Trend #4: Efficiency at Lower Volumes

Paradoxically, the automotive market has become more fractionated and diverse at the same time that it is being subjected to mergers and consolidations. The aggressive expansion of all OEMs on a global basis has created niche markets and entirely new types of vehicles – vehicles that are designed to sell anywhere from a couple thousand units to 75,000 units, as opposed to hundreds of thousands of a particular model. Also, companies that once were luxury brands are expanding downstream and companies that once were only economy brands are now moving upscale.