A much battered automobile industry enjoyed a significant rebound in 2010 through the fall of 2011—a sharp and welcome contrast to its state during 2008 and 2009. In the U.S. and around the world, the recession that started near the end of 2007 had a profound impact on the automobile industry. America’s car and light truck market dropped dramatically in 2008, to approximately 13.2 million units sold for the year, down by about 2.9 million from the number of units sold in 2007. In 2009, the market was much worse, with sales for the year totaling 10.4 million units. About 690,000 of those sales were made with the stimulus of a “cash for clunkers” program paid for with federal dollars. This was easily the worst year in decades for the car business, with two giant manufacturers filing for bankruptcy, GM and Chrysler, while a large number of dealerships, suppliers, parts manufacturers and other auto-related businesses also failed.  By 2011, Chrysler was 50% owned by Italian car maker Fiat, thanks to agreements and financing that had enabled Chrysler to exit bankruptcy. GM was 61% owned by the U.S. federal government.

Estimates of the worldwide automobile market vary substantially from one source to another. Scotiabank Group estimated that 60.13 million new cars and light trucks would be sold globally during 2011, up from 53.96 million in 2010 and only 50.50 million during 2009. As of mid-2011, Scotiabank’s analysts found that sales were growing at particularly rapid rates in emerging nations such as India (with 2 million units sold forecast for 2011, doubling since 2006), Brazil, Chile and Russia. Brazil, enjoying exceptional economic growth, may become the world’s third-largest car market by 2016 or so, surpassing Germany, and topped only by China and the U.S.

U.S. car and light truck sales will total from 12.2 to 13.0 million units for 2011 provided the economy does not slow significantly during the final quarter of the year. This would represent good growth from 11.55 million units during 2010.

The biggest upward trend in auto sales has been in China, where government stimulus helped dealers to sell about 13.6 million units in 2009 and an estimated 14 million in 2010. While estimates of its annual unit sales vary widely, China has clearly become the world’s largest car market. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers states that its members manufactured 18 million units during 2010, some of which were for export. Many observers expect China’s market to grow to 20 to 25 million units yearly over the mid term. However, China’s government has a great deal of control over the market, as it may increase sales by encouraging new auto loans, or decrease sales by adding new registration fees or restricting traffic in major cities in order to reduce congestion and pollution.

One of the biggest winners in today’s highly competitive automobile market has been Korea, where Hyundai, along with its brand Kia, have enjoyed soaring global sales. Consumers are attracted to their reasonable prices, excellent warranties and world class manufacturing quality. Korean car makers are competing aggressively against the world’s largest firms. Hyundai’s sales soared to 5.74 million units worldwide during 2010, placing it 4^th below Toyota, GM and Volkswagen.