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1. Herbert Diess1. Herbert Diess
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2. Jim Farley2. Jim Farley
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3. Elon Musk3. Elon Musk
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4. Akio Toyoda4. Akio Toyoda
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5. Alan Mulally5. Alan Mulally
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6. Carlos Tavares6. Carlos Tavares
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7. Ratan Tata7. Ratan Tata
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8. Ralph Gilles8. Ralph Gilles
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9. Ola Källenius9. Ola Källenius
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10. Roger Penske10. Roger Penske
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11. James Hackett11. James Hackett
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12. Rupert Stadler12. Rupert Stadler
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13. Martin Lundstedt13. Martin Lundstedt
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14. Toshihiro Mibe14. Toshihiro Mibe
The automobile industry is expected to reach USD 25.7 billion by 2025.
There are advancements in the industry every single day. It is not a surprise that you get to know about new technologies and advancements every few days.
And this is not just in this era, it has been going on for decades now. It was back in the 1800s when the first car was introduced. Even now, in 2025 and we’re still advancing and moving ahead.
There are people who are working as the backbone of the industry. They are the founders, directors, and chairmen of the major car brands. And, of course, the CEOs who evolve the complete automobile industry with their decisions.
The CEOs of the car brands are like the engines of the car. They run the complete brand and moreover the industry.
Let us look at some of the most influential people in the automobile industry as of now.
This list is in no particular order:
Herbert Diess
Herbert Diess is the chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.
Before working with Volkswagon, he was part of BMW and he has had a fair share of working with the legend Robert Bosch. He later joined and worked with the Volkswagon group.
He is currently active in working towards making Volkswagen cars emission-free and fully electric, they aspire to go fully electric by the year 2030.
He was also given the title of “Best CEOs in the world” by the CEO world magazine.
Jim Farley
James D. Farley Jr. also known as Jim was appointed as CEO of the Ford Motor Company on 1st Oct 2020. Before working as the CEO he was working as the Chief Operating Officer. He has worked in diverse departments at the company and taken Ford to greater heights. He previously led the overall company actions and decisions in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and before that he led sales in Mexico, Canada, and South America.
Jim has also worked with Toyota and Lexus. Jim’s love for automobiles comes from his grandfather who was amongst the important part of the ford company.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk has clearly made a huge influence on the automobile industry. Not just with the Automobile Industry, he has had Tech Industry and the Aeronautical industry influence with his decisions and contributions.
Elon founded Tesla Motors in 2003 with an aim and a big vision to save the environment. His actions have led to the transformation of the overall concept of the electric vehicle. Elon Musk is among the most influential entrepreneurs alive.
Akio Toyoda
Akio Toyoda is the president and the business executive of Toyota Motor Corporation. He is Sakichi Toyoda’s great-grandson.
He is the reason Toyota made 10.4 million vehicles in the recent fiscal year and gain a profit of more than $20 billion. He is currently taking the company towards self-driving and autonomous cars advancements along with advancements in electric vehicles.
Alan Mulally
Alan Roger Mulally is on this list because of his decisions and influence in the overall automobile industry during his work as president and CEO before 2014. His work has revolutionalized the service of Ford Motors. He is known as the person who saved the company with his plan to bring people together with the idea of “One Team.”
Carlos Tavares
Carlos Tavares calls himself a ‘performance psychopath’. He is the CEO of Stellantis. After the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler, Stellantis is the sixth-largest in the automakers, from the sales point of view. He is known to return the company to profitability. He has previously worked with Renault.
Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata is revolutionary leader. He is the chairperson of the Tata Group. December 24, 2021, Tata Motors is worth is $19.28 billion.
Ratan Tata was honored with Padma Bhushan in 2000, a pretentious award in India. He runs a lot of charities and trusts.
He has contributed to the Automobile space since the year 1998, the first car launched through Tata Motors was Tata Indica, and he has never stopped since. His brand is now recognized worldwide.
Ralph Gilles
Ralph Victor Gilles is currently CEO of Street & Racing Technology. He is a Canadian-American automobile designer.
Previously Gilles made an influence as the President and CEO of Chrysler’s SRT brand and Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler, later he was the Head of Design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Head of Design, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Ola Källenius
Ola Källenius is the chairman of the Daimler AG, and head of Mercedes-Benz. He is the first non-German in both positions.
He has been a major part of Mercedes Benz since the year 1998. He has had an influence on the Mercedes Benz cars you see rocking it today.
He is currently focused on the research of EVs and His current objective is to push EVs.
Roger Penske
Roger is almost 84 years old as of writing this blog. He was known by the nickname “The Captain”.
He was also awarded America’s highest civilian honor, with the Medal of Freedom. He has successfully built a racing empire worldwide.
Prior to getting serious in the business world, he was one of the top drivers in the US. He quit racing and got into the business and he has massively impacted the racing atmosphere.
James Hackett
James Patrick Hackett was the president and CEO of Ford Motor Company till October 2020. He is on this list because of the negative influence he had on ford motors.
During his three-year period, ford had billions of dollars in losses and a 40% drop in stock prices. According to a Forbes article by George BradtSenior, he was solid with his action plan but he failed to be decisive.
Rupert Stadler
Rupert Stadler is on this list for the wrong reasons. He was arrested over the emissions cheating scandal. He was charged with fraud in Munich. He has worked with Audi and Volkswagen.
Martin Lundstedt
Martin Lundstedt is the CEO of the Volvo group. He is serving since 22 October 2015. He has worked with different departments of the automobile industry in the past 25 years.
He has got his hands dirty with research and development, production and operations, and sales. He was given the title of ‘leader of the year’ in 2018. As of now, his priority is on zero-emission vehicles and research in autonomous cars.
Toshihiro Mibe
Toshihiro Mibe is the president, CEO, and representative director of Honda Motors.
He previously led the Research and development of Honda Motors. Toshihiro is among the leaders who plan and take action towards massive visions. Toshihiro aims to make honda completely eclectic by the year 2040.
Wrap Up: Most Influential People in The Automobile Industry
We discussed some of the influential people in the automobile industry. Even the small contribution to the industry has resulted in a major transformation to an automobile overall.
