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International Automakers' U.S. Capital Investment Reaches $21 Billion

20 October 1998

International Automakers' U.S. Capital Investment Reaches $21 Billion, Up $11 Billion in 5 Years

    DETROIT, Oct. 19 -- International automakers based in the
United States have more than doubled their capital investment in this country
in the past five years, bringing their total investment here to nearly
$21 billion.  This investment is continuing at a rate in excess of $2 billion
a year.
    These were some of the key findings in the annual report of the
Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc. (AIAM) titled The
Report on the United States International Auto Sector, released today at an
Automotive Press Association luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club.
    The Report also emphasized the University of Michigan's Office for the
Study of Automotive Transportation's findings that international automakers
have generated nearly 1.3 million American jobs, representing nearly
$50 billion annually in wages, salaries, and benefits.
    "This year, we have seen the American automotive industry transform
itself," said AIAM president and CEO, Philip A. Hutchinson, Jr. in his
remarks, and international automakers are leading the way in bringing about
the transformation."
    Hutchinson pointed out other significant findings in the study.
International automakers currently produce one of every three passenger cars
manufactured in the United States.  They are responsible for nearly two-thirds
of all automobile exports overseas from the U.S.
    "In the past decade," Hutchinson continued, "the American auto industry
has climbed back up to become, once again, number one in the world.
International automakers have played the principal role in bringing about that
industrial renaissance.  They have also created an awareness that today
automobile manufacturers are a global industry within a world economy."
    The AIAM 1998 Annual Report illustrates the growing internationalism of
the auto industry and provides convincing evidence of the need for
international harmonization of safety and emission requirements.
    It also documents the international companies leadership in fuel economy
and contributions toward cleaner air.  It cites the Environmental Protection
Agencies 1997 fuel economy leaders list, in which all of the highest mileage
vehicles were produced by international companies.
    AIAM is the trade association representing U.S. subsidiaries of
international companies.  Member companies distribute passenger cars, light
trucks, and multipurpose vehicles in the U.S., nearly two-thirds of these
vehicles are also manufactured in the ten new American plants established by
AIAM companies.
    International automakers support American jobs in manufacturing, supplier
industries, ports, distribution centers, headquarters, R&D centers, and
automobile dealerships.  AIAM also represents manufacturers of tires and other
original equipment with production facilities in the U.S. and abroad.