Auto Producers In US
The author intends to distinguish sharp differences in national origin
of
production and distribution of motor
vehicles.
American Big Three producers
(Chrysler, Ford and GM) and Japanese-owned
manufacturers (Honda, Nissan,
Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, Daihatsu and
Isuzu). By distinguishing
b/w these differences, a vehicle may be classified as
domestic or foreign
made. It provides a locational framework for understanding
what an American
automobile is. Although few are 100% domestic or foreign, the
percentage of
national origin of any vehicle sold in the U.S. can be
determined.
Difference b/w domestic and foreign made Sorting domestic
from foreign cars is a
geographical study because the distinction comes from
where the carmakers carry
out different stages of production. The distinction
was clear until the 1980's,
before this time American cars were built in the
U.S. by American companies,
labor and parts. Foreign cars were built in
foreign countries by foreign
companies, labor and parts. The appearance was
also different. American cars
exceeded 5 meters in length and had engines w/
displacements of 4 liters and 6
or 8 cylinders. Foreign automobiles were over
a meter shorter than American
models and contained 4 cylinder engines w/ only
2 liter displacements. In 1955,
foreign vehicle manufacturers only held 1% of
the American car market- Europeans
accounting for most foreign sales. During
1970's, Japanese-owned companies
overtook the Europeans as leading exporters
of cars to the U.S., but distinction
b/w foreign and American cars remained
well defined. However, the appearances of
both foreign and domestic vehicles
changed as American manufacturers responded
to demands for more fuel
efficiency by shortening and decreasing the size
similar to their Japanese
competitors. At the same time, Japanese companies
began to build larger, more
luxurious cars to meet the demands of customers who
wished to trade in the
original smaller models. Other changes that reduced the
difference b/w
foreign and American cars included the interest that American
firms took in
importing Asian produced models to the U.S. Also, Japanese firms
began
opening production facilities in North America, predominantly in the U.S.,
in
fear of having their American sales resticted by import Quotas. as
domestic
or foreign, but so do the components that are used to build them.
Components can
range from nuts and bolts to engines and transmissions.
American and foreign
companies manufacture their own parts and also purchase
them from outside
suppliers. Identifying national origin The easiest and most
widely used
indicator of domestic or foreign production is calculated by the
EPA under the
Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations. According to
these regulations, in
order for a vehicle to be domestic, it must have the
combined fuel economy in
miles/gallon must exceed a specified average of 27.5
miles/gallon (1993). The
combined fuel economy of foreign vehicles must also
exceed a specified average
(which was not given but is lower than that of
domesic). The EPA also considers
a vehicle domestic if at least 75% of its
parts come from the U.S. or Canada.
The EPA also considers Mexican
content as domestic under 1993 NAFTA. Overall,
government efforts to classify
all vehicles into 2 groups have failed because no
vehicle is entirely
domestic or foreign made. Therefore, car companies and
models are placed on a
continuum from relatively low to high percentages of
domestic content.
Selling price All new automobiles sold in the U.S. have window
stickers
showing the suggested retail price. The country where each model
is
manufactured is required to be identified to inform the consumer. The
retail
price of a motor vehicle includes direct and indirect costs. Direct
costs that
are factored into the selling price are costs of production- res.
and dev.,
purchase or production of components, the assembly of the
components into the
finished vehicle, and transport costs from the assembly
plant to the dealer.
These costs account for two-thirds of the sticker
price, one half of this price
goes to buying parts for assembly. The cost of
developing a new model is
measured in billions of dollars. Chrysler spent 1
billion dollars to develop
large models such as Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision,
the New Yorker and a half
billion on the Neon. Ford spent 6 billion on
developing the Contour and the
Mystique. GM spent 4 and a half on the
Saturn. Before building a new model, a
company first conducts research to
identify potential buyer groups and demands.
Next, individual parts must
be designed and machines be built to make parts and
assemble vehicles.
Ofcourse, experiments are run on the finished prototype to
test road use.
Honda, Toyota and Nissan have design studios in southern Cal. and
Ann
Harbor, Mich. The purpose of these studios is to modify
Japanese-engineered
models to preferences and driving conditions of N.
America. Indirect costs
account for another one-third of the sticker price
and include- central
administration, corpoprate profit, marketing, and dealer
expenses. They are
divided b/w the country where the manufacturer's
headquarters are located and
the country where the vehicle is sold.
Executives and shareholders reside in the
country where company originated,
even if production facilities are not.
Chrysler, Ford and GM are
considered American companies because their corporate
headquarters are in
Detroit. Toyota and other Japanese companies sell in U.S.
but have
headquarters in Japan. Marketing and advertising costs may account for
as
much as 5% of the total sticker price. The advertising budget
averaged
$875/vehicle in 1993. Regardless of where vehicles are manufactured,
companies
selling in the U.S. hire American advertising agencies and place
ads on American
TV and newspapers. Final Assembly The changing
distribution of final assembly
plants began in the 1960's with the constant
growth of new models of
automobiles. Companies closed their coastal assembly
plants and converted
interior ones to produce 1 or 2 specialized products to
distribute throughout N.
America. Due to their fragility, finished
vehicles are exppensive to transport.
Consequently, assembly plants are
located near customers and dealers. Demand for
for the is essential to this
strategy or it wouldnot make sense to spend 1
billion dollars on a
final-assembly plant. Since the annual capacity of a
typical plant is 200,000
vehicles, a manufacturer will dedicate a plant to one
specific product.
Two-thirds of vehicles sold in U.S. in 1992 were produced at
American
assembly plants, rest were made in other countries. The Big 3 assembled
in
the U.S. 80% of vehicles they sold there and one-third of vehicles sold
in
U.S. by foreign-owned manufacturers were assembled there also.
Nine-tenths of
the value of vehicles sold in the U.S. by the Big 3 had
domesic content.
Vehicles sold in the U.S. but assembled elsewhere came
from 3 areas- Canada,
Mexico and eastern hemisphere countries. In 1992,
13% of all cars and trucks
sold in U.S. were assembled in Canada, 2% in
Mexico and 17% in eastern
hemisphere countries (Japan, Germany and South
Korea). Honda is the first Asian
carmaker to build an assembly plant in N.
America and operates 2 plants a short
distance apart- Maryville and East
Liberty Ohio and another in Alliston,
Ontario. The reason for Honda's
aggression to establish assembly plants overseas
is because there is little
chance for increasing sales in Japan. Honda sold
twice as many cars in N.
America than in Japan in 1992 and has become the
leading exporter of cars in
N. America. Two other large sellers are Toyota and
Nissan. Toyota has a
final-assembly plant in Georgetown Ky., and Nissan has one
in Smyrna, Tenn.
where trucks are a large portion of the output. Components Not
only do the
final prototypes of cars have to be classified.