Automotive Industry Summary
The Automotive Industry is one of the largest and most
prestigious mass-production industries in Germany. Like many other
advanced industrial nations, Germany has also moved towards
benefiting from lower production costs abroad and has established
several production units in Asia, former Eastern Europe, as well as
South America: German manufacturers prefer a very close and tight
control over all their suppliers though.
Nearly every sector of the automotive industry in Germany operates
on a globally significant scale. Typical characteristics include
advanced high-technology in design, durability and reliability in
use, and very sophisticated assembly processes, based on
knowledge-based manufacturing techniques.
The sectors comprise of automotive components, caravans, commercial
vehicles, containers, motorcycles, motor vehicles, retail,
distribution and maintenance of cars, specialised vehicles, such as
electric vehicles, utility vehicles, construction vehicles, cranes,
forklift trucks, motor homes, etc., tractors and agricultural
vehicles, trailers, and tyres.
Germany promotes very high standards of road and car safety,
environmental pollution targets, and fuel efficiency. At the same
time German car designers succeed in incorporating very
high-performance features in their cars. To achieve this much
emphasis is directed towards advanced electronics, innovative
measuring tools, just-in-time logistics, turbo-charging systems,
light-weight / high-strength engineering materials, catalytic
converters, "smart" engineering and intensive robotic
assembly, and dedicated software development. In the design of
hardware and software also much attention is being paid to the
aspect of how to protect and keep its competitive edge for longer.
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