In this book it has been demonstrated that the vast majority of international business activity is conducted on a regional basis, rather than globally, see also Rugman and Brain (2003), Rugman and Verbeke (2004). The large “triad” markets of the European Union (EU), the United States (or, more broadly, NAFTA) and Japan (or, more broadly, all of Asia) also account for most of the sales of the world's largest automobile companies. Of the 180 manufacturing MNEs in the world's top 500, the motor vehicle and parts industry accounts for twenty-nine of these manufacturing MNEs.

As shown in table 8.1, none of the twenty-nine automotive MNEs in the two largest 500 are global; in fact, twenty-three are classified as “home-region oriented”, with a majority of their sales in their home region of the triad. Two automakers and two parts makers are bi-regional, with over 20% of their sales in two parts of the triad and less than 50% in any region. DaimlerChrysler and Honda derive more than 50% of their revenue from a host region and are labeled “host-region oriented.” The weighted average of intra-regional sales in the automotive sector is 60.6%, just below the manufacturing sector's average of 61.8%.

The automotive sector is concentrated in the three triad regions of the United States (North America), Europe and Japan (Asia). In each of these regions, domestic producers are significantly more competitive than foreign producers.