Trade War Watch 16: Hot Wheels Just Got Hotter
It’s been some time since since we had a “ Trade War Watch” on mounting trade tensions in the auto industry, and thank goodness for that. In this economic climate of cuts, currency swings and bankruptcies, what we need are things which will make the situation worse, right? In May I reported about how the EU put a 20.6 percent tariff on aluminium wheels from China. The EU did this in response to complaints from domestic manufacturers. Naturally, this left a sour taste in China’s mouth. Well, over 5 months later, you’d think that the EU would have calmed down and this nasty business would be swept under the carpet, right? Erm, not quite….
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- Ltcmgm78 Just what we need to do: add more EVs that require a charging station! We own a Volt. We charge at home. We bought the Volt off-lease. We're retired and can do all our daily errands without burning any gasoline. For us this works, but we no longer have a work commute.
- Michael S6 Given the choice between the Hornet R/T and the Alfa, I'd pick an Uber.
- Michael S6 Nissan seems to be doing well at the low end of the market with their small cars and cuv. Competitiveness evaporates as you move up to larger size cars and suvs.
- Cprescott As long as they infest their products with CVT's, there is no reason to buy their products. Nissan's execution of CVT's is lackluster on a good day - not dependable and bad in experience of use. The brand has become like Mitsubishi - will sell to anyone with a pulse to get financed.
- Lorenzo I'd like to believe, I want to believe, having had good FoMoCo vehicles - my aunt's old 1956 Fairlane, 1963 Falcon, 1968 Montego - but if Jim Farley is saying it, I can't believe it. It's been said that he goes with whatever the last person he talked to suggested. That's not the kind of guy you want running a $180 billion dollar company.
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Aluminium wheels are about 1 percent of the total cost of a car, therefore, the cost increase can’t be no more that 0.22 percent according to the EU. 1%? So on a $30,000 car you can buy four new wheels at the dealer for $300? Maybe they meant each wheel was 1%!
"The EU has 501,064,211 potential customers for Chinese products. China has 1,338,612,968."
Uh, that is not the only way to look at it nor is it the most relevant. The relevant number to look at the monetary balance of trade between the EU and China.
The most recent report I was able to find quickly dates to the first half of 2009. In that period the EU exported 37 Billion Euro worth of goods to China whilst importing 103 Billion Euro worth from China. Thus, China is fact has more to loose in a trade war with the EU than does the EU.
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/6-27112009-AP/EN/6-27112009-AP-EN.PDF
The issue of comparative labor and environmental standards is likewise a very real one.