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INSIDE THE DYNAMICS OF INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM: THE MASS PRODUCTION OF CARS IN SPAIN, 1950-1985*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2014

TOMÀS FERNÁNDEZ-DE-SEVILLA
TOMÀS FERNÁNDEZ-DE-SEVILLA*
Affiliation:
Centre d’Estudis Antoni de Capmany, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 690, 08034, Barcelona, Spain. tomasfernandezdesevilla@ub.edu
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Abstract

In 2010 Spain ranked second among EU-15 countries in the manufacture of passenger cars; however, in 1950 the country’s car production had been purely symbolic. Taking as its starting point the trajectories of the enterprises that have shaped the auto industry in Spain, this study explores the sector’s process of development within the interpretative framework proposed by Alfred D. Chandler in Scale and Scope. Until the mid-1970s, SEAT and FASA-Renault, the sector’s first-movers, maintained their position as industry leaders. The entry of Ford and GM in the 1970s was to restructure the industry as it shifted its focus towards exportation to the European Economic Community. Both market share and net profits are used as indicators of the evolution of each car maker.

Keywords

automobileindustrySpaindevelopmentChandlerAutomóvilIndustriaEspañaDesarrolloChandler

JEL classification

O25: Industrial Policy N84: Europe: 1913– N64: Europe: 1913–
Type
Articles/Artículos
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , September 2014 , pp. 287 - 315
Copyright
Copyright © Instituto Figuerola de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2014 

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Footnotes

*

This article forms part of the project HAR2012-33298, directed by Jordi Catalan, to whom this paper owes a great deal. Acknowledgements are also offered to the anonymous referees and the editors of the journal. Financial support from the Centre d’Estudis Antoni de Capmany, directed by Carles Sudrià, is gratefully acknowledged. The usual disclaimers apply.

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