These days, China is the largest producer of cars in the world, well above the United States, Japan and even Germany. But this hasn’t always been the case. Back in the 1970’s, the US lead the pack, producing approximately 8 million cars each year, followed by Japan at 6 million & Germany with 4 million cars per year. China & South Korea had absolutely no production to speak of.
Around 1974, Japan shot to the top of the production charts with 11 million cars produced while the US and Germany stayed constant at 8 and 4 million, respectively. The US and Japan continued to go back and forth over the next 30 years while China was slowly increasing production and started to climb upward in the charts. In no time at all, China was leading the production pack with 10 million cars produced in 2005 and since then, they moved into the top production slot, nowadays producing 20+ cars per year. No other country in the world has been able to touch them since!
