ABSTRACT
This chapter explores market conditions in the global automobile sector, beginning with a short history of automobile production and market structure; market-entry conditions especially in recent years - are considered in somewhat greater detail. Automobile production is a multi-stage activity with each step comprising of a variety of manufacturing processes, some of which are common to different stages. The internal combustion engine, the power unit which lies at the heart of the modern automobile and commercial vehicle, only became a commercial reality during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. One of the reasons why automobile-related employment is so much higher than the employment generated in the manufacture of automobiles alone arises from the large number of inputs contained in the final product. The chapter also deals with a description of automobile-assembly technology to help identify a way of classifying different types of components; this is of obvious importance in the discussion of sourcing-strategies.
