Competitiveness of the European automobile industry in the global context

Abstract

The automobile industry is one of the most rapidly growing industries, a significant employer and investor in research and development, and also one of the most important sectors of the EU economy. Nevertheless, even this sector has gone through a series of structural changes and territorial transfers, recently. Exactly for this reason, it seems crucial to examine the competitiveness of the automobile industry on the national level, analyze the long-term trends throughout the whole EU, and put them in a global context. The article uses standard methods of statistical analysis of indices of revealed symmetrical comparative advantage to detect the trends characterizing the shape and long-term development of the automobile industry in Europe. The authors point out the substantial shifs in production and exports from traditional Western European car makers in favor of the new EU member states, but also from the USA and Canada in favor of new, fast-growing developing countries in the South and Southeast Asia and in Latin America. A brief outline of the European Commission's response to these changes in the European automobile industry in the form of an Action Plan CARS 2020 can be found in the final part of the article.