About thirty years ago, the famous American manager Lee Iacocca said that by the beginning of the 21st century, only a few players would remain in the global automotive market. The ex-president of Chrysler and Ford saw through the trends in the further development of the automotive industry, so it is not at all surprising that his predictions are confirmed.
The world's largest automakers and alliances
At first glance, it may seem that there are many independent automakers in the world, but in fact, most auto companies are part of various groups and alliances.
Thus, Lee Iacocca looked into the water, and today there are actually only a few automakers left in the world who have divided the entire global car market among themselves.
What brands are owned by Ford
Interestingly, the companies he headed - Chrysler and Ford - the leaders of the American auto industry, suffered the most serious losses during the economic crisis. And they had never been in such serious troubles before. Chrysler and General Motors went bankrupt, and only a miracle saved Ford. But for this miracle, the company had to pay too dear a price, because as a result, Ford lost its premium division Premiere Automotive Group, which included Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar. Moreover, Ford lost Aston Martin, the British supercar manufacturer, a controlling stake in Mazda, and liquidated the Mercury brand. And today, only two brands remain from the huge empire - Lincoln and Ford itself.
What brands belong to the auto concern General Motors
General Motors suffered no less serious losses. The American company lost Saturn, Hummer, SAAB, but its bankruptcy did not prevent it from defending the Opel and Daewoo brands. Today, General Motors includes such brands as Vauxhall, Holden, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick. In addition, the Americans own the Russian joint venture GM-AvtoVAZ, which produces the Chevrolet Niva.
Automaker Fiat and Chrysler
And the American concern Chrysler now acts as a strategic partner of Fiat, which has brought together such brands as Ram, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Lancia, Maserati, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo under its wing.
In Europe, things are somewhat different than in the US. Here the crisis has also made its own adjustments, but the position of the monsters of the European automobile industry has not been shaken by this.
What brands belong to the Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen is still accumulating brands. After buying Porsche in 2009, the Volkswagen Group has nine brands - Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley, Porsche, Audi, truck manufacturer Scania and VW itself. There is evidence that soon this list will include Suzuki, 20 percent of whose shares are already owned by the Volkswagen Group.
Brands owned by Daimler AG and BMW Group
As for the other two "Germans" - BMW and Daimler AG, they cannot boast of such an abundance of brands. Under the wing of Daimler AG are the brands Smart, Maybach and Mercedes, and the history of BMW includes Mini and Rolls-Royce.
Renault and Nissan Automobile Alliance
Among the world's largest automakers, one cannot fail to mention the Renault-Nissan alliance, which owns such brands as Samsung, Infiniti, Nissan, Dacia and Renault. In addition, Renault owns 25 percent of AvtoVAZ shares, so Lada is also not an independent brand from the French-Japanese alliance.
Another major French automaker, PSA, owns Peugeot and Citroen.
Japanese automaker Toyota
And among Japanese automakers, only Toyota, which owns Subaru, Daihatsu, Scion and Lexus, can boast of a “collection” of brands. Also part of Toyota Motor is the truck manufacturer Hino.
Who owns Honda
Honda's achievements are more modest. In addition to the motorcycle department and the premium Acura brand, the Japanese have nothing else.
Successful Auto Alliance Hyundai-Kia
In recent years, the Hyundai-Kia alliance has been successfully breaking into the list of leaders in the global automotive industry. Today, it produces cars only under the brands Kia and Hyundai, but the Koreans are already seriously engaged in creating a premium brand that could be called Genesis.
Acquisitions and mergers in recent years include the takeover of the Chinese brand Volvo by Geely, as well as the acquisition of the British premium brands Land Rover and Jaguar by the Indian company Tata. And even the most curious case is the purchase of the famous Swedish brand SAAB by the tiny Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker.
The once powerful British auto industry is dead. All the famous British car manufacturers have long since lost their independence. Their example was followed by small English firms that passed to foreign owners. In particular, the legendary Lotus today belongs to Proton (Malaysia), and the Chinese SAIC bought MG. By the way, the same SAIC had previously sold the Korean SsangYong Motor to the Indian Mahindra&Mahindra.
