. It is generally oligopolistic with a few players who in the past have been known to avoid price competition among themselves. The industry consists of industries manufacturing vehicles, car parts, replaceable parts and those engaged in assembling parts into complete models. However, the most dominant players in this industry are the vehicle manufacturers. The players design various models, produce the various parts that each model needs and assemble them into a finished product before availing them to the market. General Motors, Chlysler and Ford motors, dominate the U.S. Automotive mobile. They are popularly referred to as “The Big Three”.
Spatz, J., & Nennenkamp, P. (2002, January). Globalization of the automotive industry-traditional locations under pressure. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from http://www.uni-kiel.de/ifw/pub/kap/2002/kap1093.pdf
Many people sharing one polluting vehicle is better than each driving their own. For many people this is becoming an important issue.
The fast population growth rate of humans means that the necessity for transportation vehicles is also enormously increasing. Studies have shown that in 1999 the worldwide number of vehicles registered was 700 million. From this huge number of vehicles, the US has a large share, which includes 200 million cars and light trucks. The number of cars worldwide also grew three times faster Competition for good things like public health, making the earth safe to live are positive aspects of competition, but global competition can also have a downside concerning the environment. This is true for the production of vehicles, as companies are coming with designs and new models with improved engines, but fuel consumption and the pollution of the air remains the same.
The automobile industry is a pillar of global economy. Globally automotive contributes roughly 3 % of all GDP output. It historically has contributed 3.0 – 3.5 % to the overall GDP in the US. The share is even higher in the emerging markets, with the rates in china and India at 7 % and rising. China produces the highest number of automobiles followed by US and Japan (oica.net, 2015). The industry supports direct employment of 9 million people to build 60 million vehicles and parts that go into them (oica.net, 2015). Many other industries such as steel, iron, glass, aluminium, textiles etc. are associated with the automotive industry and resulting in more than 50 million jobs owed to the auto