The automotive industry is a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles, some of them are called automakers. It is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue. The automotive industry does not include industries dedicated to the maintenance of automobiles following delivery to the end-user, such as automobile repair shops and motor fuel filling stations.

The term "automotive" was created from Greek "autos" (self), and Latin "motivus" (of motion) to represent any form of self-powered vehicle. This term was proposed by Elmer Sperry.

The automotive industry began in the 1890s with hundreds of manufacturers that pioneered the horseless carriage. For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production. In 1929, before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, and the U.S. automobile industry produced over 90% of them. At that time the U.S. had one car per 4.87 persons. After World War II, the U.S. produced about 75 percent of world's auto production. In 1980, the U.S. was overtaken by Japan and became world's leader again in 1994. In 2006, Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million units. With 19.3 million units manufactured in 2012, China almost doubled the U.S. production, with 10.3 million units, while Japan was in third place with 9.9 million units. From 1970 (140 models) over 1998 (260 models) to 2012 (684 models), the number of automobile models in the U.S. has grown exponentially.

1. does the automobile industry include maintenance of automobiles?
2. when did the automotive industry begin?
3. what two root words make up automotive?
4. from which languages are they taken?
5. who came up with the term?
6. how many automobiles were in use by 1929?
7. what percent of those were produced by the U.S.?
8. what are the organizations that make motor vehicles called?
9. what percent of cars were produced by the u.s. after world war II?
10. when was the U.S. overtaken by Japan?

Numbered answers:
1. No
2. 1890s
3. "autos" and "motivus"
4. Greek and Latin
5. Elmer Sperry.
6. 32,028,500
7. over 90%
8. The automotive industry
9. about 75 percent
10. In 1980