In our previous articles you must have read about automotive technologies that changed the auto industry along with top cars and bikes that changed the Indian auto industry. Now it’s time for our readers to learn about companies that changed the automobile industry, not just of India but the whole world. We have sorted out the top 6 companies that brought new dimension to the auto-sector, if you feel that we missed out any major player please post your opinion in the comment box.
To bring a major change in the auto sector, the change need not be at vehicle level but it can be at component level also and we have listed companies based on their impact on the automotive world.
1) Mercedes-Benz – Everyone must be knowing this company which is a subsidiary of Daimler. How did this company change the auto sector? Well frankly speaking, this company is the inception of automobiles and was called ‘Benz & Cie’ in the 19th century. In the 20th century the company went through many changes and now it’s called Mercedes-Benz. Patent-Motorwagen is considered as the first reliable automobile which that built in 1886 by Karl Benz. The Motorwagen was a 3-wheeled self-propelled having a structure of a vehicle. 128 years later, there are billions of automobiles running across the planet.
2) Ford Motor Company – Even this company doesn’t need any introduction but what did Ford do to get a podium finish? Ford Motor Company is considered as the first company to introduce mass production and this happened a century ago. Ford introduced mass production assembly line in 1913 to reduce manufacturing costs and make cars affordable for the common man. If you are a common man you better thank Henry Ford for his efforts. 100 years later we still enjoy his composition. Apart from that, Ford is also the fifth biggest automobile manufacturer in the world.
3) ZF – This company grabs the third spot and yes it deserves this place. A common man may not know this company as it does only B2B operations. The company that brought revolution to transmission technology is ZF Friedrichshafen. ZF has always been contributing to the auto sector in the form of transmissions, steering systems and other components. The company that developed automatic transmissions for passenger and commercial vehicles, making them available at lower costs. ZF R&D made several contributions to manual transmission technology. Found almost a century ago, this company still holds a good share in the market and occupies second place. The throne is currently occupied by Getrag.
4) Robert Bosch GmbH – This company was founded in 1886 and has been contributing to automobiles since 1897. The company then supplied low-voltage magneto ignition to automobiles and its customers probably were Benz & Daimler. The present portfolio of this company is so diverse that it covers almost every major part of an automobile. Bosch is popularly known for its advancements in electrical and electronics, applications related to automobile. Right from mass production for CRDI systems to headlight design, Bosch has certainly played a major role in modern automobile technology. Bosch holds a super strong position in the market when it comes to CRDI system design and manufacturing, electrical and mechanical components. It has also played a vital role in ABS technology.
5) General Motors – This American manufacturer obviously deserves a place in the top 6 but for what reason? It’s not because the company is one of the largest manufacturers in the world and it’s not because the company ruled the auto world for 77 long years. General Motors is on this list because it is the first company to mass produce electric cars. Well electric cars date back to the 19th century, by the time they gained popularity they were crushed by advanced gasoline engines. Finally they surfaced on the market in 1996 with General Motors launching the EV1 model. The company heavily invested in the EV1 project and the launch was good. Later in 2002 the EV1 programme was called off, pundits say the reason for calling off the project was the fear of demolition of fossil fuel cars. Electric cars may not be high at this time but sales have picked up heavily in the past few years. Certainly the future mode of transportation will rely on fuel-cells. We would like to thank General Motors for rejuvenating electric cars.
6) Mors – This company actually went unnoticed but we thought it deserved this place. Mors was a French company which existed a little over 30 years. The company was taken over by Andre Citroen (of Citroen Motors) in 1908 and was shut down in 1925. Why is Mors on this list? Well the reason is simple, if availability of technology is one side of the coin then its application is the other side. Mors was one of the first companies to initiate automobile racing. The variants produced by this company were one of the first to use V type engines. In the early years of the 20th century, the Mors Grand Prix car used a 10-litre V4 with dry-sump lubrication, steel chassis and rear wheel brakes. The rear wheel drive vehicle was the first to use pneumatic shock absorbers in a car for better stability. With so much technology in one piece, Mors definitely deserves a place in the top 6 chart.
We definitely know that fans of Honda, Toyota, BMW and other companies would be startled by the list but we want to make it clear that those companies became popular because of their products and upgradations. ‘Without innovation there is no transformation”, this implies that if there was no Patent-Motorwagen there would not be a Bugatti Veyron.
