Abstract
We crafted this book to offer a fresh and comprehensive account of the far-reaching transformations experienced by the automotive industry (AI). We called for studies and frameworks that better help us to decode the nature and internal logic of such transformations along with the reconfiguration of the industry’s geographical, technological, organizational and institutional footprints. The 18 country cases analysed allow us to find out a set of common tendencies across national frontiers, coloured by the embedded nature of players, government institutions and local market environments. In what follows, we reflect on these findings around five thematic issues, namely changing geographies (relocating production centres, displacing markets and product cycle revitalization), actors’ strategies (power geometries and struggles for the industry leadership), industrial relations systems (wages and labour relations), industry transitions and government policies.
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Notes
- 1.
See Business Insider (Garfiel, Leanna) (February 2, 2017). “12 major cities that are starting to go car-free”, online, https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-going-car-free-2017-2.
- 2.
Measured by the units produced, that in the language of the industry, translates as productive leading edge.
- 3.
In 1977, Japanese car imports reached two million units. Demand for these vehicles grew with the rising oil prices. Arnholt, Mike et al. (Arnholt et al. 1996) captured the feeling in the United States at the time in “Foreign invasion: Imports, transplants change industry forever”, WardsAUTO, online, https://www.wardsauto.com/news-analysis/foreign-invasion-imports-transplants-change-auto-industry-forever.
- 4.
A CAR (2018) study provides extra data: in 2017 Ford, GM y FCA provided 46% of vehicles sold in the United States, using a formula of producing 31% of the cars and importing the remaining 15%.
- 5.
In 1980, the Detroit Three had 56 plants in the United States. In 2010, this had reduced to 19 (Covarrubias V. 2014).
- 6.
As it is well known, the bailout of GM and Chrysler was an unprecedented financial operation in the history of the industry, reaching around $80 billion of public funds. Having unleashed a mammoth restructuring process between 2005 and 2006, Ford could avoid bankruptcy. Yet, Ford itself strongly advocated for the rescue of other firms as their bankruptcy would seriously threaten its own survival and received a $5.9 billion loan from the Energy Department. It was an extraordinary event showing just how interconnected the American industry was.
- 7.
For purposes of estimation, the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi alliance is divided in two.
- 8.
The study considers two additional variables that are beyond the scope of this study, namely exchange rates and energy costs.
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Covarrubias V., A., Ramírez Perez, S.M. (2020). Wrapping Up: The New Geographies and Frontiers of the AI have Arrived. Who is Taking the Lead?. In: Covarrubias V., A., Ramírez Perez, S.M. (eds) New Frontiers of the Automobile Industry. Palgrave Studies of Internationalization in Emerging Markets. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18881-8_18
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