The global automotive sector in one graph

Good morning from Taipei,

Cars are technology. That’s the long and the short of it. We need to bury the idea that cars are just part of the big industrial sector and embrace the fact that cars and technology now go hand in hand.

Most of the automotive developments over the past twenty years have come from the technology sector: software, semiconductors and electronics, and of course self-driving algorithms. And an increasing share of the technology sector will be devoted to transportation. Tesla – run by a member of the PayPal mafia – is the best example of this clash of industrial cultures.

But while the US dominates the global technology sector and is no slouch when it comes to cars, the country faces a huge auto trade deficit. Germany, Japan and China were the biggest exporters last year, according to data collected by the UN’s Comtrade. The US, Germany and Great Britain were the largest importers. On a net export (well, import) basis, the US stands alone.

America’s leadership in software, hardware and AI offers the country every opportunity to catch up. But if policymakers want to right the ship, they may need to spend less energy on subsidizing ailing chip companies and raising tariffs and put more effort into fostering the friendship between Detroit and Silicon Valley.

Thanks for reading