The economic crisis of 2008 cut almost a third of light vehicle sales from Chrysler, Toyota, Ford, and Nissan. It also subtracted about a fourth of Honda's sales and about a seventh of sales from General Motors."Economic Crisis". Retrieved 2013-06-03.
Since 2009, China has become the world's leading car manufacturer with production greater than Japan, the U.S.A. and all of Europe. Besides large growth of car production in Asian and other countries, there has been growth in transnational corporate groups, the production of transnational automobiles sharing the same platforms, as well as badge engineering or re-badging to suit different markets and consumer segments.