Global Strategies and Local Realities

The emerging markets have shifted rapidly from being the key growth points of the global auto industry in the mid 1990s, to being in crisis and recession at the end of the decade. This volume addresses three questions about the emerging markets and their role within the global auto industry: What are the production and sales prospects for emerging markets, and how might firms and governments respond to current problems? What spatial configurations are likely to emerge within these markets and within the global auto industry more generally? What division of activities is likely to develop between the emerging markets and the established vehicle producing regions? The papers in this collection are based on extensive fieldwork in a broad range of emerging markets by researchers from developed and developing countries. The editors have combined overview papers discussing themes of relevance to the auto industry such as strategies for dealing with market instability, government policies and the environmental impact of the car, with papers taking up issues through comparative studies of particular countries and regions. Contributors consider key questions facing the auto industry, such as the contradiction between adapting designs for the emerging markets and promoting exports, and the role of global mega-suppliers in emerging markets.