Aviva Directory » Business & Industry » Automotive

The automotive industry includes those companies, enterprises, and pursuits involved in the production of motor vehicles and motor vehicle components, except for tires, batteries, fuel, and accessories.

The automotive industry's products include passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, buses, delivery trucks, and large transport trucks, often known as semis or 18-wheelers. Electric, gasoline-powered, diesel-powered, and hybrid vehicles are appropriate for this section of our web guide.

A car, or automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Definitions usually refer to a car as one that runs primarily on roads, have four wheels, seat from one to eight people, and whose chief purpose is to transport people rather than cargo. Cars include controls for driving, parking, passenger comfort, and a variety of lights. Over the years, additional features and controls have been added, many of them optional, resulting in an increasingly more complex machine. Most cars are powered by internal combustion engines fueled by gasoline, although electric-powered cars are becoming progressively more common.

Pickup trucks are light-duty trucks with an enclosed cabin and a cargo bed on the back end, enclosed by three low walls, a tailgate, and either no roof or a removable covering over the cargo area. Originally used most often for work or agricultural purposes, pickups are often used as passenger cars today.

A van is a road vehicle used for transporting people or cargo. Vans are similar to pickup trucks, except that the cargo area has higher walls and is fully enclosed. In most styles of vans, the cargo area is connected to the cab. However, the term is used differently in various parts of the English-speaking world.

A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a road vehicle that combines elements of a passenger car with those of off-road vehicles, such as higher ground clearance and four-wheel-drive capabilities. It is a loose term that may be applied to a wide range of vehicles with four-wheel-drive.

Motorcycles or motorbikes are two-wheeled motor vehicles steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycles with three wheels are generally known as trikes. Some motorbikes are designed specifically for off-road use, while others are on-road or dual-purpose vehicles.

A bus (omnibus, multibus, motorbus, autobus) is a road vehicle designed to carry significantly more passengers than the average car or van. Commonly used for public transport, buses are also used for charter purposes, as privately-owned vehicles, or even converted into motorhomes. Common forms of buses include the single-deck rigid bus, double-decker buses, and articulated buses, carrying larger passenger loads, as well as midibuses and minibusses, carrying smaller loads.

Strictly speaking, a delivery truck can refer to any size truck used for delivering cargo, although the term is commonly used to describe a cargo vehicle midway between a van and a large transport truck (18-wheeler), commonly having two sets of dual wheels in the back and two sets of single wheels in the front.

Also known as an 18-wheeler, a big rig, a tractor-trailer truck, or a semi-trailer truck, large transport vehicles combine a tractor unit with one or more semi-trailers used to carry freight. The semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a hitch known as a fifth wheel.

Industries involved in the manufacture of smaller off-road wheeled vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and light utility vehicles (LUVs), and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) may also be listed in this portion of our guide.

The early development of the automobile began in 1672 with the invention of the first steam-powered vehicle, although the automobile industry didn't gain much headway until the 1860s when manufacturers began the production of the horseless carriage.

Although the development of the automobile originated in Europe, the United States soon dominated the early part of the industry. Prior to 1930, roughly ninety percent of the world's automobiles were produced in the United States. However, by 1980, the U.S. auto industry had been overtaken by Japan, which was the primary manufacturer until 2009, when China took the top spot.

In the near future, we can expect continued enhancements to computer technology and artificial intelligence may result in cars that are self-aware, as we already have cars capable of operating without a driver. In all likelihood, the rise of Internet-connected automobiles and sophisticated sensors will lead to algorithm-based insurance plans based on data collected from connected cars.

Whatever the future of the industry this category (and any subcategories) is focused on the automobile industry, although the websites of local dealerships should be listed in the Local & Global category that corresponds to the geographic location of the dealership.

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