Capel Dewi Cars

The beginning of the automobile industry dates back in 1769 with the first steam engine automobile capable of human transport. It was invented by the French engineer Nicolas J. Cugnot who created a self-powered, three-engine, military tractor which was propelled by a steam engine. It had an ample starting point and it could run for about 20 minutes and thus Cugnot's design proved to be impracticable. It was also too big and heavy for the roads at that time. Although Cugnot's project was abandoned by the French government, it still remains in the history of the automobile.

Several other attempts followed within the next few years. Engineers all over the world were struggling to find solutions to create the revolutionary machine that would transport people and would use other types of power other than horses. Among the many inventors at the time, we should mention Robert Anderson and its electric carriage, Thomas Davenport and its small model car driven by an electric motor or Robert Davidson with its electric locomotive which reached the speed of 6 km/h. But the real promoter of the automobile industry can be considered Henry Ford, who, in 1914, launched the automobile bulk production to the masses.

It was the beginning of a prosperous business. Over the year the initial supremacy of the Americans has found important competitors on the European and Asian market. Thus every country has become interested in developing its own automobile industry. Nowadays, the center of interest has moved to countries from Asia, Eastern Europe or South America and thus we have important players such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) which share an important percentage in the automobile industry.

In order to succeed in the tough competition that is ruling the automobile industry nowadays, top players have adopted a set of rules and principles in order to sell their products. They have tried to adapt the production so as to address to another segment of the public, that belonging to the developing countries. As such, the price of cars has significantly reduced and, at the same time, one can notice a diversification of the after-sales services. At the same time, the manufacturing of the cars has moved to countries with a cheaper work force which also has the advantage offered by reducing the shipping charges.

When it comes to production, the largest producer of automobiles can be considered the EU. As such, we are talking about a sector which is responsible for an important contribution to EU's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and which exports more than it imports. The whole sector is governed by a set of norms which facilitate easier access of car producers to all EU countries. As such, the whole domain has diversified, automobile industry meaning more than buying and selling a car nowadays. It also includes vehicle leasing or renting which come as suitable solutions.