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U.S Auto Industry's Market Share and Fluctuations

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U.S Auto Industry's Market Share and Fluctuations

The U. S. auto industry's share of the market has experienced fluctuations over the past 50 years. These fluctuations have been caused by many reasons, but some of the main reasons include quality, price, and foreign competition.

The Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, and the Chrysler Corporation,
a.k.a. "The Big Three", are the three largest manufacturers of automobiles in the world. " The Big Three" hold nearly 75% of the market and produce over 8 million automobiles per year. The largest competitors of " The Big Three" are
Japanese auto producers that include Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. These three foreign manufacturers hold 20% of the market and produce about 2.7 million …show more content…

Chrysler was able to capture its share of the market when it acquired Dodge
Brothers, Inc. and when Ford stopped production in 1927 to switch from producing the Model T to producing the Model A. During the 1950 and 60s Chrysler took over the operations of several small companies in France, Spain, and Britain. This enabled Chrysler to begin selling cars in Europe and compete with Ford and GM on foreign markets. In 1970, Mitsubishi Motors of Japan began producing compact cars under the Chrysler name to be sold in the United States. This led to a rise in Chrysler's share of the market until the early 80s when Mitsubishi began using its own name. To counter this move Chrysler formed a joint-venture with
Renault of France to produce compact cars. Then in 1987 Chrysler purchased the
Italian company, Nuova Automobili F. Lamborghini, maker of expensive sports cars.
Chrysler also purchased the American Motors Corporation, the maker of Jeep products. These purchases increased Chrysler's share of the market from 11% to
16.3% and continuing to rise. Chrysler produces nearly 3 million automobiles a year under the Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Jeep, and Eagle names.

Chrysler is also in the process of producing alternative fuel cars. These include vehicles powered by electricity, liquefied natural gas, and gasoline- methanol mixture.

The future share of the market for the " Big Three" should remain steady or even increase. Today, the " Big Three" is able to produce top-of-the-line, fuel

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