The new challenges of the world automotive industry

Approaching the year 2000, the automotive sector has been the area for majo r mergers and technological innovations because of more stringent environme ntal standards. The different acquisitions are made with several objectives in mind: - realize economies of scale by sharing platforms and logistics-related res ources; - attain an "international dimension" to compete with major players on the world market, while boosting financial profitability to keep shareholders h appy. This being said, mergers are often difficult to carry out. Some are never f ully implemented ol do not work out well. Culture shock, the partners' urge to dominate, and internal competition do not favor the success of these un dertakings. By way of an example, BMW has had a number of difficulties with Rover, and General Motors with Saab, which does nor seem to be able to get out and stay out of the red And big is not always beautiful. In some cases the creation of a behemoth can cause loss of identity and lower a manufact urer's responsiveness to the market. Like in the oil sector, the proliferat ion of mergers and acquisitions in the automotive industry has given rise T o the birth of "supermajors" (General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Dai mlerChrysler, Renault-Nissan) while restricting the hunting grounds open To smaller manufacturers, mainly in Europe, such as Fiat, PSA, and BMW/Rover. Finally with respect to the environment, key technological events took pla ce in 1998-1999: - the first hybrid car able to meet the Euro 2000 and 2005 standards Mas commercialized, i.e. the Toyota Prius, - Ford, Daimler and Ballard formed an alliance that expects to bring a vehi cle running on fuel cells to market by 2004. Here, Two questions call for an answer. how can the cost of fuel cells be r educed and should hydrogen be stored or produced on board the vehicle ? In the short term, due to the pressure being exerted for environmental as well as commercial reasons thermal engines will be undergoing substantial chang es. For the medium term, carmakers are showing greater interest in new tech nologies like fuel cells and hybrid vehicles than in alternative motor fuel s (LPG, NGV, etc.) that limit polluting emissions. Finally, at the Tokyo 19 99 trade show, the hybrid vehicles presented were no longer prototypes but ready for commercialization.