Why is the automobile industry considered an oligopoly. choose all that apply.

it offers little differentiation within the market

it has significant barriers

it is controlled by companies that patent key technology

it relies on price variation to attract customers.

it depends on brand loyalty and image to generate sales

it is dominated by a few key players

An oligopoly is a type of market characterized by a small number of participants on the supply side, where each of the participants holds enough market power to have influence over the price of the good commercialized. Let's analyze whether the statements presented above apply to an oligpoly or not:

It offers little differentiation within the market (TRUE). The underlying products or services offered by the different producers in the oligopoly are pretty much the same.  It has significant barriers  (TRUE). Entry barriers are strong in oligopolies, which means that very large investments need to be undertaken by new competitors who wish to enter the market. This is one of the reasons that keep the number of participants low. It is controlled by companies that patent key technology  (FALSE). Not necessarily. There are oligopolistic markets which are not related to highly technological industries. For example, the oil international markets. It relies on price variation to attract customers (TRUE) Price competition should be the appropiate competitive behaviour adopted by firms at these markets.  It is true that in oligopolistic scenarios, firms reached illegal and tacit price agreeements that are benefitial for the group of producers but negative for consumers. In such scenarios prices remain constant and firms should use different mechanism to compete (marketing). It depends on brand loyalty and image to generate sales (TRUE). Marketing forces are very important to attract customers, because price modifications are a much more complicated mechanism. Prices cannot be drastically changed hence the changes in demand that they produce cannot be large either. Therefore, is crucial to build brand attractiveness and consumer loyalti. It is dominated by a few key players (TRUE). By definition.

The automobile industry is considered an oligopoly because the features explained above apply to car markets.