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Car Industry Faces Major Challenges in 2013

There are two big issues which are emerging in the automobile industry as the Detroit Auto Show takes place. Europe is focusing on containing damage while the emerging countries are looking to boost their business.According to a poll that was conducted the Volkswagen group in Wolfsburg Germany was rated as one of the fastest growing industries.

According to Mathieu Meyer of KPMG They may well realize their goal of becoming the top car sellers in the world by 2018. According to the studies, Volkswagen is currently at number one followed by BMW.

The order basically has Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota from Japan and Hyundai/Kia from South Korea. There are 4 Chinese brands in the top ten. They include SAIC, BAIC, Geely and Faw. Tata from India is also among the fastest growing cars industry especially the Land Rover and Jaguar subsidiaries. Eight of the companies in the top ten are from Asia with China having the largest share. This has led Mathieu to conclude that these companies have the highest potential to grow over the next ten years.

There are many pundits who are predicting a slump in sales in Europe over the next five years. This is expected to affect Spain and Italy the most. The trend is quite the opposite in the emerging countries which are also referred to as the BRIC states. According to KPMG, cars from the emerging countries will be able to match the quality of the ones which are produced in the industrialized countries and this is bound to open more doors in terms of opportunities.

According to the polls, Eastern Europe is expected to act as an entry point for the exports which are meant to be sold to Western countries. The Chinese and the Indians will eventually use the Eastern Europe market as a bridge to the West. They will also get into North America through Mexico.

The manufacturers are looking to adapt to the needs of their clients. The ones who sell to developed countries are looking to manufacture cars which are environmentally friendly and small. Such countries are attracted to cars which are sub-compact or compact and these are likely to increase.

Emerging countries have witnessed a growth in the demand for cars which serve as status symbols. A good example of such cars is the SUV. This is one area where there is a difference between the emerging countries and the developing countries.

The issue of mobility services is gaining popularity in many countries. Most people are searching for alternatives to owning a car. They include sharing cars or renting them. There are bound to be more mobility concepts as time goes by including public transport. There is also a cash for cars in Australia which is also one such alternative.

At the moment, it is hard to determine which motor technology people will eventually settle for. The hype that was building around electric cars has died off and over the next five years we might end up seeing improvements in the combustion engines.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jon .