Overview of Automotive Industry First automobile with petrol engine was built on 1885 and soon the figure for total cars in the world will be touching a mark of 1000 million cars and light trucks. This article presents a quick overview of what we mean with Automative Industry and how it started and what is the scale of this industry today. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the earth's most important economic sectors by revenue. The term automotive industry usually does not include industries dedicated to automobiles after delivery to the customer, such as repair shops and motor fuel filling stations. The first practical automobile with a petrol engine was built by Karl Benz in 1885 in Mannheim, Germany. Benz was granted a patent for his automobile on 29 January 1886, and began the first production of automobiles in 1888, after Bertha Benz, his wife, had proved with the first long- distance trip in August 1888 (104 km from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back) that the horseless coach was absolutely suitable for daily use. Since 2008 a Bertha Benz Memorial Route commemorates this event. Soon after, in 1889, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart designed a vehicle from scratch to be an automobile, rather than a horse-drawn carriage fitted with an engine. They also are usually credited as inventors of the first motorcycle, the Daimler Reitwagen, in 1885, but Italy's Enrico Bernardi, of the University of Padua, in 1882, patented a 0.024 horsepower (17.9 W) 122 cc (7.4 cu in) one-cylinder petrol motor, fitting it into his son's tricycle, making it at least a candidate for the first automobile, and first motorcycle. Until 2005, the U.S.A. led the world in total automobile production. In 1929 before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, and the US automobile industry produced over 90% of them. At that time the U.S. had one car per 4.87 persons. In 2006, Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million units. By producing 18.3 million units in 2010, China produced nearly twice the number of second place Japan (9.6 million units), with the U.S. in third place with 7.8 million units. Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007, consuming over 260 billion US gallons (980,000,000 m3) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The automobile is a primary mode of transportation for many developed economies. The Detroit branch of Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2014, one-third of world demand will be in the four BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Other potentially powerful automotive markets are Iran and Indonesia. Emerging auto 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 expects this trend to accelerate. India is home to a vibrant automobile of more than 40 million vehicles. It has been one of the few countries worldwide which saw growing passenger car sales during the recession of the past two years. It is believed this upward trend will be sustained in the foreseeable future due to a strong domestic market and increased thrust on exports. The Indian economy has grown at an average rate of around 9 percent over the past five years and is expected to continue this growth in the medium term. This is predicted to drive an increase in the percentage of the Indian population able to afford vehicles. India’s car per capita ratio (expressed in cars per 1,000 population) is currently among the lowest in the world’s top 10 auto markets. The twin phenomena of low car penetration and rising incomes, when combined with increasing affordability of cars, are expected to contribute to an increase in India’s automobile demand. Next >- Learn more at www.technofunc.com. Your online source for free professional tutorials. ry of Automotive Industry Study of the automotive industry is inherently interesting: it is massive, it is competitive, and it is just few years older than a century. It is expected to undergo major changes in recent times due to the impact of globalization, increased regulations because of environmental concerns and rising fossil fuel prices due to decreasing oil reserves. The evolution of the automotive industry has been influenced by various innovations in fuels, vehicle components, societal infrastructure, and manufacturing practices, as well as changes in markets, suppliers and business structures. Year 1600: Some historians cite examples as early as the year 1600 of sail-mounted carriages as the first vehicles to be propelled by something other than animals or humans. However, it is believed by most historians that the key starting point for the automobile was the development of the engine. First Fuel Engine in 1876: The engine was developed as a result of discovering new energy carrying mediums, such as steam in the 1700s, and new fuels, such as gas and gasoline in the 1800s. Shortly after the invention of the 4-stroke internal combustion gasoline-fueled engine in 1876, the development of the first motor vehicles and establishment of first automotive firms in Europe and America occurred. First Practical Automobile in 1885: The first practical automobile with a petrol engine was built by Karl Benz in 1885 in Mannheim, Germany. Benz was granted a patent for his automobile on 29 January 1886, and began the first production of automobiles in 1888, after Bertha Benz, his wife, had proved with the first long- distance trip in August 1888 (104 km (65 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back) that the horseless coach was absolutely suitable for daily use. Since 2008 a Bertha Benz Memorial Route commemorates this event. Birth of Automotive Industry (1890 – 1910): During the 1890s and early 1900s, developments of other technologies, such as the steering wheel and floor-mounted accelerator, sped up the development of the automotive industry by making vehicles easier to use. Almost simultaneously, in America, the societal infrastructure that would provide fertile ground for the proliferation of automobiles was being set. Driver’s licenses were issued, service stations were opened, and car sales with loan structures were instituted. Famous vehicle models such as Ford’s Model T were developed during these times and, by 1906, car designs began abandoning the carriage look and taking on a more car like appearance. Early Automotive Infrastructure Put in Place (1910-1920): During the 1910s, the development of technologies and societal infrastructure continued in addition to new manufacturing practices and business strategies. Traffic lights started appearing in the U.S. and thousands of road signs were posted by B. F. Goodrich on over 100,000 miles of U.S. roads. Henry Ford’s famous assembly line was launched in 1913, which allowed vehicles to be mass produced and thus achieved economies of scale. Ford also introduced the concept of using interchangeable and standard parts to further enable the mass production process. Automakers also started to merge with other companies (e.g., GM acquired Chevrolet) and to expand to other markets (e.g., GM of Canada). Era of Mass Production and Variety (1920-1930): In the 1920s, the development of infrastructure, adoption of new manufacturing practices, and the merging of companies continued (e.g., Benz and Daimler, Chrysler and Dodge, Ford and Lincoln). In the U.S., the Bureau of Public Roads and the enactment of the Kahn-Wadsworth Bill helped facilitate road-building projects and develop a national road system. In manufacturing, mass production methods became better established, which led to the availability of a wide range of satisfactory cars to the public. While Ford had focused on a single model, GM adopted a new production strategy for providing greater product variety, which helped the company increase their market share by snatching it from Ford. Decade of New Market Players (1930-1940): In the 1930s, several new vehicle brands were developed (e.g., Ford Mercury, Lincoln Continental, Volkswagen) and trends in vehicle consumer preferences were established that differentiated the American and European market. In the U.S. market, consumers preferred luxurious and powerful cars, whereas in Europe consumers preferred smaller and low-priced cars. Also during this time, GM’s product variety strategy continued to give them a competitive advantage over Ford, allowing GM to continue increasing their market share while Ford kept losing theirs. The End of World War II (1940-1950): Many European and Asian-Pacific countries led to the development of new production and business strategies. In the 1940s, during World War II (WWII), automotive factories were used to make military vehicles and weapons, thus halting civilian vehicle production. After WWII, the economies of most European and some Asian-pacific countries, such as Japan, were decimated; this required the development of new production and business strategies such as those of Toyota, which began to develop Just in Time (JIT) manufacturing. Most of the first models produced were similar to the pre-war designs since it took some time for the plants to revamp their operations to make new designs and models. Using this strategy there were able to improve return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and lowering carrying costs. Era of Technological Innovations (1950-1960): In the 1950s and 1960s, more technological innovations, brought many changes in the automotive industry. Some new concepts were, new look and feel of the automobiles, fiberglass bodies, higher compression ratio fuels, vehicle comfort, look and feel, emerging safety and environmental regulations, vehicle speed limits, front seat belts, and, heating and ventilation equipment.