Focus On - Automotive: Faster, Further. The Components Sector Shifts Gears

Executive Summary

Between 2006 and 2016, the "production geography" of the world automotive industry changed: ten years ago, Europe was the leading manufacturer of automobiles with three of every ten cars, while almost six of every ten were produced in the EU and North America combined. In 2015, the “Made in EU” declined to two cars out of ten (four of 10 with the USA), while more than one car in five was being built in China.

The automobile and components industry suffers from a lack of international scale and from competition that extends across at least 3-4 continents: the Italian share of world exports is still between 1% and 4%, depending on the segment.

While automobile exports have shifted to areas with stronger demand (the EU share of sales has declined from 80% to 54% in ten years), the same is not true of the supply chain, though still ninth-ranked worldwide with € 4.8 billion in net component exports.

It is important to support Italian sector companies in confronting complex internationalization processes and entering the global supply chains, especially in more-distant, higher-potential markets.

The forecasts for future component sales indicate that 12 markets of opportunity will generate over € 75 billion in additional sales in 2021: a strong surge, especially in various Asian countries.  

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