All of these strategic partnerships, alliances, mergers and acquisitions have once again proven Lee Iacocca right. Single firms in the modern world are no longer able to survive. Yes, there are exceptions, like the Japanese Mitsuoka, the English Morgan or the Malaysian Proton. But these companies are independent only in the sense that absolutely nothing depends on them.
And in order to have annual sales amounting to hundreds of thousands of cars, not to mention millions, one cannot do without a strong “rear”. In the Renault-Nissan alliance, partners provide support to each other, while in the Volkswagen Group, mutual assistance is ensured by the number of brands.
As for such companies as Mitsubishi and Mazda, in the future they will face more and more difficulties. While Mitsubishi can get the help of partners from PSA, Mazda will have to survive alone, which in the modern world is becoming more and more difficult every day ...
Today, the presence of a car in any family is seen as a necessity rather than a luxury. Such trends in the perception of transport have also affected its demand, and, as a result, the entire industry of world production as a whole. Another significant motivator for the development of this market segment is its continuous improvement. This has turned the competition between the largest automotive companies in the world into a real race.
Automotive Priorities
By what criteria does a future car owner choose a purchase? All of them come down to three main ones: the provision of transport with advanced achievements of super-new information technologies, a high level of comfort in operation and the possibility of developing maximum speeds. These needs are taken into account in the development of new automotive concepts by the largest automotive companies in the world.
Statistics confirm that almost 50% of the world's countries have automotive complexes on their territory. 60% equity in this belongs to the US, Japan and Western Europe. Currently, 40 companies carry out such activities. Which of them was lucky enough to take a leading position in the prestigious Forbes ranking?
Ranking is in accordance with the list www.forbes.com:
| Place in the top 10 | Place in the general list of Forbes | Company name | Produced brands | Company value in 2016, billion dollars | Number of produced cars, 2016 |
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Joint with GM:
| Up to 480,000 Shanghai GM; Up to 1 million SVAC |
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| South Korea | |||||
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| Germany | |||||
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| Volkswagen Group |
| Germany | ||||
| Germany | |||||
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10th place: The Chinese advance with SAIC Motor
SAIC Motor is still quite a young organization, operating since 1995. It is completely subordinate to the state.
It all started with the production of tractors, buses, and in the same line were Phoenix executive sedans (the latter were intended for senior officials). In the 80s, there is a course towards working with joint ventures, with a refusal to produce their own cars. Today, the enterprises of the organization produce a number of models of cars and heavy vehicles. Accessories are an added bonus.
In 1984, together with Volkswagen, the SVAC company was created with equal shares of both parties.
The company is very interested in the production of hybrid cars. There have been numerous developments of similar projects, and the direct production of the SAIC-GM-Wuling two-seater hybrid began in July 2017.
Together with General Motors, Shanghai GM is founded in 1997, also with equal share management.
SAIC Motor has 50 enterprises in Shanghai and a total of 171,395 employees. At the same time, revenue for 2016 amounted to $112.72 billion.
And here is another material on the auto theme: how to open your own car dealership?
9th place: Hyundai Motor
It is considered the largest domestic automaker. The name 현대 (現代) translates as "modernity". The correct pronunciation is "Hyundai". Initially, the organization in 1967 was part of a group of companies.
In 1998, there was a takeover of a competitor in the Korean market, Kia Motors.
Now about joint projects with Russia: in St. Petersburg, in the Kamenka industrial zone, there is an enterprise for the assembly and production of products of this brand (with a capacity of 200,000 cars per year).
Known for the release of hybrid models: the first of them was born back in 2004 (now this is most often an order from the government).
A little about the owners: the shareholders are Hyundai Mobis (a manufacturer of auto components) and the country's pension fund.
Today, among the financial indicators of activity, an annual income of 80.72 billion dollars stands out. In total, the organization has 68,383 employees.
8th place for Nissan Motor
In addition to the Forbes list, the company, which has been operating since 1933, also ranks third among domestic Japanese automakers. She owes her birth to the merger of Tobata Imono and Nihon Sangyo.
First, in the 50s, the organization took a specialization in the production of rocket engines, then there was a small transition to the shipbuilding industry. In 1958, named the first major importer of automobiles in the United States. Until the 80s of the twentieth century, the company was engaged in modifications of Datsun cars (the brand no longer exists today).
