America To Increase Car Exports. With A Little Help From Toyota
Contrary to lore, American cars are a hot export product that is in high demand abroad – as long as there are foreign badges on the Made in America cars. For the first time, Toyota will ship U.S.-made Venza to Russia and China, says The Nikkei [sub].
Toyota will ship 4,000 Venza to Russia, 1,000 to Ukraine, and “several thousand” to China. By 2014, Toyota expects to be exporting 150,000 vehicles a year from the U.S., 20 percent more than in 2012.
In December, TTAC reported that transplants export cars in surprising numbers. BMW exported 70 percent of the 276,000 cars it built 2011 in Spartanburg, SC, helping South Carolina overtake Michigan as the No. 1 exporter of automobiles. Mercedes-Benz exports half of its cars made at its Birmingham, Ala. plant to countries outside NAFTA. Honda wants to become a net exporter of American made vehicles. At Nissan, “the numbers are trending toward Nissan being a net exporter,” a spokesman in Yokohama said.
All these exports create American jobs for Americans in America, and they improve the American trade balance. In a few minutes, UAW operatives will tell you it’s all wrong.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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So the high cost of labor does not affect a companies ability to export then... Gosh! hoodathunk?
I'd like to see a story about who the big importers really are. How many vehicles do GM, Ford, and Fiat import into the US from Canada, Mexico, Korea, Italy, Australia, Belgium, and Germany? How does that compare to the foreign brands in total vehicles with final assembly in other countries? I think it would be a hilariously bitter pill for Detroit cheerleaders to swallow.
Isn't the Tundra an obsolete embarassment? The new 2013 Pentastar Ram beats the 2013 Tundra V6 by 4 mpg and beats the 2013 Tacoma V6 by 2 mpg EPA combined while having more horsepower! Heck a 2013 Hemi Ram will get better hwy mpg than a V6 Tundra. The there's Ram's very good showing in the latest J.D. Power survey. Just saying. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=33353&id=33194&id=33113
Good job Toyota.