304 Inverting the Paradox of Excellence
development costs also encouraged increased collaboration and joint ventures: Renault and Peugeot
established joint engine manufacturing; GM established collaborations with Suzuki, Daewoo,
Toyota, and Fiat to build cars and share components. In China and India, most new auto plants were
joint ventures between local and overseas companies.
11.1.3 evoluTion of manufaCTuring operaTions
11.1.3.1 Manufacturing Systems
At the beginning of the twentieth century, car manufacture, like carriage making, was a craft indus-
try. Cars were built to order according to individual customers’ preferences and specications. In
Europe and North America, there were hundreds of companies producing cars, few with annual
production ...