Today the firm has representations in 20 foreign countries and 154 700 employees in the state. The annual income is 105.94 billion dollars. The owner of 43.3% of the shares is Renault.
7th place: Japanese company Honda Motor
The organization, known as a motorcycle manufacturer, also occupies a leading position in the top 10 automotive concerns.
Founded in 1948, it started out as a garage-based production of piston rings. In 1963, already at the peak of the popularity of motorcycles of this company, the production of the first cars began. Today the organization operates in 14 countries and employs 208,399 people. Annual profit for 2016 reached $127.86 billion.
Sales markets are Japan, Southeast Asia and the United States of America. The main shareholders are Japanese Trustee Services Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and BlackRock.
6th place - American Ford Motor
The company is a classic example of the American Dream: it was created in 1903 when founder Henry Ford received $28,000 from five investors. For the first time in the world, it was in this company that a classic conveyor assembly was used. The result of the work was the Ford Model T, the mass production of which took place from 1908 to 1927.
Today, the company is implementing innovative projects: one of them was the presentation of a 6.8-liter internal combustion engine that runs entirely on hydrogen. Work on its creation has been underway since 2004, and such an important part of the car is already used in twenty E-450 buses operated in the United States.
Cooperation with Russia has also been established: a subsidiary of Ford owns an automobile plant (Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region). This is where the Focus and Mondeo models are assembled. Ford also has a stake in the Japanese automaker Mazda.
To date, the company's annual income is 151.8 billion dollars. It employs 201,000 people. In terms of ownership, 40% of the shares belong to the Ford family, the rest can be purchased in the public domain.
5th place: golden mean for BMW Group
Initially, a company with this name was created for the production of aircraft engines (1913). Related to this is the company logo, which is interpreted as an aircraft propeller against a sky background (but now the company's marketing department insists that the colors are taken from the national flag of Bavaria).
Today it is hard to imagine, but before the war the organization was in a crisis (the production of aircraft engines was prohibited). The situation in subsequent years was saved by the release of motorcycles. By 1951 it had grown to 18,000 pieces a year. This brought good profits and helped to start the development of the R51, which already has a two-cylinder engine model.
The enterprise is also represented in the Russian expanses - the assembly of vehicles of this brand takes place at the Avtotor plant, which is located in the Kaliningrad region.
The company's annual income is $104.16 billion. In total, 124,729 people are employed in production. 53.3% of the shares are on sale, the rest is in the private hands of the Quandt family.
4th place: General Motors
One of the largest car manufacturers was founded in 1908. For a long time, GM held a leading position, today the company has dropped out of the top three. The company's enterprises are located in more than 120 countries around the world.
The corporation began to develop the Russian market since 1992, and in 2008 an assembly plant was opened in St. Petersburg (Shushary region), with a production capacity of 60,000 vehicles annually. Another trump card in joint cooperation with Russia is the partnership with the automaker OAO AVTOVAZ.
The company's annual income is estimated at $166.38 billion. The organization provides jobs for 225,000 people. The US Treasury is considered the largest shareholder.
Volkswagen in third place
The company was founded in 1934. And in literal translation, its name means "People's Car" ("Volks-Wagen"). The place and year of birth were obliged to cooperate with the Nazi government, however, the mass production of developments did not reach due to the large military orders of the state.
Popularity and recognition of the cars of the Volkswagen concern was received later, which allowed the organization to climb into the ranking of the largest manufacturers of this type of transport.
In addition, Volkswagen AG is constantly making the necessary investments: in December 2009, it acquired a 49.9% stake in Porsche for 3.9 billion euros. A little earlier, in 2007, the Russian subsidiary of Volkswagen Group Rus begins production of the Skoda brand at an enterprise in Kaluga (production capacity - 150,000 vehicles per year).
Now, 626,715 people work at the enterprises of the concern with an annual income of 240.34 billion dollars. 56.6% of the shares are in the hands of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
How to deliver the purchased car to the destination? You can use the services of a transport company.
