Romney receives the majority of his funding from the business-friendly (and traditionally Republican-leaning) car dealers portion of the industry, according to Center for Responsive Politics research.

Indeed, car dealers have provided about $1.2 million to the Republican this election cycle — about 48 percent of his total auto industry warchest.

Donors who work for the car manufacturers, on the other hand, appear to identify more with Obama than Romney, giving him $143,847 compared to Romney’s $107,164.

The president’s numbers are rather evenly divided within the auto industry as a whole with 38 percent of his industry funding coming from dealers ($159,932) and 35 percent from manufacturers — a category that includes the so-called Big Three automotive companies: Ford General Motors and Chrysler (now owned by Italian automaker Fiat ).

Center for Responsive Politics research shows the president has lost a bit of strength within these two categories. Obama’s total haul from dealers and manufacturers this cycle is slightly down from $305,796 at about this time in 2008.

The rest is split among auto repair, truck/automotive parts and accessories and car rental categories. But that doesn’t mean Obama leads Romney in any of those categories either. In the auto repair, truck/automotive parts and accessories and car rental subgroups, Romney has outraised the president by almost more than $641,000.

Categorical advantages and differences in total contribution amounts may be attributed in part to the fact that campaigns aren’t required to provide information, including employer’s name, about small-dollar donors, those giving $200 or less. Overall, Obama receives 34 percent of his funding from small individual donors, compared to Romney’s 18 percent.

Only two of the heads of the Big Three companies have any political contributions — none of which went to presidential candidates. While Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne does not have any recorded donations, General Motors chairman and CEO Daniel Akerson has shelled out more than $17,000 this election cycle.

His contributions are bipartisan: Aside from the $1,800 he’s given to GM’s conservative-leaning PAC, he has donated $5,000 Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Republican Rep. Dave Camp and the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, as well as another $1,000 to Democratic Rep. John Dingell.

The less-active Ford Motor Company CEO, Alan R. Mulally, also gave Dingell $1,000 and sent $6,240 to Ford’s PAC.

While most of GM’s money in politics is spent lobbying, a small fraction makes its way to candidates. Overall, the company has contributed $485,709 to federal candidates, PACs, parties and outside spending groups. Obama is the No. 1 recipient with $58,123, followed by Romney, Camp, Stabenow and Dingell to round out the top five.

Ford’s contributions, however, almost double its Detroit rival’s with $906,938, but similarly, most of its spending is done through lobbying. Romney is its top candidate, receiving $48,285, and in addition to Obama and Dingell, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and former Senate candidate Clark Durent (R) make up the car company’s top five recipients.

Italian manufacturer Fiat — which has been the majority owner of Chrysler since 2009 — has spent $3.3 million lobbying in 2012 and has given more than 50 percent of its contributions to candidates, including about $11,000 each to Obama and Romney.

Coming under pressure, Romney released an ad continuing his criticism of the auto bailout, and in a statement last week, told Ohio voters that Jeep — a product of Chrysler — is considering moving production to China. However, several media reports have refuted the statement, and Chrysler and General Motors have complained that Romney’s ads are inaccurate and misleading.