Japan still reigns supreme as the country that manufactures the most automobiles. And based on the country’s current production, it doesn’t look as if Japan is going to surrender this title anytime soon.
That doesn’t mean that China, the United States and Germany are slouches. These countries, which rank second, third and fourth, continue to produce a significant number of automobiles each year, too.
Japan produced more than 11.5 million vehicles in 2008. That gave the country a healthy lead on runner-up China, which produced more than 9.3 million vehicles. The United States, even with its down economy and domestic automaker problems, wasn’t too far behind China. The country produced more than 8.7 million vehicles in 2008.
Germany came in fourth, producing about 6 million vehicles. Rounding out the top five was South Korea with more than 3.8 million cars.
Brazil ranked as the only other country producing more than 3 million cars. It churned out more than 3.2 million of them. Following at Brazil’s heels were France (more than 2.5 million vehicles), Spain (also 2.5 million-plus), India (more than 2.3 million), Mexico (more than 2.1 million) and Canada (more than 2 million).
There were some surprising entries on the list of the world’s top auto-making countries. Iran, for instance, made the list. The Middle Eastern country made about 1.05 million vehicles. Also high on the list was Turkey with 1.14 million vehicles produced.
It might be even more difficult to guess all the top auto companies. Toyota, of course, leads the way. The Japanese company produced about 9.5 million cars in 2008 to retain its rank as the biggest auto manufacturer in the world.
Standing in second place was Volkswagen, with about 6.34 million vehicles manufactured. Ford finished in third, producing about 5.5 million vehicles. In a solid fourth came Honda, having produced nearly 4 million vehicles. Nissan took the fifth spot, having produced about 3.5 million vehicles, while Peugeot followed closely behind with more than 3.2 million vehicles produced.
Hyundai and Suzuki each produced nearly 3 million vehicles, while Fiat and Renault each produced near 2.5 million.
The numbers certainly reflect the trying times for the United States’ domestic auto manufacturers. The fact that two of the big three – Chrysler and GM – didn’t even make the list of top auto manufacturers speaks volumes of the difficulties that U.S. automakers have faced when competing against foreign manufacturers.
What remains to be seen, of course, is how the federal government’s bailout of the domestic auto industry will help these struggling manufacturers.
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