Mazda Moves Away From China Parts Suppliers

[7eregrine]

Not to defend anyone (Bill Gates, Bezos, China etc.) but it's more than saving a few bucks with slave labour.

I mean he said he doesn't make sense for Jeff to open warehouses over here... uh... then why is he? There's one across the street from me. In Ohio.
I'm not fan of Bezos but he is no more guilty of contributing to slave labor then any other storefront. Not sure it's fair to lay the blame at his feet... even less so, Bill Gates.

 

[7eregrine]

I think the comment was more about something not being made in China vs strictly being made in the USA.

Thank you.

If Chevy made a CX-5 I would have bought it from Chevy, no question. It Chevy made a good looking SUV in 2016 I might have considered them. IMO, they didn't. Not a single one. Because I am shallow and this is the #1 reason I buy cars. The American made (but now owned) Jeep was also in the running... she just wasn't as pretty... (And the dealership pissed me off, too).

 

[mrplt]

I mean he said he doesn't make sense for Jeff to open warehouses over here... uh... then why is he? There's one across the street from me. In Ohio.
I'm not fan of Bezos but he is no more guilty of contributing to slave labor then any other storefront. Not sure it's fair to lay the blame at his feet... even less so, Bill Gates.

I think the people he gave as examples aren't necessarily accurate. Bezos (well.. Amazon) opens warehouses because they mostly sell Chinese-made stuff for cheap, and that's better than overpaying for low-quality Chinese-made stuff. Bill Gates (well... Microsoft) outsources some to most of their software development to countries like India where they can pay them less.

BUT...
I used AirPods for around 2 years. They broke, so I bought a cheap pair from Amazon. Not many will believe me but they work better than AirPods. Car multimedia systems on Aliexpress? (not the standard double dins) They're not like the stuff that used to be sold on Aliexpress -- there is a significant amount of engineering behind them.

iRobot (Roomba) used to be THE robot vacuum brand. Now the Chinese competitors make vacuums that are 10 times better than the flagship Roomba. I bought a Roborock after a month of research. Roborock is owned by Xiaomi: their competition Ecovacs? Also Chinese.

They are getting there with cars too. I drove a not-so-well-known Chinese EV (Skywell ET5) and it was not bad at all. They are eventually going to enter the North American market.

You mentioned it yourself; Chevy doesn't make a CX-5-looking SUV. The abundance of car brands (from different countries) allows for variety. You don't like Chevy? You buy a Mazda. Don't like Lexus? Buy a Lincoln. That's also another thing about China. They have the infrastructure, they can manufacture anything you want, at any quality you want.

And they are coming to the point where they don't need to underpay their workers -- because they have the tech now. They know their current regime is not going to fly for long, so they are getting ready for it. They are heavily investing in some African countries for cheap labour (ironic, I know) and international support.

The solution? Some American brands need to start competing properly. If people buy your product mainly because it's American-made, you're not going to last for long. Chevy realized this, their new SUVs look REALLY good, and I assume they are going to be reliable too.

 

[181962]

This Taiwan business has been going on since Chiang Kai-sheck fled to Formosa in 1949. A Pelosi visit and the launching of rockets isn't going to change the status quo.

By the way, TSMC is a contract manufacturer not a chip designer. The IP resides elsewhere. They source about 30% of their components from China. They also have a chip fab in Shanghai. China cutting off that supply and seizing TSMC assets in would happen before any invasion. At that point you could get worried and that will probably be never.

 

[Buzzman12]

And you yourself bought a CX-5 which is NOT made in the USA?

You might want to look into the whole globalization of the auto industry thing.

Used to be if you bought from the the big three, you were considered to be buying American, and if you bought a Toyota or a Honda, you were buying foreign. Man, how times have changed.
One of the most American cars on the road today is the Camry. There are more American parts in that vehicle than anything Ford or Chevy builds, and it's manufactured in Kentucky. Mercedes builds cars in Alabama. Honda has 12 plants producing 5 million products. In the meantime, taking into consideration assembly location, parts sourcing etc., GM doesn't even make the top ten list of most American cars made in the USA. Lots of their stuff comes from Mexico. Why? It's cheaper labour. CX-5 not made in the U.S.? Not a big deal.

 

[GFrosty]

This Taiwan business has been going on since Chiang Kai-sheck fled to Formosa in 1949. A Pelosi visit and the launching of rockets isn't going to change the status quo.

Sure, though in 1949 there simply wasn't the tech or the navy to make a 60mi sea crossing and landings that viable, particularly considering how devastated China had been from the second world war.

Today's a different story, so far as I can tell. They've got a navy of consequence, landing abilities, serious missile and aircraft capabilities, and it's the era of "smart"-targeting weaponry. Much is possible today, as compared to 70yrs ago.

True enough, Pelosi et al won't change much. But China's been rattling the sabers at an ever-increasing pitch. They want Taiwan to rein-in. They'll make it happen, at some point. It'll just take a wimpy "international community" stance. The ducks are being placed in a row. Taiwan's essentially isolated. China's rising, and getting ever more powerful. It's likely only a matter of time.

Either way, it's a good thing for companies to imagine threats and risk beyond the straightforward cost structure. Risk and disaster planning simply has to encompass more than that. The nasty "supply chain" issues of the past 2.5yrs has taught that, if nothing else will. China's rising nastiness, espionage and power ought to give everybody pause.

