Environmental Challenges Facing the American Auto Industry Essay example

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

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.

With the recovery of economy, the world’s automobile industry has been growing steadily over the past few years. According to Bloomberg, the US automobile sales climbed from its depth 10.4 million in 2009 to over 15.6 million in 2013. Furthermore, industry analysts predict that the sales will

Cars have always been a big deal in the United States. Ever since Henry Ford invented his Model T in 1908, the automobile industry in the United Sates has continued to grow (“Henry Ford Changes the World,” 2005). While Ford was not the original inventor the automobile, he created the first automobiles that were affordable, easy to drive and maintain, which made it possible for everyday people to own cars. Ford’s assembly line building technique became the benchmark for all the big auto manufactures of that day (“Henry Ford Changes the World,” 2005). Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler soon became known as the “Big Three” American automobile companies (Foner & Garraty, 1991). While the automobile industry has immensely grown and changed from the early 1900’s to now, it continues to be at the forefront of industries creating environmental concerns worldwide. Issues currently being faced by the American Auto Industry include: having to handle tough global competition by foreign automakers, figuring out how to incorporate new technology to power vehicles (such as electric or ethanol run cars), and having to face new higher government and consumer quality and environmental standards.

The Automobile industry volume of growth has tremendously escalated in the United States. Years ago there were about 700 million vehicles registered in the world back in 1999, within the USA it contributed over 200 million passenger cars and trucks. In the 1990s, the number of vehicles in the United States had tripled six times faster than the human population back from 1969 to a global perspective on the environmental challenges. This is unbelievable, how industry multiplied and monopolized from years ago. All these issues point to the importance environmental concerns as they relate to the automotive industry. Recently the auto industry and its suppliers were addressed the

There are many issues that are currently facing the American Automotive industry, especially in terms of environmental factors. The automotive industry has been around for a very long time, and is a relatively stable industry, but there are still areas where automotive companies need to adapt and if they fail to do so, they will be at a disadvantage against their peers, both here in America and also globally. In this essay I will break down a few of the issues that I believe are plaguing the American Automotive Industry.

Today, the United States ranks second on the list of motor vehicles manufacturers, with over 12

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

So far the Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan has surpassed all the American Auto Industry such as Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Toyota has also topped the world ' most admired Vehicles Industry according to Fortune Magazine. There are various factors that have made the American Auto Industry to face stiff competition. The following are some factors:

When the automobile was introduced to the public, they immediately fell in love with it. It was a welcome miracle of science, clean, efficient and a reliable machine compared to the horse and carriage which required constant cleaning and a large place for storage. As more and more people acquired these machines, no one noticed the changes it made to the environment. The term smog was first used in California around the 1940’s to describe a yellow-brown haze that caused eyes to water, and headaches. It was found that the exhausts of the combustion engine brought forth this poison cloud that caused not only mild irritations but also had long lasting effects such respiratory problems and lung cancer. It wasn’t until 1965 when congress finally decided to do something about it and passed the vehicle air pollution and control act. Yet, it was not enough and so congress later decided that to further protect the environment and its citizens it needed to pass more laws. Laws that determined manufactures of the vehicle, safety, emissions and the use of any new technologies to help minimize the damage to the environment.

During the first half of this century, automobile imports were negligible on American roads. For instance in 1950s, only 21,287 automobiles were imported and local manufacturers ignored their presence in the belief that the imports were small and low quality. However, foreign automobiles have since set the quality benchmark and in 1986 reached an all-time high of 4.1 million units. In 1980s the big three auto makers (Ford, General Motors, and Fiat/Chrysler) formed joint ventures with Japanese automakers in order to capitalize on consumer attitude towards foreign automobiles. In 2004, the automobile manufacturers formed the

The American automotive industry has expanded since uprising in the early 1900s. “Americans dominated the industry in the first half of the twentieth century, although Germany and France perfected the blueprint for the modern automobile. Henry Ford initiated mass production techniques that became standard, with Ford, General motors and Chrysler emerging as the ‘Big Three’ auto companies by the 1920s (Foner & Garraty 1991).” The automotive industry has always been among the leading industries for environmental aspects and hazards around the world, in the United States especially. These issues include; global completion, new technology for powering the product, the effect

effect the American auto industry are; global competition in the industry, new technology for powering

Importantly this assignment seeks to analyse the environmental issues affecting the U.S automotive industry, such as Global competition in the industry, new technology for powering the product that this industry produces, the effect of emissions on the environment, and government reactions to this consumer opinions on the impact of automotive industry.