The top 10 automobile companies in the world are expected to grow exponentially owing to recovery of the economy around the world coupled with increased demand from developing economies like India, China, Brazil, and Malaysia. The global automobile market was valued at around $1,400 billion in 2017 and is estimated to expand at a CAGR of more 3% for the next five years to surpass $1,650 billion by the end of 2022. The top 10 car companies in the world are geared to step up their production capacities as it is forecasted that the sales volume of passenger cars will grow significantly from the 78 million units in 2017 to cross past the 100 million units mark within the next few years. Furthermore, the demand for hybrid and electric automobiles will also gain significant traction in the next few years due to rising levels of pollution and global warming across many regions.
The top 10 automobile companies in the world are increasingly focusing on investments on R&D to upgrade their manufacturing technology so that their cars offer better fuel efficiency on the road and enhance the driving experience for the passengers. The largest market in the Asia Pacific region for the top 10 automobile companies in the world in 2018 is China, followed closely by the other BRIC nations. The top car companies in the world are expected to develop new kinds of futuristic cars that will have the latest technology in terms of safety, comfort, mileage, and lower levels of carbon emission. Although the prices of raw materials and fuel have been on the rise, these market challenges are going to be overcome by the top 10 automobile companies in the world as the demand for passenger cars is likely to keep growing across the world, predominantly in the Asia Pacific region.
Top 10 Automobile Companies in the World
1. Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota is one of the top 10 automobile companies in the world both in terms of revenue and production. Toyota was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda at Toyota-shi, Japan as a diversification from Toyoda Loom Works established by his father, Sakichi Toyoda. Toyota was the first among the top 10 car companies in the world to reach an annual production capacity of 10 million cars in 2012, the same year Toyota also manufactured it’s 200th million cars. This top 10 automobile company in the world in 2018 with five top-selling car brands Toyota, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, and Daihatsu was estimated to have an annual revenue of around $240 billion and employs more than 365,000 professionals.
2. Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen is the largest car manufacturer in the world in terms of volume, manufacturing around 10,700 million cars every year. Volkswagen Group is one of top 10 automobile companies in the world with various brands of top-class cars such as Audi, Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda, and VW. Volkswagen Group was formed in 1937 at Wolfsburg, Germany by the German Labor Front. This top ten car company in the world in 2018 has an annual revenue of more than $117 billion and has over 120 production units across the globe employing as many as 640,000 professionals.
3. Daimler AG
Daimler is one of the top 10 automobile companies in the world with a strong market presence in Europe and American region. With an annual revenue of over $80 billion at the end of 2017, this top 10 car company in the world was previously known as Daimler-Benz AG and was established in the year 1926 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler at Stuttgart, Germany. This top automobile company in the world has top-selling car brands like Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Maybach, and Smart. Daimler manufactures around 3.3 million cars every year and has more than 289,000 employees working for this top automobile company.
4. BMW
BMW is another top 10 automobile companies in the world with a global presence in all continents in the world. BMW was founded in the year 1916 by Karl Rapp at Munich, Germany. Among all the top 10 automobile companies in the world in 2018, BMW has four best-selling car brands that are BMW M, BMW-i, Rolls Royce, and Mini. BMW was estimated to manufacture around 2.7 million cars at the end of 2017 and had an annual revenue of almost $72 billion. This top automobile company has over 129,000 professionals employed globally and is one of the best luxury car manufacturers in the world.
5. Honda
Honda is another Japanese name among the top 10 automobile companies in the world with an annual revenue of over $60 billion at the end of 2017. Honda was incorporated in 1948 at Hamamatsu, Japan by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa while the headquarters of this top 10 car companies in the world is located at Tokyo, Japan. Honda had an annual manufacturing capacity of over 5 million units in 2017 and has many popular car models such as Accord, CRV, Civic, NSX, HR-V, and Jazz. This leading car making company employs around 208,000 personnel worldwide and is well-known for high-performance cars.
6. General Motors
General Motors (GM) has been ranked among top 10 automobile companies in the world in 2018 and is a very trusted name in the automobile manufacturing industry across the world. GM was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant, Charles Stewart Mott, and Frederic L. Smith at Detroit, Michigan, United States and now has an existence in over 35 countries globally. General Motors has an annual revenue of more than $52 billion employing over 180,000 people at almost 400 facilities around the world. GM manufactures around 9 million vehicles every year as of 2017 and has four car manufacturing subsidiaries, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet.
7. Tesla Inc.
Tesla is one of the top 10 automobile companies in the world and is named after the famous engineer Nikola Tesla. This leading automobile manufacturing company was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, Elon Musk, Ian Wright, and JB Straubel at Palo Alto, California, United States. Tesla had an annual production capacity of around 35,000 cars and an annual revenue of almost $12 billion in 2017. This top car company in the world manufacture various models such as Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Roadster with a workforce of over 37,000 employees across the globe.
