Automotive industry
Automotive industry
The automotive industry (/ɔːtəˈmoʊtɪv ˈɪndəstri/) is a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest economic sectors by revenue. The automotive industry does not include industries dedicated to the maintenance of automobiles following delivery to the end-user, such as automobile repair shops and motor fuel filling stations.
Etymology
The term "automotive" is from the Greek autos (self), and Latin motivus (of motion), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. This term, as proposed by Elmer Sperry(1860-1930), first came into use with reference to automobiles in 1898.
History
The automotive industry began in the 1860s with hundreds of manufacturers that pioneered the horseless carriage. For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production. In 1929, before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, and the U.S. automobile industry produced over 90% of them.
Manufacturing
The automotive industry is a major industrial and economic force worldwide. It makes 60 million cars and trucks a year, and they are responsible for almost half the world's consumption of oil. The industry employs 4 million people directly, and many more indirectly.
Related Terms
- Automobile: A wheeled motor vehicle used for transportation.
- Car manufacturing: The production process of assembling an automobile.
- Automobile design: The process of developing the appearance and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles.
- Automobile engineering: The engineering discipline that involves the production, development, and manufacturing of automobiles.
- Automobile sales: The business of selling cars and other vehicles to customers.
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