Thought this was interesting. It is an extract from Australia’s...

Thought this was interesting. It is an extract from Australia’s Automotive Manufacturing Industry
Productivity Commission Preliminary Findings Report
December 2013 (page 18 - refer: http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/131396/automotive-preliminary.pdf):

" Scale is an important driver of costs
Submissions from the motor vehicle producers in Australia, as well as previous studies of the Australian and global automotive manufacturing industries, have stressed the importance of economies of scale in most of the world’s vehicle production (Bracks 2008; IbisWorld 2013a, 2013b).
There are large fixed costs involved in manufacturing vehicles, starting with the design of new platforms and models, and new powertrains, as well as in general market research and advertising. These costs are usually incurred at a global level, particularly with the move toward global platforms (discussed below).
There are also large fixed costs associated with establishing infrastructure and equipment at the plant level (and retooling for upgrades and new car models). Estimates of the minimum efficient scale have typically been in the range of 200 000 to 300 000 vehicles per year per plant (box 2.1). This varies for the type of car produced — plants that produce smaller vehicles for the mass market require higher volumes to earn an adequate return on the initial design and related costs and the capital employed in production, given their lower per-unit profit margins, compared to those producing premium vehicles. In the United States, most of the foreign-owned vehicle assembly plants established since the 1980s have production capacities greater than 200 000, particularly for the largest producers such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda (Platzer and Harrison 2009)."