Top Automobile Companies (2013)

 1.   TOYOTA MOTOR, $267,025.8 million Sales (11.3% Market Share)

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In 2013 the multinational corporation consisted of 333,498 employees worldwide and, as of January 2014, is the fourteenth-largest company in the world by revenue. Toyota was the largest automobile manufacturer in 2012 (by production). In July of that year, the company reported the production of its 200-millionth vehicle. Toyota is the world's first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year. It did so in 2012 according to OICA, and in 2013 according to company data. As of November 2013, Toyota was the largest listed company in Japan by market capitalization (worth more than twice as much as #2-ranked SoftBank) and by revenue.

Lexus RX450

The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to create automobiles. Three years earlier, in 1934, while still a department of Toyota Industries, it created its first product, the Type A engine, and, in 1936, its first passenger car, the Toyota AA. Toyota Motor Corporation produces vehicles under 5 brands, including the Toyota brand, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, and Scion. It also holds a 51.2% stake in Daihatsu, a 16.66% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, a 5.9% stake in Isuzu, and a 0.27% stake in Tesla, as well as joint-ventures with two in China (GAC Toyota and Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor), one in India (Toyota Kirloskar), one in the Czech Republic (TPCA), along with several "nonautomotive" companies. TMC is part of the Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the world.

Toyota RAV4

2.   VOLKSWAGEN, $247,757.3 million Sales (9.8% Market Share)

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Volkswagen is the top-selling and original marque of the Volkswagen Group, the biggest German automaker and the second largest automaker in the world. Volkswagen has three cars in the top 10 list of best-selling cars of all time compiled by the website 24/7 Wall St: the Volkswagen Golf, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Volkswagen Passat. With these three cars, Volkswagen has the most cars of any automobile manufacturer in the list that are still being manufactured. Volkswagen ranks first in spending the most money of any automaker on research and development as of 2011. Volkswagen means "people's car" in German. Its current slogan is "Das Auto" ("The Car").

Volkswagen Jetta

Volkswagen was originally founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front. In the early 1930s German auto industry was still largely composed of luxury models, and the average German rarely could afford anything more than a motorcycle. As a result only one German out of 50 owned a car. Seeking a potential new market, some car makers began independent "peoples' car" projects – Mercedes' 170H, Adler's AutoBahn, Steyr 55, Hanomag 1,3L, among others. Volkswagen has factories in many parts of the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets. Volkswagen has manufacturing or assembly plants in Germany, Mexico, Slovakia, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and South Africa. Volkswagen also has a new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. In 2011, Volkswagen was named in the top 25 largest companies in the world by the Forbes Global 2000. As of May 2014, Volkswagen is planning to start assembling certain engines in India to increase localisation from 70 per cent to 90 per cent.

3.   GENERAL MOTORS, $152,256.0 million Sales (7.6% Market Share)

General Motors Company, commonly known as GM, is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts and sells financial services. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under ten brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Opel, Holden, Vauxhall, Wuling, Baojun, Jie Fang, UzDaewoo. General Motors holds a 20% stake in IMM, and a 96% stake in GM Korea. It also has a number of joint-ventures, including Shanghai GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling and FAW-GM in China, GM-AvtoVAZ in Russia, Ghandhara Industries in Pakistan, GM Uzbekistan, General Motors India, General Motors Egypt, and Isuzu Truck South Africa. General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in 157 countries. General Motors is divided into five business segments: GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM International Operations (GMIO), GM South America (GMSA), and GM Financial.

Chevrolet Volt

General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and is currently among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. General Motors acts in most countries outside the USA via wholly owned subsidiaries, but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top 5 largest IPOs to date and returned to profitability later that year.

GM is currently undergoing an investigation by the United States Congress over why they decided to wait ten years to fix an ignition defect linked to at least 13 deaths. In May 2014 the company received a fine of $35 million from NHTSA over the ignition defect. U.S. Transport Secretary Anthony Foxx said at the time he was requesting Congress to increase the maximum fines NHTSA can levy from $35 million to $300 million "sending an even stronger message that delays will not be tolerated."

4.   FORD MOTOR, $134,252.0 million Sales (6.4% Market Share)

The Ford Motor Company (also known as simply Ford) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand and most luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer, Troller, and Australian performance car manufacturer FPV. In the past it has also produced tractors and automotive components. Ford owns a 2.1% stake in Mazda of Japan, a 15% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom, and a 49% stake in Jiangling of China. It also has a number of joint-ventures, two in China (Changan Ford Mazda and Ford Lio Ho), one in Thailand (AutoAlliance Thailand), one in Turkey (Ford Otosan), and one in Russia (Ford Sollers). It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family, although they have minority ownership. It is described by Forbes as "the most important industrial company in the history of the United States."

Ford Escape

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by 1914 these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000 respectively, were sold to Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010. In 2011, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed entry-level luxury cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938.

Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world based on 2010 vehicle sales. At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth largest automaker in Europe. Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion. In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, still retain 40 percent voting rights.

5.   NISSAN MOTOR, $116,539.3 million Sales (5.6% Market Share)

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. usually shortened to Nissan is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company is in a close alliance with Renault. Carlos Ghosn serves at CEO of both; technology and production sites are being shared. Nissan is in alliances and joint ventures with other automakers around the world. Nissan Motor Company sells its cars under the Nissan, Infiniti, Datsun, and NISMO brands.

