In India, we always grumble about the rising prices of fuel, but we never thank the stars for the low-cost or sometimes totally free, parking options. However, a few countries charge heavily for car parking.

In these cities, the huge number of cars and the lack of parking space make the perfect conditions for parking operators to loot the car owners. Here, we will take you across the continents to list the top 10 most expensive destinations where car parking attracts the highest charges.

London is famous for many things...the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey and so on. Another thing that London is famous, or rather infamous, for is the fact that it is the most expensive place to park your cars. At £578.87 per month, it is necessary that you have a stockbroker's salary to be able to park in the city.
Hong Kong is short on space but full of people with fat wads of money, much like the other destinations mentioned on this list. Hong Kong charges about £461.65 for a month for parking.
Almost more than 13 million people are packed in to the city's centre with a total of 39 million living in a greater metropolitan area that's the largest in the world. Parking in Tokyo costs an average of £405 for a month with the average daily rate at £54.50.
Driving may cause you a lot of stress when you are in Rome, and more so when it comes to parking your car. Most of the residents of Rome appear to be on two wheelers. You constantly have to keep one eye on these motorists and the other on the magnificent landmarks of the city. But when it comes to parking your car, your eyes would be rolling in your head with anger. Parking a car is as expensive as £380 for a month in central Rome.
Sympathising with the Swiss is easier. The country is full of jagged peaks, which is not exactly the most popular parking terrain around. A secure space to park your car in the global financial centre of Zurich is very expensive at £374.66 per month.
Australia makes second appearance on our list. We have had Perth at number seven and now we have Sydney, sitting proud as the sixth most expensive parking location across the globe. Parking a car in Sydney can cost as much as £366 a month.
It seems rather contradictory that Australia, despite having enough parking spaces, charges huge money for parking. If you want to leave your car somewhere that is not at least 3,000 miles from civilisation, it will cost you big money. For example, Perth is the seventh most expensive place to park in this world. Despite having a population as low as two million, parking for a month averages out at just under £349.
Brussels is very popular with the vegetarians, probably because it shares its name with the popular sprout. The country is also home to the European Union. Nevertheless, vegetarianism and European Union aside, the city is not very popular among the vehicle owners. Brussels charges close to £340.75 on average for a month's worth of parking in the centre of town.
New York does not shy away from its rampant capitalism culture and makes the most of every little square inch of space. A parking space amongst the towering skyscrapers of downtown or midtown will cost you up to £25 for a day, while a month's worth of secure parking is £333.42. It is no wonder why the taxis are so popular in New York.
When you arrive at Copenhagen by the sea route, the crystal clear waters would tell you why it is considered to be one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. More than 36% of the Copenhagen residents commute to work by bicycle, but who can blame them for doing so. Parking a car in the city centres of Copenhagen costs an average of £348.40 for a month or around £26 per day. Convert the Pounds in Rupees and we would already appreciate living in India.

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In the year 2010, the global automotive market dynamics have changed largely. And the rise of the Chinese and the Indian market above many other countries in the world could not have been more obvious. While China became the largest producer of cars in the world, Indias status in the market has also been elevated to number seven in the race for the worlds largest automotive producers.

According to the third BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) report by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, by 2050, India is estimated to have the largest number of cars in the world -- 611 million to be precise.

Lets take a look at the top twenty largest car manufacturers in the world. Here is the second part of the 'World's 20 largest producers of cars series:

Who would believe it, but yes, Canada was the 7th largest maker of cars till a few years ago. But the rise of certain forces such as India, and Brazil has pushed Canada to the 11th position in the global ranking. Canada manufactured just a little more than a million units, 1,489,651 units to be more precise, of vehicles in 2009.
After oil and gas, the automobile industry is the most vibrant in Iran. By manufacturing 1,395,421 units of cars, Iran became the world's 12th largest producer of cars in 2009. The oil-rich country boasts of many car firms, namely Iran Khodro, Saipa, Bahman Group, Kerman Motors, Kish Khodro, Raniran, Traktorsazi, and Shahab Khodro.
Home to some of the most premium car brands like Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, United Kingdom is the 13th largest automobile manufacturer in the world. The UK market is predominantly export oriented, and employs close to a million people. In the year 2009, the country produced 1,090,139 cars. Some of the biggest car makers in Britain include Land Rover, MINI, Nissan, Toyota and Honda.
With a total automobile production of almost a million units in 2009, the Czech Republic is the 14th largest car maker in the world. In the year 2009, the country manufactured 974,569 automobiles. Some of the major car makers in the Czech Republic are Skoda, Daewoo Avia, and Tatra. Praga is another Czech brand that is immensely popular among the masses. Apart from these, Czech Republic has Ford, Volkswagen, Renault, Hyundai, Kia, Fiat, Toyota, BMW, Chevrolet, Tatra, Volvo, Audi, etc all vying for the market.
Thailand manufactured 968,305 cars in the year 2009, which makes it the world's 15th largest manufacturer of cars. The country is well supported by a hard-work ethic, steady investment and generous government incentives. And Thailands automotive industry is all set for an accelerated growth. Almost 300,000 people are employed in the Thailand auto industry, which is considered as one of the biggest manufacturing sectors in the country.
The Poland automobile industry produced 879,186 units of vehicles, which elevated it to become the world's 16th largest car maker. Poland is one of the best countries to offer localization options to automotive components makers. Many of the big shot names in the automobile industry are attracted to the skilled labour and low costs offered by Poland. Car majors like: Toyota, Isuzu, Volkswagen, MAN, Volvo, General Motors, Fiat, etc have a big manufacturing base in Poland. The country is a huge manufacturer of auto components that are used by Mercedes, Nissan, Porsche, Citroen, Honda, Peugeot, Volvo, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini and Ferrari, etc.
Turkey, which is home to some of the major global car makers such as Fiat and GM, manufactured 869,605 cars in 2009. Turkey is currently the world's 17th largest car maker.
Surprisingly, Italy, which is one of the global powerhouses of automobiles, is actually the world's 18th largest producer of cars. Italy is home to some of the most legendary brands such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini. The country produced 843,239 cars in the year 2009.
Russia manufactured 722,431 cars in 2009, and became the world's 19th largest producer of automobiles. The home-grown Russian car makers Avtovaz, Gaz, Lada Kalina, Pobeda, Kamaz, ZIL, are facing very stiff competition from the global car makers. Foreign cars now sell more in Russia than domestic brands do.
Belgium manufactured 522,810 automobiles in 2009, which makes it the world's 20th largest maker of cars. Belgium's car sales have seen a very consistent rise over the last few months. Much like the French and the Italian markets, the Belgian market, too, showed excellent growth rates after the recessionary winds created havocs.
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View the original article here

