WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF AUTOMOBILE???

[qsexp]

Dear All

I am in a dilemma with a couple of my friends on the definition of the word “Automobile” as applied to Engineering industry.

The precise question is that does an organization making diesel gen-sets falls under the scope of an automobile company or not?

Where can we get authoritative scope on this ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Retracnic]

What determines if a business is considered part of the automobile industry or not, varies from country to country. In the US and Canada the designation of automobile company is regulated by the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). The NAICS defines an automobile company as: "...establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing light-duty vehicles and their chassis for highway use."

NAICS assigns each type of industry with a code number. For example the code for Automobile Manufacturing is 336111, while the code for Motor and Generator Manufacturing is 335312. I am not sure of the exact criteria for each code, but the NAICS does make a distinction between and auto maker and gen-set manufacturer.

For a complete list of NAICS codes:

http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics/naicscod.txt

For more info on the NAICS:

http://www.census.gov/epcd/

http://www/naicsdev.htm

Hope that helps,

Bryan Carter

 

[qsexp]

Thanks for this valuable information. Do you know about any such information about Japanese industry?

Regards

 

[Retracnic]

gsexp,

Sorry but I do not know how Japan classifies its businesses in the Japanese domestic market. I do know that most industrial nations are reclassifying their industries to align with the new GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard). If this the case in Japan, then the answer doesn't change. A gen-set maker would fall under the heading of Industrial Machinery, I think.

In any case, industry classification is usually handled by the statistics or census bureau of that country. If you happen to be a native Japanese speaker, you can check Japan's statistics bureau website.

Another method also springs to mind. If this compnay has publicly traded stock, you can see what industrial definition the stock is traded under. Worth a look.

Good Luck

Bryan Carter