2013 Altima

Nissan was the sixth largest automaker in the world behind Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Ford in 2012. Taken together, the Renault–Nissan Alliance would be the world’s fourth largest automaker. Nissan is the leading Japanese brand in China, Russia and Mexico.

6.   HONDA MOTOR, $119,545.1 million Sales (5.5% Market Share)

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world behind General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, Ford, Nissan, and PSA in 2011.

FCX 

Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and power generators, amongst others. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They have also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, which began production in 2012. Honda has three joint-ventures in China (Honda China, Dongfeng Honda, and Guangqi Honda).

In 2013, Honda invested about 5.7% (US$ 6.8 billion) of its revenues in research and development. Also in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net exporter from the United States, exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models while importing only 88,357.

7.   FIAT, $107,958.2 million Sales (5.1% Market Share)

Fiat S.p.A. (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) is the parent company of the Fiat Group and, since July 2011, also the majority shareholder in Chrysler. On 29 January 2014, it was announced that Fiat S.p.A. will be merged into a new Netherlands-based holding company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) with the now wholly owned Chrysler Group and that the merger is expected to take place before the end of 2014. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors, including Giovanni Agnelli. During its more than century-long history, Fiat has also manufactured railway engines and carriages, military vehicles, farm tractors, and aircraft. In 2013, Fiat (together with Chrysler) was the second largest European automaker by volumes produced, and the seventh in the world ahead of Honda, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Suzuki, Renault and Daimler AG.

Alfa Romeo

Over the years, Fiat has acquired numerous other automakers: it acquired Lancia in 1968, became a shareholder of Ferrari in 1969, took control of Alfa Romeo from the Italian government in 1986, purchased Maserati in 1993, and became the full owner of Chrysler Group LLC in 2014. Fiat Group currently produces vehicles under twelve brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Ram Trucks, and SRT. In 1970, Fiat employed more than 100,000 in Italy when its production reached the highest number, 1.4 million cars, in that country. As of 2002, Fiat built more than 1 million vehicles at six plants in Italy and the country accounted for more than a third of the company’s revenue.

Fiat-brand cars are built in several locations around the world. Outside Italy, the largest country of production is Brazil, where the Fiat brand is the market leader. The group also has factories in Argentina, Poland and Mexico (where Fiat-brand vehicles are manufactured at plants owned and operated by Chrysler for export to the U.S., Brazil, Italy and other markets) and a long history of licensing manufacture of its products in other countries. It also has numerous alliances and joint ventures around the world, the main ones being located in Serbia, France, Turkey, India and China.

Gianni Agnelli, the grandson of founder Giovanni Agnelli, was Fiat's chairman from 1966 until 1996; he then served as honorary chairman from 1996 until his death on 24 January 2003, during which time Cesare Romiti served as chairman. He was succeeded briefly by Paolo Fresco, who served as chairman, and Paolo Cantarella, as CEO. Umberto Agnelli then took over as chairman from 2003 to 2004. After Umberto Agnelli's death on 28 May 2004, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Agnelli heir John Elkann becoming vice chairman (at the age of 28), and other family members also serving on the board. On 1 June 2004, Giuseppe Morchio was replaced by Sergio Marchionne as CEO.

In June 2014 the European Commission anti-trust regulator launched an investigation of Fiat's tax practices in Luxembourg, as part of a wider probe of multi-national companies' tax arrangements in various European countries.

8.   DAIMLER, $146,971.7 million Sales (4.5% Market Share)

 Daimler AG (formerly DaimlerChrysler) is a German multinational automotive corporation. Daimler AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm.

As of 2013, Daimler owns or has shares in a number of car, bus and truck marques including Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Smart Automobile, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses, Setra, BharatBenz, Mitsubishi Fuso, as well as shares in Denza, KAMAZ, Beijing Automotive Group, Tesla Motors, and Renault-Nissan Alliance. At the end of 2012, the company closed the Maybach marque.

Mercedes-Benz E350

9.   BMW, $98,817.0 million Sales (3.8% Market Share)

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly known as BMW or BMW AG, is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. BMW is headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It also owns and produces Mini cars, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad. In 2012, the BMW Group produced 1,845,186 automobiles and 117,109 motorcycles across all of its brands. BMW is part of the "German Big 3" luxury automakers, along with Audi and Mercedes-Benz, which are the three best-selling luxury automakers in the world.

BMW M3

10. HYUNDAI MOTOR, $38,337.0 million Sales (3.2% Market      Share)

Hyundai Group was a multinational chaebol (conglomerate) headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1947 as a construction firm and Chung was directly in control of the company until his death in 2001. Following the 1997 East Asian financial crisis and Chung's death, Hyundai underwent a major restructuring and break-up, which reduced the Hyundai Group's business to encompass only container shipping services, the manufacturing of elevators, and tourism.

Today, most companies bearing the name Hyundai are not legally connected to Hyundai Group. They include Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Department Store Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Hyundai Development Company. However, most of the former subsidiaries of the Hyundai conglomerate continue to be run by relatives of Chung. If these companies were considered as forming a single broad family business, then it would remain the largest company in South Korea with enormous economic and political power in the country.

 2014 Elantra

Hyundai branded vehicles are manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company, which along with Kia comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, which is 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 through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms worldwide. In 2010, Hyundai sold over 1.7 million vehicles worldwide. Popular models include the Sonata midsize sedan and Elantra compact.

Source: Bloomberg