Automaker

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Automakers, automobile manufacturers or car manufacturers are companies that design and manufacture automobiles. The major global players are headquartered in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

While automakers are headquartered in a smaller number of countries, manufacturing facilities exist in a large number of countries. Some countries simply have cheaper labor. Other countries will encourage or mandate a certain amount of local employment and use of locally-produced parts before an automaker is allowed to sell in a country. Others have prohibitive tariffs that lead automakers to produce locally. For instance, the U.S. has a relatively low tariff of 2.5% for imported automobiles. Yet its tariff for imported pickup trucks is 25% <ref>AIADA Position on the 25% Imported Truck Tariff.</ref>, thus hurting the competitiveness of imported pickups. As a result, manufacturers assemble pickups intended for the American market in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico, as these countries are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement.