China, United States and Japan are the world's top automobile manufacturing countries. In the next two decades, there will be a dramatic shift to the Asian markets.
Both production locations and sales will be affected, with a significant share of the customer base coming from Asia.
Find out more about the world's biggest automobile manufacturers...
1. Toyota
Multinational automaker Toyota is the world's largest automobile manufacturer.
The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to manufacture automobiles.
In 1936, the company manufactured its first passenger car, the Toyota AA. Today, Toyota vehicles have made their mark across the globe. In 2010, Toyota employed 317,734 people worldwide.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 77,743,862
Revenue: $235.89 billion (FY 2011)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
2. General Motors
General Motors is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
The world's second-largest automaker employs 209,000 people and does business in 157 countries.
The company was founded on September 16, 1908 by William C. Durant.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 8,476,192
Revenue: $135.592 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
3. Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer, which also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Skoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.
Volkswagen means 'people's car' in German. It was founded on 28 May 1937 by Ferdinand Porsche.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 7,341,065
Revenue: Euro 126.88 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
4. Hyundai Motors
The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group is the world's fastest growing automaker. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, capable of producing 1.6 million units annually.
The company employs about 75,000 people around the world. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries. The company was founded by Chung Ju-Yung on 29 December 1967.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 5,764,918
Revenue: $33.6 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
5. Ford Motor Company
An American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, it was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903.
Besides, Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK.
Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors of India in March 2008.
Ford is the second largest automaker in the US and the fifth-largest in the world based on annual vehicle sales in 2010.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 4,988,031
Revenue: $128.954 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
6. Nissan
Multinational automaker Nissan is headquartered in Japan. In its home market, Nissan became the second largest car manufacturer in 2011, surpassing Honda with Toyota.
Nissan also produces a range of luxury models branded as Infiniti. Masujiro Hashimoto founded the company on 26 December 1933.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 3,982,162
Revenue: $ 80.4 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
7. Honda
Honda, a Japanese multinational corporation manufactures automobiles and motorcycles. Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa founded the company on 24 September 1948.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959 and the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines.
Honda surpassed Nissan in 2001 to become the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 3,643,057
Revenue: $120.27 billion (FY 2009)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
8. PSA Peugeot Citroen
PSA Peugeot Citroen is a French manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot and Citroen marques.
Headquartered in Paris, PSA is the second largest automaker based in Europe.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 3,605,524
Revenue: Euro 56.06 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
9. Suzuki
Japanese multinational corporation Suzuki specialises in manufacturing compact automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and outboard marine engines.
Suzuki is Japan's 4th largest automobile manufacturer after Toyota, Nissan, Honda.
It has 35 main production facilities in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries.
Michio Suzuki founded Suzuki Loom Works in 1909.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 2,892,945
Revenue: $26.54 billion
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
10. Renault
French automaker, Renault manufactures cars and vans. Renault and Nissan are leading electric car development among major car companies, investing $5.16 billion in eight electric vehicles over the next 3 to 4 years.
The company was founded on 25 February 1899 by Louis Renault, Marcel Renault and Fernand Renault.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 2,716,286
Revenue: Euro 38.971 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
11. Fiat
FIAT stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.
An Italian automobile manufacturer based in Turin, Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli.
Fiat has also manufactured railway engines and carriages, military vehicles, and aircraft.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 2,410,021
Revenue: Euro 35.88 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
Photographs: Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters.
12. Daimler AG
Daimler AG, a German car corporation is the 12th largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world.
Daimler also manufactures buses. DaimlerChrysler was founded in 1998 when Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler-Benz of Stuttgart, merged with the US based Chrysler Corporation.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 1,940,465
Revenue: Euro 97.76 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
13. Chrysler
American-based multinational automaker headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills was first organised as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925.
After being bankrupt in 2009, all its operations were sold to a new company, Chrysler Group, organised in alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat.
It was founded on 31 May 2009 by Walter Chrysler.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 1,578,488
Revenue: $ 41.946 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
14. BMW
Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque.
BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. The company was founded in 1916 by Franz Josef Popp.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 1,481,253
Revenue: Euro 60.48 billion (2010)
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World's top 15 car manufacturers
15. Mazda
Mazda Motor Corporation is based in Fuchu, Aki District in Japan.
Earlier, Mazda had a number of different marques in the Japanese market, including Autozam, Eunos, and Efini, which have since been phased out.
In a bid to be more environmentally friendly, Mazda is experimenting with innovative solutions for its vehicles.
The company was founded in 1920 by Jujiro Matsuda.
Total no. of vehicles in 2010: 1,307,540.
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