Car manufacturing has always been about economy of scale and at present when manufacturing is defined by country, that China has the timber on the rest of the world .
American auto industry has been struggling since the early 1980s recession when the Japanese nearly wiped the US manufacturers off the map resulting in. Chrysler going broke, GM & Ford developing Japanese alliances with Isuzu and Mazda and many of its Truck manufacturing declaring bankruptcy: Eg: -International Harvester -White motor Company -Freightliner
And later GM Engines and Mack trucks.
During the 1980s the Europeans (Volvo,Mercedes Benz, Fiat/Iveco) got in there and picked up the pieces. Had that been 25 years later it would likely be the Chinese, IMO.
The USA (Like Great Britain post WW2) has decided on protectionism rather than retooling/competing and of course we all know what happened to the great British Brands as soon as the Uk joined the EC in the early 1070s.
Obviously the US is either in crisis mode with its Tariffs Regime or it has devised a new form of mercantilism which can outlive that of the Poms in the 19th C-Early 20th C.
IMO US Mercantilism will have the same fate as that of the Poms; its only a matter of when (not if).
China's Auto Industry has overcome US trade sanctions hi-tech/chips export to China and the US last resort now is to simply put up the trade barriers
Global Auto manufacture 2015-2023 (source Wikipedia) (coincidentally 2015 was the year that China announced its 10 year plan, "Made in China 2025")
