Abstract:
The theme of clusters is a highly debated topic in the world. Their importance lies in their contribution to higher productivity and creation of added value, thus enhancing the competitiveness of countries. This paper provides a review of current issues facing the automotive industry internationally and in the EU and examines, in particular, the automotive clusters in the EU. It takes into account the geographical distribution of clusters, the evolution of the production of cars and commercial vehicles, the main European producers, their exports and contribution to the balance of trade, investment in R&D sector. There are identified the top 10 automotive manufacturers that generate over 90% of European car production. The success of the automotive sector in Europe is due to large R&D sector investment and permanent orientation towards innovation. The results of the analysis show that the EU automotive industry is one of the most competitive in the world.
