ABSTRACT
Among multinationals, the automobile industry most strongly facilitates the movement of persons and goods. It can either improve or hinder mobility infrastructures like power, rail, and road transport. It is to a large extent an assembly industry: the parts have diverse origins and are combined in branched networks alongside supply chains. The main actors in these complex value chains are the final assemblers. The automobile industry depends upon “an industrial infrastructure for parts and components, skilled labor, and a sizable domestic market” (Shapiro, 1996: 28). Unlike other industries, however, it is both labor intensive and capital intensive. This makes large economies of scale essential. The barriers to entry for newcomers are high, because the industry requires large fixed investments, distribution and service networks (including importation, homologation, research, sales and marketing, warranty, after sales service, finance), and brand-name recognition (Volpato, 1989). Car markets themselves in each country have two peculiarities: the strength of the second-hand market, which influences strategies for car models; and the availability of financing for installment plans for both customers and dealers. These features have created an industry dominated by a small number of multinational corporations whose strategies are interdependent.
