Thursday, August 5, 2010

Is Your Import More American Than You Think?


It is always exciting when you have a truly global market for a product.  The auto industry is just such a market.  You can find a VW dealership in numerous countries around the world, but have you ever stopped to think about where your VW was put together?  Or what is the country of origin for the parts composing that German car?  The vehicles from Honda Dealer Los Angeles are Japanese in nature, but recent reports are suggesting that one of their best-sellers, the Honda Accord, actually originates from Ohio and Alabama.  So you may think you are driving an import little car, but in reality, it was made right here in the United States!  Look at the bright side though, at least your shipping destination charges are less than if your car was really assembled in Japan.  People who purchased a Ford Escape or Focus from a Cincinnati Ford Dealer can be confident that chances are their vehicle was assembled in Kansas City, Missouri or Wayne, Michigan. 

The Toyota Camry is the number one car made in the United States, with production happening in Kentucky and Indiana.  The Honda Accord is second, followed then by actual domestic vehicles like the Ford Escape, the Ford Focus, and the Chevrolet Malibu.  The sixth most frequent United States production is the Honda Odyssey, which is also assembled in Alabama.  Toyota has a few more models that are made in the U.S., including the Toyota Tundra which came in 8th place and is manufactured in San Antonio as well as the Toyota Sienna which came in 10th place and is made in Indiana.  It is interesting that five import cars made the top ten list of being domestically made! 

Vehicles are made in different parts of the world depending on the market demand in that given area.  It makes sense that the minivan Sienna is made in the United States, because there is more of a demand for minivans here in the United States rather than in Japan.  The same thing goes for the full size Toyota Tundra Truck; the United States dominates the market demand for trucks, so it is far more cost effective to get the parts here and manufacture here, than to order parts to ship to Japan, make the vehicles, and then ship them back to the United States. 



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