Thousands of companies operate in the U.S. automotive industry. Only a handful of American automakers exists today making this industry a oligopoly. However the industry is thriving due to the many thousands of suppliers that feed these and other auto makers. These suppliers make everything from tires to oxygen sensors and everything in between. Many of these auto component makers are profitable enterprises and have been in the business for many years. Investors looking to add stocks in the auto industry are better off ignoring the auto makers and going with the auto parts markers and sellers.

Five U.S. auto parts makers are listed below with their current dividend yields:

1.Company: Johnson Controls, Inc.(JCI)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.40%

2.Company:AutoZone, Inc.(AZO)
Current Dividend Yield: No Regular Dividends

3.Company:Genuine Parts Company (GPC)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.04%

4.Company:O’Reilly Automotive Inc (ORLY)
Current Dividend Yield: No Regular Dividends

5. Company: TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (TRW)
Current Dividend Yield: No Regular Dividends

The five year performance of these stocks:

Click to enlarge

Source: Yahoo Finance

Note: Dividend yields noted are as of Jan 11, 2013

Disclosure: No Positions