Industry (Manufacturing Industries)

The only automobile maker in the prefecture is Matsuda Inc. This enterprise forms a base upon which many associated other industries depend and in turn develop in conjunction with the automobile industry.
When this company, which entered the automobile industry in 1931, switched its production in 1955 from the manufacture of 3-wheel trucks to the production of 4-wheel vehicles, the number of manufactured cars rapidly increased. Currently, the company manufactures annually approximately 1 million cars.
Associated with the development of this company many related industries emerged and led to the development of a major basis of automobile production mainly in Hiroshima and Kure.
In 1991 A Japanese car of this company won for the first time the first prize in the 24-hour Le Mans race, thus demonstrating the highly advanced technology to the world.
Also, the company is globally active and operates production bases not only in America, but in 20 countries around the world.