Automotive News - June 2, 2008 - (Page 25)

New American Manufacturers A special section looking at issues facing Asian and European automakers and suppliers in North America Which automaker is likely to add which vehicle to North American production next? Page 28 How Mitsubishi is making exports from Illinois a core part of its strategy. Page 30 See more on New American Manufacturing at www.autonews.com/nam. A worker at Nissan’s Canton, Miss., plant puts a Nissan Armada through final quality checks before shipment to the Middle East. Troubled or not, the United States still beckons The dollar shrinks and the gates open for a new wave of transplant investment Lindsay Chappell lchappell@crain.com D ire news pours out of the North American auto industry: crumbling vehicle sales, unemployment, wage cuts and corporate financial calamities. Yet a different reality exists for many international automotive companies. Some manufacturers are making haste to invest in U.S. manufacturing. For them, today’s market conditions are a golden opportunity. Consider: Volkswagen AG, after 20 years of forswearing the United States as a production base, is now scouting locations for at least one U.S. plant and possibly another here or elsewhere in North JUNE 2, 2008 America. Separately, Volkswagen’s Audi brand is looking for a U.S. production plant. VW also will set up an engine plant and a transmission plant to supply the U.S. assembly plant. Those components factories might be in the United States, Mexico or Canada. But “if we don’t localize the plants” in North America, said Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc., at the Automotive News World Congress in January, “we can’t be competitive.” BMW AG is investing $750 million to expand its Spartanburg, S.C., operations to 240,000 vehicles a year, moving the X3 crossover here from Europe. Toyota Motor Corp. is spending $1 billion to build an SUV factory in Tupelo, Miss. Nissan Motor Co. is preparing to invest $118 million to begin building a fleet of U.S.-designed light-commercial vehicles in Canton, Miss. Italian sports car maker Alfa Romeo — a Fiatowned brand that hasn’t sold here since 1995 — is contemplating a U.S. production center in conjunction with its planned 2009 market return. The pall in North America hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for foreign-based component suppliers either. Toyota’s Mississippi venture is bringing with it a slew of large-scale supplier investments. Toyota Boshoku America Inc., an integrated maker of seat systems, plans to spend $80 million not far from Toyota’s Tupelo plant site. Toyota Auto Body Co., an affiliated supplier that builds entire vehicles for Toyota in Japan, is constructing a $200 million plastics and steel part fabricating plant in the same neighborhood. Meanwhile, Tier 2 German transmission parts maker Selzer Automotive announced plans to build its first American factory, a $22 million project, in Auburn, Ala. All in The investments are being triggered by a combination of factors: Euro/yen pains. A cheaper dollar is making it increasingly disadvantageous to export into the United States from Europe and Asia. see INVEST, Page 26 Automotive News 25 http://www.autonews.com/nam

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Automotive News - June 2, 2008 Gas prices fuel industry's new era Chrysler faces tricky dealer mergers Honda may crank out more Civics in N.A. Mercedes will move into Chrysler Pacifica studio Ford to offer hatchback version of Fiesta Prestige Automotive sells stores but keeps Black Enterprise top spot Dealership marketers take to text messaging Senate to hear personal pleas on roof crush rule Magazine: Chrysler, Fiat are talking Former Fla. dealer gets jail for bilking bank That guy Alfred had possibilities Ford will make next Mustang look smaller Pontiac subcompact may come to U.S. GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales Porsche exec: CAFE 'will not change our nature' Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries Jatco boosts CVT capacity in Mexico for N.A. vehicles Mercury deserves a better chance Rising gas prices have changed the U.S. market Marketing and sales: Context and content Mexico's Nemak grows beyond North America Buyers didn't quit GM; GM quit on its buyers Brand perceptions change slowly Bloggers are journalists, too Nice HQ, Nissan, but where's Nobe? Chrysler's Chernoby: Growing up gearhead Picture this Mitsubishi hopes new gearbox widens Evo's appeal Openlane gets funds Obituaries Survey: Going green can get your auto ad noticed Inrix: Router can reduce traffic delays Mazda6 gets own platform for U.S. ... sort of Mazda6 set to take on mid-sized sedan heavyweights Troubled or not, the United States still beckons What's next? More transplant models headed this way Exports help as Mitsubishi sorts things out Irma Elder: 'This is one of the toughest times we have had' Fitzgerald: Dealers, consumers need alliance Can Bertone design a comeback? Family-owned business struggles for survival Some design houses fall on tough times Hughes: Not a subscriber? No problem American Axle lines up new non-U.S. business GM think tank works to boost service business Toyota offers gas card as tire incentive VW turns to common software to develop products Continental's Calif. office targets Asian carmakers ZF sees chassis, axle opportunities in N.A. Flex: A new Ford image ... or just over the top? Ford targeted Flex interior quiet, ride Ex-dealership managers say firings were over religion Dealers Genesis in Toledo: It's a long story Back woes sideline Nardelli GM: 19,000 take buyouts Panama to head Nissan Mexicana Wilhite jumps to Jumpstart Dauch sons move up, out Kozyra leaves Continental Ford to lay off salaried staff More small cars to arrive in 2009-10 Even on used market, big trucks go begging Auto advertisers adopt mpg mantra Industry to motorists: We're here to help Diesel prices hit suppliers' Mexico sites Can Camry catch F series? Leno's words of wisdom for automakers Nissan's carbon credits ease global warming guilt Automotive CEOs' pay pales next to peers' Year of the Small Car can't come too soon Foreign suppliers adding capacity in Southeast From cows to kimchi: Making Alabama sweet home for Koreans After light-truck push, cars are king again Mexican suppliers expect sales record in '08

Automotive News - June 2, 2008

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