Abstract
The internationalization of production has destroyed previous national and regional schemes of organizing labor and capital. It has given birth to a new spatial organization of accumulation, closely linked to the new international division of labor. This chapter examines some examples of how the spatial organization of the automotive industry has changed as a result of the process of global integration of production over the last decade. The first part focuses on the recent history of Ford in Europe, as a specific example of how an automobile firm has planned to use its worldwide network of operations to restore its competitive position. The second part of the chapter examines the parallels between Ford’s response to changing conditions in Europe and the restructuring of the U.S. automotive industry.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Doz, Yves. 1979. Ford in Spain (A). Harvard Business School, Case 4-380-091.
Ford of Europe, Body and Assembly Operations. 1980. “1980 Controller’s Office Review Meeting” (December 18).
Ford of Europe, Finance Staff Volume Planning and Integration Studies. 1972.
“Alternatives For the Expansion of Passenger Car Assembly Capacity in Europe.” (July 28).
Ford of Europe. 1981. Product letter on the Brazilian Escort. Internal memorandum (January).
“Ford Special.” 1981. Transnational Information Exchange 9 (April–August).
Lindsay, Robert. “Japanese Beachhead in California.” New York Times, 21 August 1977, p. F4.
MacLennan, Carol, and O’Donnell, John. 1980. “The Effects of the Automobile Transition on Employment: A Plant and Community Study.” Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
O’Donnell, John P.; Byron, George; and O’Connell, Mike. 1981. “Identifying Automotive Changes in Facilities and Capital Equipment and Assessing Community and Employment Impacts.” U. S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, DOT-TSC-OST-81-3, May.
Rodgers, Peter, and Eglin, Roger. “Welsh first team wins new Ford plant.” London Sunday Times, 9 November 1977.
U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Transportation. 1980. The U.S. Automobile Industry (The Goldschmidt Report).
Vinocur, John. “The Americanization of VW.” New York Times, 9 October 1977, p. D5.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Kluwer Nijhoff Publishing
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cohen, R.B. (1983). The New Spatial Organization of the European and American Automotive Industries. In: Moulaert, F., Salinas, P.W. (eds) Regional Analysis and the New International Division of Labor. Studies in Applied Regional Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7409-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7409-8_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-7411-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-7409-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive