Chinese-Built Cars Are Coming To the US Next Year 431
cartechboy (2660665) writes "Made In China." It's a sticker we all know too well here in the U.S., and yet, it seems not everything we buy is made in China. To date, there haven't been Chinese-built cars in the U.S., but we keep hearing they are coming. Now it seems it's about to become a reality, as Chinese-built Volvos will be arriving in the U.S. as early as 2015. The first model to arrive will be the S60L. The payoff for Volvo if it manages to convince buyers that its cars built in China are just as good as those currently built in Europe is vast. Not only will it save on production costs, but it will help buffer against exchange rate fluctuations. Volvo's planning to make China a manufacturing hub, and that makes sense since it's now owned by Chinese parent company Geely. But will Chinese-built cars be just as good as European-built cars, and will consumers be able to tell the difference?
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Bets, anyone? (Score:4, Informative)
GM is approaching 50% foreign manufacture for the entire company. Their most popular trucks are 60% foreign [gmauthority.com] now.
Lots of cars in the US already have Chinese parts. Japan has been outsourcing major drive train components to China for years. Chinese manufacturing is sufficient for automotive work. Even hotrod builders in the US use Chinese parts for legacy US designs; Scat and Eagle engine components [jegs.com] are very popular.
Re:Tonka Tough (Score:5, Informative)
I work for a small company that manufactures things. We have had the same product build by 3 different Contract Manufacturers (CMs) - 1 in the US, 1 in India, 1 in China.
India CM:
Downright horrible. Build quality was horrible. Constantly missed deadlines and turned small problems (that were known ahead of time) into crisis by not telling us until it was too late
US CM:
"OK" - better than the India CM, but still had manufacturing issues. Most expensive
China CM:
Very good - cheapest and best quality
We are a US based company, FWIW. The language and time barriers can be challenging, but we have gotten the best pricing and build quality out of China.
London Taxis (Score:5, Informative)
Just fyi, Geely makes the current iteration of the famous London Black Taxi Cab.