Silver medalist: Daimler from Germany
The history of the creation of the organization begins in 1886 and is associated with a patent for a three-wheeled cart with a gasoline engine. And already in 1926, Benz & Cie and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft merged, resulting in the union of Daimler-Benz AG.
The company merged directly into the concern only in 1998, changing its name to DaimlerChrysler AG. But since 2007, the company began to bear its modern name.
Today, the concern is engaged in the production of cars of various types of tonnage. Buses are another characteristic product of the corporation.
The company's revenue for 2016 amounted to $169.54 billion. The concern employs 284,488 people working at assembly plants in 17 countries around the world. The organization owns an 11% stake in the Russian OJSC KAMAZ.
At the same time, a major corruption scandal arose in relation to this company: in 2010, the United States Department of Justice brought charges of bribing persons responsible for procurement in 22 countries of the world (including Russia). The leadership of the organization agreed with the allegations.
Group shareholders:
- Aabar Investments (Arab investment fund with 9.1%);
- Germany - 39.9%;
- other European countries - 32.3%;
- USA - 21.2%;
- other countries - 7.5%.
First place for the Japanese: Toyota Motor
Having started its activity in 1937, today Japan has become the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Written in katakana, "Toyota" (トヨタ) came to be considered a more successful version of the name than the original version of the name, because it contained 8 strokes, which, according to popular belief, was supposed to bring good luck. In relation to the company, this high expectation fully justified itself. The organization began to develop at a particularly rapid pace in the 60s of the last century.
Today, the organization employs 348,877 employees who work at the company's enterprises around the world. Total annual revenue for 2016 was $249.9 billion. The company produces cars of the brands Toyota (Toyota), Lexus (Lexus), Daihatsu (Daihatsu).
The Master Trust Bank of Japan and Toyota Industries Corporation are considered the main owners.
So, the creation of cars is one of the leading sectors of the economy of each developed state. This may lead to another problem - the market is getting fed up with cars. And here there is a way out: at the same time to reduce production costs and expand the range of products.
One of the world's largest automobile companies, founded in 1908 by William Durant. The company's international headquarters is located in Detroit; GM enterprises located in almost 120 countries of the world employ 209 thousand people.
GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 35 countries around the world. Divisions of General Motors, among other things, serve and sell a group of the following brands: Baojun (Baojun), Buick (Buick), Cadillac (Cadillac), Chevrolet (Chevrolet), GMC (GMC) , Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling.
The company produces a wide range of passenger cars and commercial vehicles under the Ford (Ford), Lincoln (Lincoln), Mercury (Mercury) brands. Ford has a stake in the Japanese car manufacturer Mazda.
Ford's Russian subsidiary (ZAO Ford Motor Company) owns an automobile plant in the city of Vsevolozhsk (Leningrad Region), which assembles Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo cars.
Currently, the automaker owns such automobile brands as Maybach, Mercedes-Benz and Smart.
At the end of 2011, the net profit of the German automobile concern Daimler grew by 29%, amounting to a record 6.029 billion euros against 4.674 billion euros a year earlier.
After the Italian concern Fiat completed the acquisition of Chrysler assets on June 10, 2009, Chrysler Group LLC was formed.
In April 2011, the Italian manufacturer reached an agreement with Chrysler to increase its stake in the American company to 46% from 30%, and in July Fiat completed the purchase of a 7.5% stake in the Chrysler group from the Canadian and American governments, thus increasing its stake in the automaker to 53.5%.
In addition to the Volkswagen brand cars themselves, the group of the same name owns such car brands as Bentley (Bentley), Bugatti (Bugatti), Lamborghini (Lamborghini), Audi (Audi), Skoda (Skoda), " Seat" (Seat) and "Scania" (Scania).
In January 2009, Volkswagen AG established Volkswagen Group Rus LLC, which merged two Russian subsidiaries - Volkswagen Group Rus and Volkswagen Rus.
Since November 2007, Volkswagen Group Rus has been building cars in Kaluga, 170 km southwest of Moscow. Its design production capacity is 150,000 vehicles per year. The plant produces cars of the Volkswagen, Skoda brands.
The net profit of the German automotive concern Volkswagen AG in 2011 more than doubled compared to 2010 - up to 15.4 billion euros.
