As I write this article (27/12/11), there will be only a few days left to 2011. Many things have happened in the automotive industry in 2011. This is not a list of the best or worst of 2011 in the automotive industry but more like a recap of some of the incidents/news that took place in the automotive world in 2011.

Japan earthquake and tsunami catastrophe

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake that happened in Japan on 11 March 2011 caused extensive damage to a lot of things. Not only properties and infrastructures were damaged, a significant number of human lives were lost as well. It was further made worse by a tsunami which was triggered by the earthquake.

Video footage and images of people running to save their lives were broadcast on the news and it was a painful moment for everyone in the country. The earthquake also damaged a nuclear power plant which emitted harmful levels of radiation after that.

On the business side, many automakers suffered huge losses when the earthquake and tsunami destroyed their manufacturing plants and new cars. Several of them had to shutdown their manufacturing operations and it took them months to get back at the same level before the disasters occurred.

Toyota