This book examines the dramatic increase in automotive assembly plants in the former Socialist Central European (CE) nations of Czechia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia from 1989 onwards. Enticed by relatively lower-wage labour and significant government incentives, the world’s largest automakers have launched more than 20 passenger car assembly complexes in CE nations, with production accelerating dramatically since 2001. As a result, the annual passenger car production in Western Europe declined by more than 20% between 2001 and 2015, and alternatively in the CEE it increased by nearly 170% during this period. Drawing on case studies of 25 current and former foreign-run assembly plants, the author presents a rare historical account of automotive foreign assembly plants in the CE following this dramatic geographic shift. This book will expand the knowledge of policy-makers in Europe in relation to their pursuits of FDI and will be of great interest to scholars and students of business, economic history, political science, and development.

This book chronicles the divergent growth trends in car production in Belgium and Spain. It delves into how European integration, high wages, and the demise of GM and Ford led to plant closings in Belgium.  Next, it investigates how lower wages and the expansion strategies of Western European automakers stimulated expansion in the Spanish auto industry. Finally, it offers three alternate scenarios regarding how further EU expansion and Brexit may potentially reshape the geographic footprint of European car production over the next ten years. In sum, this book utilizes history to help expand the knowledge of scholars and policymakers regarding how European integration and Brexit may impact future auto industry investment for all EU nations.

In 1962, South Korea assembled just 1,100 new automobiles. By 1996, this total had soared to 2,812,714. What explains this remarkable growth? The answer is complex, and involves a combination of a supportive State, timely technology alliances, a skilled but historically low-paid workforce, aggressive pricing, savvy entrepreneurs, and fortuitous circumstances. Despite this amazing ascent, comparatively little has been written about the Korean auto industry in English. In the first of a two-volume set, this 11-chapter book seeks to help fill this void by providing in-depth examinations of all six of Korea’s automakers from their beginnings through 1996. Uniquely written from the perspective of industry analysts at the time (without knowledge of the Asian Fiscal Crisis), the book should prove informative to practitioners, scholars, and students interested in automotive history, international political economy, Asian studies, and more.

This book examines the dramatic increase in automotive assembly plants in the former Socialist Central European (CE) nations of Czechia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia from 1989 onwards. Enticed by relatively lower-wage labour and significant government incentives, the world’s largest automakers have launched more than 20 passenger car assembly complexes in CE nations, with production accelerating dramatically since 2001. As a result, the annual passenger car production in Western Europe declined by more than 20% between 2001 and 2015, and alternatively in the CEE it increased by nearly 170% during this period. Drawing on case studies of 25 current and former foreign-run assembly plants, the author presents a rare historical account of automotive foreign assembly plants in the CE following this dramatic geographic shift. This book will expand the knowledge of policy-makers in Europe in relation to their pursuits of FDI and will be of great interest to scholars and students of business, economic history, political science, and development.

This book chronicles the divergent growth trends in car production in Belgium and Spain. It delves into how European integration, high wages, and the demise of GM and Ford led to plant closings in Belgium.  Next, it investigates how lower wages and the expansion strategies of Western European automakers stimulated expansion in the Spanish auto industry. Finally, it offers three alternate scenarios regarding how further EU expansion and Brexit may potentially reshape the geographic footprint of European car production over the next ten years. In sum, this book utilizes history to help expand the knowledge of scholars and policymakers regarding how European integration and Brexit may impact future auto industry investment for all EU nations.

In 1962, South Korea assembled just 1,100 new automobiles. By 1996, this total had soared to 2,812,714. What explains this remarkable growth? The answer is complex, and involves a combination of a supportive State, timely technology alliances, a skilled but historically low-paid workforce, aggressive pricing, savvy entrepreneurs, and fortuitous circumstances. Despite this amazing ascent, comparatively little has been written about the Korean auto industry in English. In the first of a two-volume set, this 11-chapter book seeks to help fill this void by providing in-depth examinations of all six of Korea’s automakers from their beginnings through 1996. Uniquely written from the perspective of industry analysts at the time (without knowledge of the Asian Fiscal Crisis), the book should prove informative to practitioners, scholars, and students interested in automotive history, international political economy, Asian studies, and more.