Do you think you are familiar with the big car companies? A look at the world’s top 10 manufacturers today reveals unfamiliar conglomerates formed by sister car makers sharing technology and spending in the sector with established factories making too many cars.
The automotive industry today requires large savings in large-scale manufacturing to afford the research and development required to introduce new models and remain competitive. After record sales in recent years, manufacturers are already battling to reduce sales and switch to electric and automated vehicles.
Here are the top 10 players based on their 2018 global sales, as well as their performance in the current economic climate in 2019. Sales figures are difficult to correct — different manufacturers report numbers differently, so the amounts quoted may include cars and vans, but not heavy commercial vehicles.
1. Volkswagen Group — 10.8 million
With 10 brands under its roof — Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Skoda (http://www.skodabook.ru/), SEAT, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, as well as heavy trucks from MAN and Scania Group oppose the protracted diesel scandal, returning shine to their brands by investing in new electric models. However, the group is also facing challenges in its most important market in China, where passenger car sales are expected to fall by 4 million units in 2019, as well as the prospect of declines in Spain and the UK. VW Group vehicles have improved in Brazil and Russia, and auto repair services are gaining momentum in North America.
2. Toyota — 10.5 million
Japan’s largest car manufacturer offers Toyota (http://www.toyotaman.ru/), Lexus and Daihatsu brands worldwide in addition to the ever-growing Hino truck line. It often challenges the VW Group for the automaker’s biggest crown, and sometimes succeeds, especially if you subtract commercial vehicles from the equation. Toyota itself is the best-selling automotive brand in the world. Toyota is the only manufacturer on this list to maintain global sales, and has results from China and Thailand in 2019, while falling in Indonesia and Australia. In the latest report released by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, Toyota’s Canadian sales rose 5.3% in 2019 — the only major manufacturer other than Hyundai to rise in this challenging year.
3. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance — 10.3 million
French Renault and Japanese Nissan (http://www.nissanbook.ru/) became strategic partners in 1999, adding Mitsubishi in 2016 to create a tripartite alliance that controls 10 different car brands: Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Infiniti, Samsung Motors, Dacia, Datsun, Alpine, Venucia and Lada. Mitsubishi sales are growing, which contributes to the success of the union. Together, the car group sold over 10 million vehicles in 2018, making it one of the top three manufacturers on the planet. However, the alliance could cut its wealth this year due to falling Nissan sales in the US, Japan and much of Canada. Notably, Renault is trying to restart merger talks with Italy’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
4. General Motors — 8.7 million
Historically, General Motors has been the undisputed industrial giant, thanks in part to its subsidiaries in Germany (Opel), the UK (Vauxhall), Australia (Holden), Sweden (Saab), and South Korea (Daewoo). But after going bankrupt and bailed out in 2009, GM put some of its national brands to sleep, including Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer, and sold Opel/Vauxhall to PSA in 2017. Today GM includes Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC Truck in its North American portfolio, as well as Holden in Australia. He partnered with Rawon, Wuling and Baojun when he bet big on the Chinese market — a good strategy until the latter started to fall recently.
5. Hyundai Motor Group — $7.5 million
Hyundai Motor Group became a major global player when South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai, acquired a majority stake in the country’s second-largest automaker, Kia, during the 1998 Asian financial crisis. This takeover resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship between the two car manufacturers. platforms and related technologies. Recently, the merger resulted in the luxury brand Genesis, which is already gaining fame and deserves attention. Hyundai is showing strong growth, but some new models have not lived up to expectations. 2017 was not a good year in terms of global sales, and now this shortcoming is corrected.
6. Ford — 5.7 million
Some may be surprised by the low ranking of the largest car manufacturers in the world. After all, Henry Ford set the industry standard by introducing the conveyor belt and effective workforce management practices a century ago. However, the Blue Oval trademark continues to grace cars and trucks from all over the world. Ford has had foreign acquisitions in the past, such as Jaguar and Land Rover, but today it only has two brands left: Ford and Lincoln. Ford has become synonymous with pickups and SUVs in North America, and has now gone so far as to announce it is cutting car production there. Elsewhere, the Fiesta hatchback is one of the best-selling cars in the world. However, Ford’s sales have declined significantly this year, especially in markets such as China and the UK.
7. Honda Motor Group — $5.2 million
According to one metric, Honda is the world’s largest engine manufacturer — if you count all of its motorcycles, marine engines and mowers, in addition to cars and light trucks, both Honda and Acura are branded depending on the market. His Civic and CR-V won over many Honda fans for its reliability and ease of handling, and the Jazz hatchback is a staple in many automotive markets around the world. Unlike some Japanese automakers, Honda has made great strides in the Chinese market and has shown growth this year, while sales have plummeted in Indonesia.
8. Fiat Chrysler — $4.8 million
Sergio Marchionne orchestrated the bailout of ailing Chrysler during the Great Recession of 2009, engineering a takeover of the Detroit company as it emerged from Fiat’s bankruptcy protection. The two companies completed a merger of Marchionne managers in 2014. Dnestova is an amalgamation of several brands including Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Lancia and Maserati. Like Ford, FCA’s operations in North America rely heavily on an ever-expanding range of pickups and SUVs while moving away from non-competitive vehicles. The key strength is Jeep, which is a reliable source of profit. Allsuspens revolved around FCA’s attempt to merge Renault, and the story came full circle after
9. PSA Group — 4.1 million
With the merger of France’s Peugeot, Citroen and DS, and new additions to Opel and Vauxhall (formerly General Motors), PSA is Europe’s third-largest car manufacturer and does business in nearly every country except the US and Canada. That may change next year when PSA returns there after decades of absence. Interestingly, PSA continues to produce Opel models that are sold as Buicks in North America. Known for its diesel engines and sleek French design, PSA is trying to maintain its presence in the world’s top 10 automakers. PSA is seeing sales growth partly in Europe, which is constantly adopting diesels, such as Spain and Italy, while the Chinese seem to have lost their appetite for them.
10. Suzuki — 3.2 million
Like Honda, Suzuki was a motorcycle manufacturer before entering the automotive market. His compact 1955 Suzulight included front-wheel drive, independent suspension on all four cars, innovations that were not common even decades later. Suzuki was also an Iranian assistant to the four-wheeler. Suzukiautomobiles exited the Canadian and US markets a few years ago due to declining sales, but remains a major automaker in other parts of the world, especially Asia. Indian Maruti is considered a key partner in the growing South Asian market. In 2018, global sales of Suzuki cars and crossovers grew by 5%.