In the year 2010, the global automotive market dynamics have changed largely. In addition, the rise of the Chinese and the Indian market above many other countries in the world could not have been more obvious. While China became the largest producer of cars in the world, Indias status in the market has also been elevated to number seven in the race for the worlds largest automotive producers.

According to the third BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) report by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, by 2050, India is estimated to have the largest number of cars in the world -- 611 million to be precise.

Let us look at the top twenty largest car manufacturers in the world. Enjoy the first part of the article:

China is currently the largest manufacturer of vehicles in the whole world. It was in November 2009 that China surpassed Japan to become the largest automobile market on earth. In 2009, China manufactured 13,790,994 units of vehicles that included all sorts of sedans, sport utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles, small cars, buses, trucks, etc. Almost half of the vehicles manufactured in China are by the well-known domestic companies such as BYD, Geely, Chery, Roewe, Martin Motors and Lifan. The rest of them are manufactured in joint ventures that the local companies have with international carmakers like General Motors, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota among others.
Close to the Chinese, it is the Japanese automotive industry that comes second largest vehicle manufacturer in the world. Japan produced a total of 7,934,516 units of automobiles in 2009. Japan, until 2009, was the world's leading carmaker before China overtook it. Japan boasts of being home to some of the best carmakers such as Suzuki, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu and Kawasaki.
In 2009, United States of America manufactured 5,711,823 vehicles, which placed it at the third position in world's largest car producer list. Americas automotive structure is based on the Big Three of Detroit including General Motors, Ford Motors and Chrysler. The largest foreign carmakers in the United States market are Toyota and Honda.
Germany, with a total vehicle production of 5,209,857 units, stands at the fourth position in the worlds largest carmakers list. Home to some of the finest luxury carmakers, such as Mercedes Benz, Daimler, Audi and BMW, German cars have always been the most desirable cars of all. The extraordinary auto engineering and build quality of German cars have wowed the audience the world over.
With a total production volume of 3,512,916 units in 2009, South Korea boasts of having the fifth largest automotive industry in the world. South Korea is home to Hyundai, Kia and Ssangyong Motors, which was recently bought by Indian car major Mahindra & Mahindra.
Brazil emerges as the world's sixth largest producers of cars. The country produced 3,182,617 cars in 2009. Some of the worlds best carmakers such as Toyota, GM, Ford, Fiat, and Mercedes Benz set their shops in Brazil a long time ago, and now are the leaders. This has resulted in the foreign countries grabbing the lions share, while the countrys only carmaker, Troller, trying its best to make a name for itself.
India, with an annual production of about 2,632,694 cars in 2009, is currently proudly perched at number seven in the list of worlds largest vehicle producing nations. And not only that, India did it almost six years ahead of the projected time. The Indian automobile industry also happens to be one of the fastest growing markets globally. India plans to become the small car hub of the world, which does not seem like a farfetched dream considering the global carmakers love for the Indian market. Currently, Japan is the biggest maker of compact cars, a majority of which is consumed domestically. Last year, India dethroned Brazil to become the second largest manufacturer of small cars.
Just below India, Spain is the world's eighth largest producer of vehicles. In 2009, the country manufactured 2,170,078 cars, which accounted for almost 4 per cent of the nation's GDP. The automobile sector in Spain also provides employment to over 9 per cent of the working population. Some of the Spanish carmakers include Abadal, Authi Car Company, Barreiros, Biscuter, Elizalde, Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones S.A., Eucort, Hispano-Suiza, etc. Apart from these, most other top global brands too have a big market in the country.
By manufacturing 2,049,762 cars in 2009, France became the world's ninth largest carmaker. The French automotive market is mostly dominated by domestic car manufacturers like Renault, Peugeot and Citroen, which account for over 60 per cent of the total automobile sales in the country. France, however, does not offer a lot of variety in terms of number of manufacturers like other European countries such as Germany and Spain.
With a total vehicle production of 1,557,290 cars in 2009, Mexico is the 10th largest carmaker in the world. Mexico which has a strong automotive consumer base, has proved to be one of the most attractive investment destinations for many global carmakers such as BMW, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot Renault, Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, Honda, and Volvo.
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