After 1945, the U.S. produced about 75 percent of world’s auto production. In 1980, the U.S. was overtaken by Japan and then became world leader again in 1994. In 2006, Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million units. With 19.3 million units manufactured in 2012, China almost doubled the U.S. production of 10.3 million units, while Japan was in third place with 9.9 million units.
To overtake Thailand as the biggest car manufacturer in the ASEAN region will, however, require major efforts and breakthroughs. Currently, …