... produce more than 6 million cars. The automobile trade between the EU and other countries is significant and in 1998 the EU experienced high export surplus of EUR 20.1 billion (European Commission, 2000). Moreover, the industry involves high investment costs, which means that the manufacturers have to run their production facilities without over-capacity in order to make profits. As a result, the car manufacturers in Europe focus on maintaining profitability by entering mergers and acquisitions in a global context (www.bbcnews.com, October 11, 2001). The European automobile industry is experiencing fierce competition from American and Japanese manufacturers, due to the increased number of new manufacturers in Asia and the Pacific and consequently a rise of the non-European imports. Within the EU market, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, stand for the largest share of produced automobiles. Between January and May 2001, the six largest manufacturers accounted for approximately 76 percent of the ...

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