The European automobile industry: multi-level governance, policy and politics

Book abstract:

The European automobile industry has been transformed since the 1960s, and illustrates some of the most significant consequences of globalisation. The European car market is the largest out of all the global regions. However, it remained a collection of separate national markets until recently, when globalisation of vehicle production brought US and Japanese investors into Europe. In addition, the political momentum for closer economic union led to a new pan-European framework of regulation and policy. This book analyses these changes and focuses on the response of Europe's policy-makers, examining how those policy-makers at each level have managed their relations with industry and how the industry itself has influenced the process of policy-making.

Following an initial analysis of government-industry relations at national and transnational levels, the UK motor industry is presented as a case study, looking at historical developments in the industry from 1945 to 1979, privatisation, Japanese inward investment and British policy networks. The second half of the book then examines the effect of European legislation and developments in trade liberalisation on the industry, covering policy participation at the European level, state aids, trade policy and the governing structures at the European level.
The book provides both a valuable historical study of the UK automobile industry and analysis of the industry, and its relations with government, at European and global levels. Useful appendices include an administrative overview, a list of recently adopted motor industry legislation and legislation under discussion, a list of related legislation on legal, environmental and consumer protection matters and a description of the EC-Japan car accord.