Automobile Case Study

Environmental Challenges facing the US Automotive Industry

The American Automobile industry has been at the forefront of many great innovations over the years and provides a multitude of products that serve many different uses in today’s society. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers estimate that the industry is responsible for 7.25 million jobs in the USA.

SWOT analysis

The strengths of the US Automotive industry are primarily in its brand recognition and the competitive advantage it holds in the marketplace especially in the area of truck production where Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge are particularly strong in the US market where they recognized a continued strong consumer demand for large pickup trucks regardless of the retail price of

These new foreign companies with no link to tradition instead set up in southern US states like Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, which are “right to work” states – basically minimal right to unionize, very low wages, no pensions, very minimal if any benefits. By doing this they were able to dramatically reduce labor costs and gain a competitive advantage in this area. Also people began to recognize that they sold top quality products that were far higher in quality than similarly priced US products. Toyota has even made significant inroads into the previously untouchable US pickup truck market. Foreign auto makers have been far ahead of their US counterparts in developing hybrid and electric technology and practically zero emission vehicles. As China increases its consumption of oil and raw materials the world supply shrinks which creates instability for the US Auto makers as they are so reliant on “yesterdays” technology especially when compared to foreign auto makers such as BMW who have advanced greatly in the areas of carbon fiber and exotic aluminum alloy development. Another area of weakness for the US automakers is that they have not updated many of their plants and are facing significant governmental imposed restrictions on production due to their plant emissions and waste. The US government is also tightening emission and MPG regulations on automakers products. Foreign automakers are

However, in most other areas of the USA, no matter how congested, Americans have always had a love affair with their cars and trucks and it would be a real uphill battle to change that culture. For example, Norway has decided that by 2025 all gasoline and diesel burning cars will be banned, such a ban in the USA would be very difficult to impose, maybe impossible, even though the US Environmental protection Agency estimates that 150 million people live in areas that do not meet federal air quality standard and the particulate matter from automobiles is estimated to cause 300,000 deaths in the US per year. Many people are concerned about the environmental and health effects of burning fossil fuel in cars and also the negative aspects of being so reliant of oil; particularly from oppressive regimes like Saudi Arabia. However, most people in the USA love their cars and big trucks, so changing