Environmental Challenges Facing The American Auto Industry Essay

The American automotive industry has been under a lot of pressure over recent years due to increased concern for the environment and increased global competition. An environmental scan on the American automotive industry shows that the global competition is a great cause for concern, new technology is providing an edge, emissions and laws regulating them are as tight as ever, and consumer opinion is reflecting concern for this.

Introduction Automobile usage has increased in America and elsewhere in the world. In a research done by Sutherland, J., et al. (2004) “The US has a contributed to 200 million passengers in cars and light truck over the past few years. Further in 1990, studies showed that US cars increased six times faster than human population. The leaders in the automotive industry must adopt some key elements to ensure success in this fast-moving environment. They must invest in knowing their markets, building brands, adapting product strategies and taking long-term view on their goals and objectives. This paper outlines some of the key factors which should be considered. Environmental factors automotive designers and engineers have always said the main threats in the American Automotive industry are the environmental factors such as fuel economy and the clean air regulations. Automotive Emission posed different problems than manufacturing discharges such as coal smoke. Increased fossil-fuel emission has resulted from the million car increase. Irritation smog, which is comprised of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxide and other various chemical mixtures are cited in major cities such as Los Angeles. These auto emissions are also said to cause headaches, visual pollutions, contribute to lung cancers and other respiratory disease. In the end, the engineers have designed cars that are better environmental performers, cost effective and fuel efficient to reduce the environmental

“The US auto industry directly employs 1.55 million Americans and impacting a total of 7.25 million US jobs, generates $500 billion in annual compensation.” (1) With such a large industry looming in the economy, it is inevitable that it will face environmental challenges. Environmental challenges can be hard to control and are essential to the success of a company. The challenges that the auto industry must contend with are many and complex, such as; global competition, consumer opinions, and new technology, a difficult fight lies ahead.

Several factors have affected how the American auto industry now positions itself on the world market, and big changes have been made to reflect this new direction. The introduction of new technologies in vehicles, the growing market for cars in new developing markets, the impact of the industry on the environment, legislative responses and demands, as well as the increased expectations from consumers, are some of the factors. More international cars are being designed, manufactured and bought by American consumers and exported to foreign markets today than those exclusively manufactured by American companies, redefining the American auto industry, while having a positive impact on its economy. International brands accounted for 45% of total sales in the U.S. in 2013 and have now risen to 59% of the market, and continue to grow. While the amount of American cars has decreased in the local U.S. market share to international ones, the increase of foreign car production on U.S. soil has had the effect of creating new jobs for Americans both in the auto industry as well as in related new industries. The industry has seen huge growth numbers in the last few years with more growth expected.

Akio Toyoda, the founder of the car company Toyota Incorporated, once said “Automobiles are the pinnacle of human transportation. The percentage of families across the world who own cars have reached new heights in the past decade. Multiple families now have an easier form of transportation than walking or taking an overcrowded bus. For that reason, I am happy with what I do.” Akio Toyoda is right for saying so. The usage of automobiles increases by 150% since the past decade as more consumers look towards faster and cheaper methods of transportation. The increase in usage brings many concerns to well-minded citizens, specifically concerns regarding the environment and the conservation of energy. In order to tackle the problem locally, multiple

The American automotive industry is a massive force, to say the least. The historical impacts of automotive technology and assembly line manufacturing has effected economies around the world and has also created world-wide ecological challenges. Governments, under pressure from environmentalists, have had to realize, create, implement, and constantly refine manufacturing and emission standards. Consumers, who foot the gas bill for vehicles, continue to express their desire for less expensive autos that require less fuel without sacrificing style, comfort, safety, or performance.

The American Auto industry has matured over several decades and is one of the best auto industries in the world. However, like any other industry, it is fraught with many environmental challenges that include Political and Regulatory challenges, fierce global competition from other auto manufacturers, rapid advancement of technologies for powering the products in this industry, as well as challenges from stemming from consumer opinions about their products.

The first topic I’m going to discuss is the global competition in this industry. The American Auto

The American Auto Industry has evolved for many decades with pioneers such as Ford Motor Company. The United States Auto Industry was once upon a time a global leader in the automotive industry but due to knowledge and skills acquisition by other automobile manufacturers such as Toyota, the once American Auto Industry leadership has been surpassed. I will give discuss this following paragraphs.

According to the Environmental Protection article at www.eponline.com, it states that the environmental issues top the list of challenges in the automotive industry, outranking the cost reduction for the first time in 14 years. The survey was conducted by DuPont and the Society of the Automotive Industry. The survey results included the following results and statistics:

The American auto industry has been in existence since 1896 when Henry Ford built his first car. He then invented the assembly line which allowed for the production of multiple cars, and this made the price of cars more affordable to buyers. By the 1920s, the assembly line concept of production was used by the largest auto companies in the United States, namely Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. The auto industry has always been faced with environmental and hazardous issues. Such issues include global competition, new technology for powering the product that this industry produces, and the effect of emissions on the environment.

even today. Only about 14 to 30 percent of the energy from the fuel in your car is converted to

The auto industry is a very important part of our culture. Vehicles are used to get people from place to place in a timely manner. Without cars, we would be reduced to walking, riding, bicycles, or even using animals. Cars are a necessary evil because we use them in our everyday lives; however they contribute greatly to pollutants being released into the environment. U.S. companies along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been working to find solutions to this problem. With the 253 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads, having an average age of 11.4 years, the auto industry must find ways of making cars more environmentally friendly (Hirsch, 2014).

There are four major factors affecting the automotive industry: technology, market, customers and the most influential factor – environment. Environment is a source of materials, infrastructure necessary for manufacturing but everything is limited. The process of car or automotive manufacturing is very complex regarding the usage of numerous resources and different technologies ( P. Golinska & M. Kosacka).

The words pollution and automobile are synonymous, and as long as vehicles still use fossil fuels to run, that won’t change. Consumers, communities, and the environment are key stakeholders the auto industry has to consider when it comes to pollution. More energy-efficient, hybrid or electric vehicles can increase customer satisfaction and add to the company’s business performance. For instance, fuel consumption is an assumption of performance and is very important for consumers. Thus, automotive companies have to come up with great designs with minimal consumption of resources and raw materials; engines that give more mileage and less fuel consumption. Given that consumers are the most important stakeholders, communities of these consumers also want vehicles with the lowest emissions possible with hopes of keeping the air around them clean and healthy. Once again, these informal bands and communities of consumers have large amounts of power based on buying power alone, and can significantly impact an automobile company’s business.