The automotive industry is a term that covers a wide range of companies and organisations involved in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds.
It is one of the world’s most important economic sectors by revenue. The term automotive industry usually does not include industries dedicated to the maintenance of automobiles following delivery to the end-user, such as repair shops and motor fuel filling stations.
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 1980, the U.S. was overtaken by Japan and then became world’s leader again in 1994. In 2006, Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million units. With 19.3 million units manufactured in 2012, China almost doubled the U.S. production, with 10.3 million units, while Japan was in third place with 9.9 million units.
The term automotive was created from Greek autos (self), and Latin motivus (of motion) to represent any form of self-powered vehicle.
