The market share of the US automotive industry has fluctuated over the past 50 years. These fluctuations were caused by many reasons which include quality, price and foreign competition. Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, and Chrysler Corporation are the three largest automobile manufacturers in the world. These three companies hold almost 75% of the market and produce over 8 million cars per year. The major competitors of these three companies are the Japanese automobile manufacturers which include Toyota, Nissan and Honda. These three foreign manufacturers hold 20% of the market and produce approximately 2.7 million cars per year. They all adopted e-business/commerce services and pushed the US auto industry into a different area. In the future, there will be more technological innovation involved in the automotive industry, which will also change the customer demand in the market and the way of running business for car sellers as well. Information technology (IT) has made it possible for consumers to become "picky" about the products they purchase. IT has made it possible to search for features and prices on everything from custom ink pens to computer hardware. One area that has really been affected by this phenomenon is the automotive industry. Two ways that automakers became effective were by going upmarket or downmarket or both, and slicing and dicing their cars and trucks to fit ever-narrower niches. Even companies like Mercedes and BMW find it necessary to shift their marketing focus just to stay competitive. Cobb explains, “But like other automakers that have expanded their reach by moving up… middle of paper… fewer opportunities along with new customers. Automakers can allow customers to view and purchase cars online with features without having to go to the dealership and perform complicated transactions. You can see, due to advances in IT there are definitely new marketing opportunities that could open up. Not only will there be websites that allow customers to see what a vehicle and cost in the configuration they most desire. Furthermore, there is the possibility that new businesses will open where people will have the opportunity to purchase or possibly rent a body for their vehicle platform for a short period of use. Works Cited Cobb, James G., "Niche Mania! ", New York Times (latest edition (East Coast), New York, NY: October 23, 2002. page G.1