There are many internal and external forces that affect an industry. Companies often do a situation (SWOT) analysis to discover what their external opportunities and threats, as well as their internal strengths and weaknesses are in order to tune their strategies accordingly. This report will focus on the environmental scanning of external opportunities and threats, including competitive, social, economic, regulatory and technological forces that affect the automobile manufacturing industry. .
Industry Analysis .
The main focus of this report is the automobile manufacturing industry. The NAICS code for this industry is 33611 and is referred to as the automobile and light-duty motor vehicle manufacturing industry. The SIC code that is assigned to this industry is 3711 and is referred to as the manufactures motor vehicles, and passenger car bodies industry. It includes products such as cars, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and minivans. The base of this report is the automotive manufacturing industry in Canada. The report will concentrate on the opportunities and threats to the Canadian automotive industry as a whole. .
Appendix A shows the breakup of the eight major competitors in the automotive manufacturing industry in Canada. The industry is becoming increasingly competitive with the amount of new manufacturers entering the lucrative automotive industry. The eight major companies account for ninety-two percent of the industry market share and every small amount that can be gained or lost, is a battle for these companies to sustain market share. .
The automotive industry surprisingly flourished during the past year. In 2001, the automotive industry recorded its second largest sales records in history, with unit sales of 17.2 million. There are several reasons why the automotive industry is increasing its sales. First off, the average age in Canada is getting higher. With the increase in age, there is an increase in discretionary income, and therefore more Canadians are buying luxury items such as cars.