8. Ford
Ford is a leading top 10 automobile companies in the world and was established in 1903 by Henry Ford at Dearborn, Michigan, United States. Ford makes many popular car models such as Fiesta, Endeavour, Eco sport, Expedition, Escape, Mustang, Taurus, Focus, and Fusion. This top automobile company in 2018 has an annual production capacity of around 6.7 million cars and employs more than 200,000 personnel. Ford had an estimated annual revenue of almost $150 billion with a net income of around $8 billion in 2017 and owns more than 90 automobile manufacturing plants across the world.
9. Nissan
Nissan is a Japanese automobile manufacturing company and is headquartered at Yokohama, Japan. Nissan is among the top 10 automobile companies in the world. Nissan was founded in 1933 by Masujiro Hashimoto, Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama, Meitaro Takeuchi, Yoshisuke Aikawa, and William R. Gorham at Azabu-Hiroo. Nissan has an annual vehicle production capacity of over 5.5 million units and a turnover of more $41 billion every year. The most popular car brands owned by this top car company in the world are Nissan, Nismo, Datsun, and Infiniti. Nissan has over 50 automobile manufacturing facilities employing over 142,000 professionals across the globe.
10. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Fiat Chrysler is another Italian name in the top 10 automobile companies in the world and was founded in 1899 at Turin, Italy by Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat Chrysler is headquartered in London, UK and has an annual production capacity of more than 5 million cars in a year. The annual revenue of this top 10 automobile company in 2018 was estimated to be almost $130 billion and had around 235,000 employees across the world. Fiat Chrysler owns many top-selling car brands such as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Maserati, Fiat, Abarth, Lancia, and Fiat Professional.
Future Course of the Top 10 Automobile Companies in the World
The top 10 automobile companies in the world constitute for more than three-fifths of the global automobile market. According to automobile manufacturing industry sources, there is intense competition between the leading automobile manufacturers of passenger cars and the market is expected to intensify in the coming years with the advent of electric and hybrid future generation cars. With the ever-changing consumer preferences and evolving demographics of the automobile manufacturing industry, the top 10 car companies in the world are investing heavily on expanding their production capacities and focusing on R&D to use the latest technology in manufacturing their fleet of vehicles. Globally, the US is the largest automobile importing nation while Germany is ranked first for exporting automobiles all over the world. Overall, the top 10 automobile companies are poised to witness a massive surge in demand and production of the best automobiles in the next five years.
Few Other Car Brands in the World
| Automobile Name | Founded | Revenue |
| Bolwell | 1962 | $200 Million |
| Holden Special Vehicles | 1987 | $4 Billion |
| Elfin Sports Cars | 1957 | $800 Million |
| Holden | 1856 | $2 Billion |
| Puch | 1899 | $3 Billion |
| Litex Motors | 2008 | $10 Billion |
| Prevost Car | 1924 | $200 Million |
| Bombardier Recreational Products | 1942 | $4 Billion |
| Beijing Automobile Works Co., Ltd. (BAW) | 1953 | $10 Billion |
| Chery Automobile Co., Ltd | 1997 | $2 Billion |
| GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co., Ltd | 2010 | $800 Million |
| SAIC Motor Corporation Limited | 1955 | $100 Billion |
| Peugeot | 1882 | $60 Billion |
| Groupe Renault | 1899 | $59 Billion |
| Citroën | 1919 | $63 Billion |
| Audi AG | 1910 | $60 Billion |
| Mercedes-Benz | 1926 | $93 Billion |
| Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG | 1931 | $19 Billion |
| Opel | 1962 | $20 Billion |
| Bajaj Auto Limited | 1945 | $4 Billion |
| Mahindra and Mahindra Limited | 1945 | $11 Million |
| Maruti Suzuki India Limited | 1981 | $12 Billion |
| Hindustan Motors | 1942 | $8 Billion |
| Tata Motors Limited | 1945 | $40 Billion |
| Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. | 1910 | $200 Million |
| Ferrari N.V. | 1939 | $3.5 Billion |
| Fiat Automobiles | 1899 | $105 Billion |
| Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. | 1963 | $700 Million |
| Maserati | 1914 | $4 Billion |
| Piaggio | 1884 | $2 Billion |
| Isuzu Motors Ltd. | 1878 | $2 Billion |
| Mazda Motor Corporation | 1920 | $40 Billion |
| Mitsubishi Motors Corporation | 1917 | $11 Billion |
| Suzuki | 1909 | $30 Billion |
| Subaru | 1953 | $3 Billion |
| Perodua | 1993 | $200 Million |
| Kia Motor Corporation | 1944 | $500 Million |
| Volvo Group | 1927 | $40 Billion |
| Bentley Motors Limited | 1919 | $1.5 Billion |
| Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC | 1935/2008 | $30 Billion |
| Rolls-Royce Motor Cars | 1998 | $300 Million |
| Aston Martin Lagonda Limited | 1913 | $700 Million |
| Chevrolet | 1911 | $11 Billion |
| Chrysler | 1925 | $86 Billion |
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