 

[7eregrine]

Volvo's also being made here.
Agree with most of this.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Thank you.

If Chevy made a CX-5 I would have bought it from Chevy, no question. It Chevy made a good looking SUV in 2016 I might have considered them. IMO, they didn't. Not a single one. Because I am shallow and this is the #1 reason I buy cars. The American made (but now owned) Jeep was also in the running... she just wasn't as pretty... (And the dealership pissed me off, too).

Take it from me, grew up with Jeeps, and know many who have modern Jeeps. They are a money pit. Poorly made vehicles.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

This Taiwan business has been going on since Chiang Kai-sheck fled to Formosa in 1949. A Pelosi visit and the launching of rockets isn't going to change the status quo.

By the way, TSMC is a contract manufacturer not a chip designer. The IP resides elsewhere. They source about 30% of their components from China. They also have a chip fab in Shanghai. China cutting off that supply and seizing TSMC assets in would happen before any invasion. At that point you could get worried and that will probably be never.

I'm aware of how TSMC works. They are the foundry that supply the likes of Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Intel (to some extent), along with vehicle manufacturers, military contractors, etc. As a foundry, they are currently the most advanced in the world.

 

[7eregrine]

Take it from me, grew up with Jeeps, and know many who have modern Jeeps. They are a money pit. Poorly made vehicles.

Oh, yea. I know. Although the Cherokee in 2016 was much improved from the prior year. I did not know that at the time. My MIL bought a Cherokee that same year and has about the same mileage.
She's only had one odd issue... needed new rotors very early.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Take it from me, grew up with Jeeps, and know many who have modern Jeeps. They are a money pit. Poorly made vehicles.

Yep. Only way to own a Jeep is buy a used Jeep as a playtoy secondary vehicle for offroading only. Not dependable enough nor comfortable enough for a main daily driver.

 

[theblooms]

The last real Jeep was the XJ Cherokee. Everything since has had the stink and taint of Chrysler all over them.

I like to point out that there's a reason Chrysler went bankrupt. Twice.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

The last real Jeep was the XJ Cherokee. Everything since has had the stink and taint of Chrysler all over them.

I like to point out that there's a reason Chrysler went bankrupt. Twice.

Old 70's CJ was fun back in the day.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Family had a TJ growing up. First car I learned to drive, was stick shift as is proper for a Jeep.

I did get a 98 Grand Cherokee to almost 300k miles, but it had so many issues during that time.

And what they call a Cherokee now is only that in name. Nothing at all like the old ones in terms of off-road capability. Just a crossover with an old name.

 

[MadStyle]

You might want to look into the whole globalization of the auto industry thing.

Used to be if you bought from the the big three, you were considered to be buying American, and if you bought a Toyota or a Honda, you were buying foreign. Man, how times have changed.
One of the most American cars on the road today is the Camry. There are more American parts in that vehicle than anything Ford or Chevy builds, and it's manufactured in Kentucky. Mercedes builds cars in Alabama. Honda has 12 plants producing 5 million products. In the meantime, taking into consideration assembly location, parts sourcing etc., GM doesn't even make the top ten list of most American cars made in the USA. Lots of their stuff comes from Mexico. Why? It's cheaper labour. CX-5 not made in the U.S.? Not a big deal.

Info is wrong on the Camry, as of last year and this year from Cars.com the most American made car is the Tesla Model Y followed by the Model 3, Toyota Camry is at #47. Cars.com

 

[CarpeDiem]

…And what they call a Cherokee now is only that in name. Nothing at all like the old ones in terms of off-road capability. Just a crossover with an old name.

So what? Silly argument. Few current vehicles can be compared with their previous generations, especially going back over 25 years. Is the current Mustang anything like the 1998 version? No - thank goodness. Is the current Camry the same as it was in 1995? Thank goodness, no. Is today’s F-150 like the 1990 version? We could go on and on and on. Times change dude.

The buying public doesn't want vehicles like they were built 25-30 years ago, so they aren’t available. What percentage of buyers will ever take their Jeep off road? Very few, they just want the option to do so in today’s “adventurious” world. If you want a current off-road Jeep then buy a Wrangler Trailhawk. If you’re a hard core off-roader or crawler then you’re either going full custom anyway - or else you’re just a poser.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

So what? Silly argument. Few current vehicles can be compared with their previous generations, especially going back over 25 years. Is the current Mustang anything like the 1998 version? No - thank goodness. Is the current Camry the same as it was in 1995? Thank goodness, no. Is today’s F-150 like the 1990 version? We could go on and on and on. Times change dude.

The buying public doesn't want vehicles like they were built 25-30 years ago, so they aren’t available. What percentage of buyers will ever take their Jeep off road? Very few, they just want the option to do so in today’s “adventurious” world. If you want a current off-road Jeep then buy a Wrangler Trailhawk. If you’re a hard core off-roader or crawler then you’re either going full custom anyway - or else you’re just a poser.

I wasn't making an argument. Was just giving an observation which if anything was just me saying I don't get why'd you'd take a model name associated with a certain type of vehicle and use it for a generic crossover/SUV.

You're reading too much into my post. I don't care that much.

 

[sm1ke]

Ok everyone, let's refocus and circle back to Mazda, thanks.

 

[Buzzman12]

Hey, how about that new American entry, the new Dodge Hornet? Ya, there's a true North American nameplate for you. Oh wait, it's designed and built in Italy. Ok, never mind.