Title: Trends and drivers of change in the European automotive industry: (I) mapping the current situation

Authors: Stewart MacNeill, Jean-Jacques Chanaron

Addresses: Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. ' Graduate School of Business, Groupe ESC Grenoble, BP 127, 38003 Grenoble Cedex 01, France

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the European automotive industry and its importance to the European economy. The paper examines the whole automotive system including car and truck/bus manufacture, the up-stream supply matrix and the downstream distribution and retail sector. The authors examine the main, and well-documented, manufacturing, technological and geographical trends in the industry and relate these to the fundamental drivers of competition, costs, legislation and consumer choice. The article is one of a series of two that, together, present a comprehensive picture of the European motor vehicle industry and its strengths and weaknesses compared to those in the other main global automotive producing areas. The articles consider the possible future trajectories and the likely effects on total employment, working conditions and contracts, the geography of production and the EU trade balance on vehicles.

Keywords: European automobile industry; industrial organisation; drivers to change; trends; legislation; employment; SWOT analysis; motor vehicle industry; automotive industry; working conditions; contracts; production geography; trade balance; automotive technology; organisational change; manufacturing change; public policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2005.006881

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2005 Vol.5 No.1, pp.83 - 106

Published online: 20 Apr 2005 *

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