Nissan: 85% of vehicles to be built in us by 2015

[fordtech1]

After reading this article on autoblog. I am curious as to what everyone's take on this topic. I know this is an old sjubect, but what is the real reason Ford does not build all of its product for NA in the US? Including engines/trans etc.. Is it because the Imports get tax breaks or no UAW? It seems to me, Detrot/Dearborn real estate should be cheap currently. Plus I am sure the Detroit 3 have idle plants and land laying around vacant.

 

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/10/nissan-85-of-vehicles-to-be-built-in-north-america-by-2015/#aol-comments

[Edstock]

After reading this article on autoblog. I am curious as to what everyone's take on this topic. I know this is an old sjubect, but what is the real reason Ford does not build all of its product for NA in the US?

 

Well, Ford of Canada dates from 1908. At the time, Ford wanted to sell to the British Empire, and having Model T's made in Canada avoided British import duties that an American-made vehicle would have had.

 

Now, as you can count, you will see that's 104 years. Now, back in the 60's, the US and Canadian politicians thought that inasmuch as Ford and GM and Chrysler seemed to be OK with a foreign country like Canada, and weren't shutting their plants and hiding south of the border, that maybe a free trade auto pact would be a good idea.

 

Are you still with me? So, we have almost 50 years of duty-free automotive trade in an industry that's over 100 years old in Canada.

 

So, that's one of the "real" reasons why "Ford does not build all of its product for NA in the US". You will note that there is more than one "real" reason.

 

As well, you should be able to see the difference between Johnny-come-lately Nissan's manufacturing circumstances and Ford's in North America.

 

And of course, there's the resentment about all those jobs in Mexico, which is probably the driving force behind your comment.

 

Problem is, when you don't know very much about other countries or the history of the Ford Motor Company . . .

[ibinubu12]

Just consider - only Fiesta and Fusion are made in Mexico. They were only 16% of US sales last month. Everything else (except Transit Connect) was made in the United States or Canada.

 

Now if you're talking transmissions, Ford outsourced the PowerShift and Mustang's MT-82 manual to Getrag, so they are built where Getrag wants to. The 6F and 6R automatics are US-produced.

 

Engines are another story. Now with the new Escape and Fusion, we're seeing engines from Wales and Spain as the volume engines, and Fiesta sources engines from Brazil. It's complicated, but with an operation on Ford's scale, these things tend to start making sense.

[SoonerLS]

Part of it, I'm sure, is that the foreign makers don't have unionized workforces, so they don't have to deal with the legacy costs and work rules that go with them.

 

Also, that article only says that most of its models for NA sale will be assembled in the US; it says nothing about where the parts will be made before they're shipped here to be bolted together. If you're talking about making engines in the US, I'd bet that the cost of regulatory compliance alone in building an engine foundry in the US would be enough to justify keeping the Windsor plant open for years (while keeping it within compliance of Canadian regs). And that doesn't count the costs of re-establishing the well-established logistical systems that tie Windsor to the rest of Ford's supply chain.

 

A Ford employee also told me that Hermosillo is Ford's top plant from a manufacturing quality standpoint, so I'm sure that has something to do with it, too...