The Three Largest Car Manufacturers In The World

Car manufacturers  are often ranked among the most powerful companies in the world, some of them clearly dominating the motor world in certain countries. Below we show you the three strongest in their sector.

Volkswagen Group

The German carmaker holds the number one spot among the world’s automotive companies. Despite the scandal that it suffered recently in relation to the emissions problems that many of its models presented (known as ‘ dieselgate ‘), Volkswagen leads the world automobile market, with special influence in its territory of origin; Europe.

The German group was born in 1937 and was founded by Ferdinard Porsche. Based in Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony, Volkswagen is the best-selling brand within its group. This huge manufacturer owns other well-known firms such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT and Skoda.

In its beginnings, the project of creating one of the largest car manufacturers was devised by Adolf Hitler, who wanted to offer cheap and practical vehicles for the average German population. His intention was also to compete with factories in England and France, and to control the largest car producer in Europe.

In this way the powerful company was born, which changed its production lines during World War II to dedicate itself to the manufacture of military vehicles. Something similar to what happened with a large number of companies during the war, as in the case of the British Jaguar.

Its name, ‘Volkswagen’, literally means ‘people’s car’, and that is the philosophy that it has followed to this day. The Germans have offered practical and accessible vehicles to reach 6.073 million units sold in 2016.

Toyota Motor Corporation

The Japanese company ranks second among the most powerful automakers, behind the Volkswagen Group. The Japanese brand also owns Lexus and Daihatsu, and has managed to register 10.17 million cars in 2016 alone.

Founded in 1933, the Toyota company has expanded its borders to the textile industry and, like Volkswagen,  dedicated its production during World War II to creating trucks for the Imperial Japanese Army. After the conflict, it began with the production of commercial cars, specifically in 1947.

In the following decades, the manufacturer did not stop growing. Thus, in 1999 it began to be listed on the New York and London Stock Exchanges, and in 2002 it entered the world of Formula 1. Such is its success, that  according to the Fortune Global 500 list, Toyota became the fifth largest company in the world in 2008.

In the following year it was relegated to 10th place, behind oil and banking companies. On the other hand, Forbes magazine ranked it third in 2009, after General Electric and Royal Dutch Shell.

General Motors Company

The third place is for the North American giant; General Motors, the undisputed leader of the automobile market in the United States. Founded in 1908, it is the oldest company in this top three. In 2009 it underwent a restructuring with which it abandoned its old name: General Motors Corporation.

The headquarters of this manufacturer is in Detroit, which has given rise to its nickname ‘the city of the motor’. Within its wide range of sub-brands, are the firms Buick, Cadillac, GM Daewoo, Holden and Chevrolet.

The American company was the world leader in car production until 2009, when it lost its leadership due to a severe crisis that led the company into bankruptcy.

Among its models can be found the famous Chevrolet Corvette, which has been crowned as one of the most successful cars in the world of competition. Its GM subsidiary has also had numerous successes in open wheel racing in the 1990s.

Cadillac is another brand that has entered the world of competition in NASCAR racing, where the only presence of General Motors was the Chevrolet Impala SS.

On the other hand, the vehicles produced by General Motors offer the American market ample models adapted to the wishes of its customers, for this reason, it is also the first company to offer turbochargers and one of the pioneers in the development of the V6 engine.

The three powerful automakers

These are the three most famous car manufacturers in the motor world, all of us – even if we are not big fans of the most important competitions – have heard of some of the brands that comprise these automotive giants.

Little by little, the power and profit figures of these companies are approaching the colossi of other sectors, such as: Apple, Microsoft, Facebook or Amazon.