10. Fiat (Italy)
The 10th and final manufacturer on this list is Fiat S.p.A., an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. In 2008, 2,524,325 volume of units are manufactured. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Though Fiat is Italy’s largest carmaker, Fiat-based cars are constructed all around the world, with the largest number produced outside Italy being built in Brazil. The Fiat group has received ‘The European Car of the Year award’ for 12 twelve times, more than any other manufacturer. In 2008, Fiat 500 has won the ‘European Car of the Year’ award.9. Suzuki (Japan)
Suzuki Motor Corporation is the 9th largest automobile manufacturer in the world by production volume with almost 2.6 million units released during the year 2008. Suzuki has 35 main production facilities in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries. Suzuki was founded in 1909 as Suzuki Loom Works by Michio Suzuki. The company’s first 30 years were focused on the production and development of the complex weaving machines. Later he decided to diversify the products and based on the consumer demand, decided to build compact cars. In 1953, Suzuki scored the first of many racing victories when the tiny 60 cc “Diamond Free” won its class in the Mount Fuji Hill Climb .By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd.8. Hyundai-Kia (South Korea)
At number 8 on the list of top ten motor manufacturers is South Korean manufacturer Hyundai-Kai who produced 2,777,137 cars during the year 2008. The Indian subsidiary of Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the Hyundai Motors India, is the country’s second largest car manufacturer. The Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967. It became the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group when Hyundai Motor Company purchased 51% of South Korea’s second-largest car company, Kia Motors in 1998.7. PSA Peugeot Citroen (France)
Peugeot Citroen, which of course is the producer of both Peugeot and Citroen models, is the seventh largest automaker in the world and the second largest in the Europe. The total volume manufactured for the year 2008 is 3,325,407 units. In December 1974 Peugeot S.A. acquired a 38.2% share of Citroën. In May 1976 they increased their stake of the then bankrupt company to 89.95%, thus creating the PSA Group. PSA’s old TU engine family has been replaced by Prince engine(link here) which was designed by the joint venture between PSA and BMW..6. Nissan (Japan)
Nissan Motors stands sixth in the list of top 10 motor vehicle manufacturers. It is among the top three Asian car companies. Nissan Motors was founded in 1932. Nissan faced severe financial difficulties in 1999 and entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France. The Nissan VQ engines, of V6 configuration, have featured among World’s 10 Best Engines for 14 straight years.5. Honda (Japan)
The Honda Motor Company secures the fifth place with total volume of 3,912,700 units as per 2008. The Civic and the Accord were in the top five list of sales. Honda superseded Nissan in 2001 and became Japan’s second largest car maker. Honda is also the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and the internal combustion engines. Honda produces more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. The company was founded by a self-taught engineer Soichiro Honda on 24th September 1948. The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car. Also, Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura in 1986.4. Ford (USA)
Ford Motor Company was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. Presently, it is world’s fourth largest car maker with 2,145,000 units of global sales. It should be noted however that Ford does have a popular range of vans and other non passenger vehicles. In 2007, Ford fell from second to third-ranked car maker for the first time in 56 years, behind only General Motors and Toyota. As of 2008, Ford has become the second largest automaker in Europe (only behind Volkswagen), with sales that occasionally exceed those in the United States and large markets in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Ford is the seventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2008 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2008 of $146.3 billion.3. Volkswagen group (Germany)
At third on the list is German business Volkswagen group with a total of 6,517,288 cars rolling off the production line in 2008. A large proportion of these cars are likely to be from the ‘Golf’ range. Volkswagen is second-largest market is China, where its subsidiary, Volkswagen Group China (VGC), is by far the largest joint venture automaker, selling more than one million vehicles in 2008. The Volkswagen Group constitutes the car brands like Audi AG, Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., Bentley Motors Ltd., SEAT, Skoda Auto and heavy goods vehicle manufacturer Scania AB. Recently, Porsche has united with the Volkswagen Group. It also holds the proud of parenting Bugatti Automobiles SAS which produces one of the world’s fastest car ‘Bugatti Veyron‘. The German luxury car company was founded on May 28, 1937 under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler wanted a “people’s car”. Volkswagen literally means ‘people’s car’ in German.
By sales, General Motors ranked as the largest U.S. automaker and the world’s second largest for 2008. General Motors had the third highest 2008 global revenues among automakers on the Fortune Global 500. Amongst GM’s more famous brands worldwide are Cadillac and Chevrolet. General Motors was established in 1908 by William C. Durant. GM was world’s number one car company for consecutive 77 years from 1931 to 2007. Because of the economic conditions, the car giant went bankrupt on June 1, 2009. On 10th July 2009, the company emerged from “Chapter 11 bankruptcy” reorganization. While no GM shares are currently available to the public, the company plans an initial public stock offering (IPO) in 2010.1. Toyota (Japan)
Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation is the world’s largest car manufacturer. It has manufactured 9,237,780 units in the year 2008. The company was number one in global automobile sales for the first quarter of 2008. The widest produced model is likely to be ‘Corolla’ which is one of the most popular and best selling cars in the world. The Japanese giant has been severely affected by the 2007-2009 financial crises with a loss of US$4.4 billion. The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a spinoff from his father’s company Toyota Industries to create automobiles. In 1934, it created its first product, the Type A engine, while still a department of Toyota Industries. It manufactured its first passenger car the Toyota AA in 1936. Toyota also owns and operates Lexus and Scion brands and has a majority shareholding stake in Daihatsu and Hino Motors, and minority shareholdings in Fuji Heavy Industries, Isuzu Motors, Yamaha Motors, and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation.
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