Auto Industry in Crisis

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Auto Industry in Crisis: The automobile industry is among the sectors that have been hit most by the recessions over the years. In the most recent recession, “demand for cars fell sharply, accentuating the difficulties of excess production capacity already faced before the crisis and deepening the economic downturn in major car-producing countries” (Dargay, Gately & Sommer, 2007). Relative to the general downturn, the decline in car sales was nonetheless not deeper than what was observed in the past. Role of Auto Industry in Economy: The size of the automobile industry relative to overall activity is small, but because of its strong linkages with other parts of the economy, the final impact of a shock in the industry on the broader economy is sizable, and is economically important. As Sturgeon & Van Biesebroeck (2009) point out that the “automobile and business cycles usually move in line with each other but the amplitude of the cycle is higher in the automobile industry”. The volatility of the automobile industry is also higher than that of the manufacturing industries as a whole, and intertwines with the business cycles. Sources of Industry Collapse: The auto industry has been severely affected by the economic downturn, and car sales collapsed across the board at the start of the crisis. Miravete & Moral (2009) point out that “evidence for the United States and Canada suggests that the reduction in car sales since mid-2008 has been magnified by the lack of access to credit, leading many households to postpone their car purchases”. This implies that continued improvement in financial market conditions could provide an impetus to car sales. However, “the government support to the automobile industry has been provided in a variety of forms, including subsidies to firms and direct involvement in industry restructuring plans” (Abrams & Parsons,
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