On February 11, 2010, an agreement was signed on the creation of a joint venture between Sollers and Fiat for the development and production of cars on the basis of the Sollers-Naberezhnye Chelny plant.
In 2017, a struggle broke out in the automotive market between two large automotive corporations - the German manufacturer Volkswagen and the Japanese manufacturer Toyota.
In 2016, a German company won. This year, according to the results of the first 4 months, the Japanese manufacturer was in the lead. In January-April, Toyota sold 40,000 cars more than the Germans. Toyota is an auto concern that sells the most popular cars in the world.
1.Toyota
The manufacturer is part of the Toyota Group. The Toyota brand is associated with it. The company started its activity with the production of automatic looms.
After the war, commercial passenger cars of the SA type were produced. In 1950, a separate company was founded that specialized in sales - Toyota Motor Sales Co. In April 1956, a dealer company was established, and in 1957 -
Toyota Crown has taken the lead in US exports. The company expanded at a rapid pace in the 1960s. The first car was produced outside of Japan. It was released from the assembly line in 1963 in Melbourne. In Japan, the products are the best-selling. In 1992, cars accounted for up to 40%.
2.Volkswagen
The second position is occupied by the German concern, whose headquarters is located in the city of Wolfsburg. The parent company of the concern is VAG. The auto concern includes 342 companies that are engaged in the production of cars and their sale.
In September 2011, Porsche held a 50.73% stake. According to the results of 9 months of 2009, the concern was the largest manufacturer of machines. He is ranked 14th in the Fortune Global 500.
3.Renault-Nissan
The third position is occupied by the Renault-Nissan alliance. This French-Japanese joint venture is 110,000 vehicles behind the leader.
In October 2016, MMC announced that Nissan had completed a deal to buy a 34% stake in MMC.
Thus, he became a major shareholder of the company.
According to statistics, in the first half of 2017, the alliance took a leading position in the sale of cars. Such an achievement is ensured by joining the Mitsubishi Motors alliance in 2016.
In March 2012, Nissan announced the resumption by 2014 of the production of a budget car brand Datsun. In 2012, the Nissan Almera Classic assembly program was launched.
4. Central Motors
On the 4th position is the American concern General Motors. This large automobile corporation was created more than 70 years ago. At the end of 2014, the company took 3rd place in the world in terms of the number of cars sold. Production is established in 35 countries, and sales are in 192 countries of the world.
The headquarters is located in Detroit. The company was formed through the merger of several automakers. The old firm was founded in 1892 as the Olds Motor Vehocle Company.
In 1903, to avoid competition, the General Motors Corporation was created, which included Olds Motor and Buick. Since 1918, the Chevrolet company has become part of the corporation, and since 1920, the Canadian company McLaughlin Motor.
5. Hyundai-Kia
The top five includes the Korean alliance Hyundai-Kia. In January-April this year, the alliance's sales fell by 10.9% compared to the same period last year.
Kia is the second automaker in South Korea and the 7th in the world. It was founded in 1944 and is part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Since 2016, more than 149.6 thousand vehicles of the alliance have been sold in Russia.
6 Ford
This is an American auto company that produces cars under the Ford brand. It occupies 4 positions in the world in terms of production volumes for the entire period of existence. Currently, Ford is the 3rd company in the US market after GM and Toyota.
It is the ninth largest public company in the world. Its headquarters is located in Dearborn, Michigan. The founder of the company is Henry Ford, and the year of establishment is 1903. The company produces various passenger and commercial vehicles. The company is divided into 3 structures taking into account the geographic features. Since 2006, the company has been following a new strategy - "One Ford".
7. Honda
This international company is the leading one in Japan. It is among the top ten in the world among automakers. The main manufacturing facilities are located in the USA, Japan, Brazil and India. The main sales market is the USA, Southeast Asia. The company was founded in 1948 by the inventor and entrepreneur Honda.
In December 2006, the company founded a subsidiary, Honda Soltec. It specializes in the development of photovoltaic cells. In 2008, the company developed thin-film CIGS elements based on indium, copper, and selenium. But since the company began to lag behind its competitors, so it was liquidated in 2013. Due to the earthquake in 2011, the company's research center was damaged, so all factories were suspended.
