ABSTRACT
In December 1981, Eiji Toyoda of Toyota and Roger Smith of General Motors (GM) met to discuss a joint venture, which would turn out Japanese sub-compacts in GM's plant in Fremont, California. Only a few years earlier such a deal would have been unthinkable in the industry. The automobile manufacturers around the world have become increasingly entangled in global networks. Sourcing, R&D, manufacturing and marketing activities are co-ordinated both within the large international enterprises and between competing firms. Other recent phenomena of this kind include Ford's plan to build a Mexican plant to produce sub-compacts for the US market, based on parts from the Japanese manufacturer Mazda, which in turn is 25 per cent owned by Ford. Chrysler imports completely built-up cars and engines made in Japan by Mitsubishi Motors, a company of which Chrysler owns 24 per cent. All three big US firms spend enormous amounts on importing components and completely built-up cars from Japan. However, both Ford and Chrysler have officially supported protectionistic policies. At the same time, Japanese firms are now tripling their production capacity within the United States. The list of global networks goes on with European manufacturers tying into each other and into their Japanese and US rivals. Moreover, within the larger industrial system, which includes both suppliers and dealers, enormous changes are under way.
