2009 was one of the most difficult years in automotive history and this year’s Fortune Global 500 rankings help to prove the case. The 16 largest automakers, who publicly report their earnings, generated more than $1.48 trillion worth of revenue. Without adjusting for currency fluctuations, the automotive industry contracted total revenue by about 3%, or approximately $45 billion, from last year’s Fortune rankings. Out of the 34 ranked industries, motor vehicles and parts ranked as the poorest performer within the Global 500.

All but three automaker’s lost rank on the Global 500 chart, most car companies saw double digit falls (chart above).

Total aggregate net income stood at a whopping -$37.4 billion loss. The number is slightly deceptive, as 9 out of the 16 automakers actually reported a net profit. Big losers like General Motors, Ford and Toyota sagged down profits and revenue.

By simply removing the North American automakers from the reporting, the rest of the industry actually raked in $8.1 billion in profits.

General Motors is the largest outlier of the North American rankings. GM’s total revenue contracted $33.4 billion and the company slid 9 places on the Global 500 list. It is the first time in recent memory that GM wasn’t one of the top 10 largest companies in the world, based off revenue. New “GM� declared a $1 billion operating loss for July 10-Sept. 30 2009. GM hasn’t posted any new financial results since November and isn’t required to since new GM isn’t publicly traded. The company also lost its spot on the Dow 30; it was replaced with Cisco Systems.

Ford has also lost tremendously; revenue contracted $26.2 billion and the automaker fell 6 places on the list. The last big American car company, Chrysler, doesn’t publicly report its financials and isn’t included on Fortune’s chart.

As a region, Asia was the second worst performing on Fortune’s list. Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mazda reported negative income and all Asian automaker’s lost rank on the Global 500. Mitsubishi fell 120 positions, while Mazda fell 97 positions. Collectively, the two Japanese automakers saw revenue contract $9 billion. Toyota barely held on as one of the top 10 companies in the world, a list now dominated by oil companies and Wal-Mart. Toyota fell from 5^th place to 10^th, with revenue contracting $25 billion. Subaru is a part of Fuji Heavy Industries and wasn’t included in Fortune’s rankings.

In Europe, Volkswagen actually climbed places, a rare feat for a car company in today’s environment. Volkswagen grew revenue by $17.5 billion and increased its rank from 18^th place to 14^th. Volkswagen also surpassed GM in becoming the second largest car company based off revenue. Volkswagen is now the largest car company when it comes to profits: totaling nearly $7 billion. Fiat and Volvo also saw healthy growth, the only other car companies to increase in rank.

Source: Fortune Global 500

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