8.Fiat-Chrysler
Since January 2014, after the consolidation of 100% of the shares of the American company Chrysler, the Board of Directors of Fiat decided to create a single car company Fiat-Chrysler. The headquarters of the alliance is located in the Netherlands.
9. Suzuki
Suzuki is on the 9th position of the rating. It is a Japanese company headquartered in the city of Hamamatsu, which is in great demand among consumers around the world.
The company was founded in 1909 by Michio Suzuki. It started its activities with the production of looms, motorcycles and motorbikes. Since the 1930s, when the demand for cars in Japan has risen, the production line has been increased. Since 1937, the car company has been specializing in the production of small cars.
10 Peugeot-Citroen
On the 10th position is the Peugeot-Citroen alliance. This is the main manufacturer of the French car industry. The parent company, Peugeot Citroen, is the second largest automaker in Europe. It is a major European car manufacturer. It accounts for 18.8% of the total market.
Traditionally, only closer to the middle of the year, the final summary statistics on sales among the world leaders in the auto production segment appears. Such delays are due to those who need to prepare reports, process them, sort out sold products, since many auto companies are engaged in not only sales of cars.
Up-to-date information covering the period from January to December 2018 allows us to say in 2019 with confidence who, according to the results of the reporting period, was at the top of popularity, and who failed to enter the top ten.
Surely this association would not have been in the ranking and on the 9th line, if not for the fact that the brand acquired Vauxhall and Opel. In the first half of the year after the signing of contracts, the company's revenues immediately increased, rising by 40%. We also managed to get a net profit of 18%.
Since the beginning of 2018, the French association has increased capitalization by almost 35%. The final figure was 19 billion euros. How long the success will be, and whether Opel and Vauxhall will be able to improve the position of the alliance in the market, only time will tell.
Fiat-Chrysler
The alliance of the Italian and American companies feels quite confident and remains stable. The drop in sales by 0.2% cannot be called significant. Although the expected increase did not occur. At the end of 2018, the company managed to sell 4.8 million of its vehicles.
Analysts say the main success is due to the huge popularity of the Fiat 500 model. This compact urban hatchback has not been very fond of the Russians, but in Europe and many other countries it is a real bestseller.
The latest news related to the relationship between Fiat and Hyundai look interesting. The Koreans allegedly made an offer to buy the Italian concern. Given the success of the South Korean company, there is nothing surprising in this. Now Hyundai is waiting to see how the situation will develop in Fiat. Basically, they are waiting for the stock to fall, which will allow them to make a profitable offer and still achieve their goal. The transition of Fiat under the wing of Hyundai can be an extremely interesting project. But no official information has yet been received in this regard.
Honda
Speaking about the best car manufacturing companies in the world, one cannot fail to mention Japanese. The company showed fairly stable results, but there was no increase in sales compared to the previous year. There is a slight drop of 0.6%. A total of 5.2 million vehicles were sold during the year.
Honda consistently managed to demonstrate the growth of its economic performance. Despite a slight decrease in the volume of cars sold, the company still makes a solid profit. The 7th line in the rating is largely due to the successful sales of such models as the Accord, Civic and CR-V.
In mid-2018, an official report was presented with the company's financial performance. And Honda showed a record for revenue from sold cars. Because of this, management even changed the forecast for financial success by mid-2019. Honda's financial experts expect earnings to increase by 350 billion yen. Now it will be interesting to see how justified such optimistic forecasts.
Ford
In disputes about which company is better and whose cars are more reliable, Ford often wins. But if we sum up the results of the past year, then sales of the North American concern decreased immediately by 10.4%. As a result, 5.6 million vehicles were sold.
Back in July 2017, Ford announced that it was creating a subsidiary. Its main task is a deep market analysis and development strategy in the field of autonomous vehicles.
Management wants to increase its visibility and popularity. Some will say that Ford is already widely known around the world. But the fact of being only on the 6th line of the rating suggests otherwise. Against the backdrop of competitors, Ford begins to yield somewhat and lose its former positions.
