The automotive industry, as the key pillar of the world economy, has also a very dynamic nature. It includes all elements of the economy such as production, consumption, international trade and employment. The sector is affected by the economy as well as influencing it in return by many aspects. All this requires detailed research of the industry from different dimensions. The book is organized into five parts. Part one focuses on global production and sales of the industry. Part two examines the history of the automotive industry within the context of economic literature. The book then proceeds in Part three to point out the current developments in the global automotive industry. Part four provides an overview about the new trends and alternative technologies including hybrid cars, electric cars and fuel cell cars. Part five explores the economic contributions of the industry and provides a summary of the principal conclusions revealed by the study.