By 2020, ForD Motors plans to create a completely new line of its vehicles for the domestic North American market, and then begin their promotion in the international arena. Ford also wants the average age of manufactured models to be reduced from almost 6 to 3.3 years. This indicates a more frequent release of new products and the next generations.
Hynudai-Kia
Top 5 among the leading automakers, whose cars are being sold more and more actively, was the South Korean alliance. If we talk about which company feels better than others in Russia, then we can certainly answer that these are Hyundai and Kia.
They did not manage to get into the top three at the end of the past year. But an increase of 1.6% in sold cars gives good prospects for next year. Already in 2019, the positions of Hyundai-Kia should change, according to experts' forecasts. And the association will enter the top three in sales. Now, reports show that the alliance sold 7.4 million of its cars in 2018.
Hyundai-Kia focused on developing countries. Their cars are in demand in China, India and Russia.
General Motors
An American auto concern that carries an impressive number of different brands under its wing. In the case of Russia, Chevrolet can certainly be considered the most popular of them.
The overall drop in sales at General Motors was 4% compared to last year. And in 2018, 8.6 million cars were sold. And if earlier the company occupied the 3rd position, then due to sales, Vauxhall and Opel had to be lowered to the 4th line.
It cannot be said that this is a serious problem. In fact, both sold brands were unprofitable. The company reduced its total sales, but net profit increased. This manufacturer is deservedly included in the rating and, by the end of 2019, will surely be able to return to the previously lost position. But time will tell.
Renault-Nissan
One of the most successful alliances in recent years. Renault and Nissan have developed an excellent relationship. Success is largely due to the release of a series of inexpensive and budget cars.
During the reporting period, 10.3 million vehicles were submitted. At the same time, sales growth amounted to 0.9% compared to the previous year. Not the last role in this was played by the new Renault and Sandero car, as well as the budget Duster crossover.
The purchase of a 34% stake in Mitsubishi played a significant role in the sales growth. The deal was signed in 2016. In fact, now we can talk about a triple alliance of such giants as Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. Therefore, in the coming years, the association may push the perennial leaders off the pedestal.
Toyota
If we talk about which brand is better than all the others, but still inferior to the leader, then it will be the Japanese company Toyota.
The Japanese managed to sell 1.2% more cars than before. In total, 10.4 million vehicles were sold in 2018. And here we are not talking about some major alliances, except for the premium sub-brand Lexus.
For 3 years in a row, Toyota has confidently taken the second position in the ranking. But in no way can it surpass the current leader. Although Toyota is clearly striving for this. So far, unfortunately, it doesn't work.
Despite the loss to the leader, representatives of Toyota gave a rather interesting interview. In common with journalists and analysts, they said that Toyota was not going to deliberately increase production volumes, just to catch up with its competitor. They are interested in the quality, reliability and safety of their cars, and not at all in the number of cars sold. It is difficult to say how true these words are. Surely Toyota management does not like the fact that they are always second. Let's see how the situation will change in the coming years.
Volkswagen
The increase in sales was 2%, and the total volume of cars sold exceeded 10.8 million units. Even the largest modern automobile companies from all over the world cannot yet reach the heights where the VAG auto concern has managed to take off.
It is important to understand here that Toyota sells cars of only two brands, while Volkswagen includes such giants as Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and a number of other brands. And the difference of only 400 thousand cars sold does not look so significant. But this does not diminish the merits of Volkswagen.
After a high-profile scandal in 2015, when VAG recalled a large batch of its diesel-powered vehicles because the company deliberately underestimated the results of emissions tests, the group had to pay a $4 billion fine. Many thought that a period of stagnation would now begin. But in the end, Volkswagen saved face, corrected its mistake and increased sales.
The rankings published in 2019 show the balance of power among the leading automakers. But here it is important to understand that the number of cars sold does not yet speak of financial success. There are a number of examples where the total number of cars sold in the world has risen markedly, but financial reports have been significantly worse than periods with lower sales volumes. Profit depends on a number of components.
It is rather difficult to predict how much the balance of power will change in 2019. But while it is expected that everyone will remain approximately in their positions. If changes occur, then none of the world leaders will be able to fall or soar by more than 1-2 lines. The greatest expectations are placed on Renault-Nissan and Hyundai-Kia.
