Add a Couple More Vehicles to the List of Products That Might Be Chinese

by Steph Willems

Published: June 15th, 2018

add a couple more vehicles to the list of products that em might em be chinese

Despite the negative stigma long associated with Chinese-built goods, we’ve grown used to — if not accepting of — the idea that some of our domestic vehicles might originate from a Chinese assembly plant. The Cadillac CT6 Plug-in, for example, hails from the Orient, as does all versions of the Buick Envision crossover. Volvo S90s sold in the U.S. also call China their birthplace.

Now, according to a 2019 model year VIN decoder document sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from General Motors, there’s two additional models that might carry Chinese heritage. Keep a lookout for a VIN starting with “L.”

According to the docs (H/T to Bozi Tatarevic), the subcompact Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore crossovers — two vehicles strongly associated with Korean production — both see a new plant location added to their VIN options, and it’s located in the People’s Republic of China.

Formerly, the Encore was produced exclusively at GM Korea’s Bupyeon assembly plant. Such models see a VIN starting with “K.” Most Trax models also hailed from this plant, though some of the vehicles shipped to U.S. dealers started their journey at GM’s San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico. These VINs begins with a “3.”

For the 2019 model year, the Dong Yue South plant joins the aforementioned assembly locations for both Trax and Encore. The facility, which builds a host of familiar vehicles for the Chinese market, is a joint operation between GM and SAIC Motor. The U.S.-bound Envision sees its assembly at Dong Yue North.

We haven’t heard anything about a slowdown in Korean production (recent cuts and a near-bankruptcy at GM Korea led to the shuttering of an underperforming plant), just that the division’s new deal should spawn a new compact crossover by the end of next year. Don’t expect to see Traxes and Encores with VINs starting with L everywhere you go.

Since GM stopped posting monthly U.S. sales figures, getting a handle on recent volume is tricky. Still, prior to the second-quarter decision, GM enjoyed very healthy sales of both the Trax and Encore. According to Wards Auto, GM imported some 32,000 Trax models from Korea last year, as well as 82,000 Encores.

[Image: General Motors]

#Assembly #China #GM #GMKorea #Imports #Production #VINs

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

9 of 32 comments

TomLU86 on Jun 15, 2018

It's all good! Until it's not. For Americans who have good jobs and health care, yes! It's great to have a choice and buy all those imported goods, some of them by people happy to make $1-2 an hour (because that affords them what they consider a good life), some of them by people who are trapped in sweatshops making $1-2. For those Americans who lost their $15 hour unskilled jobs as a result, it's not so great, since they can't buy much. Though the little they can buy will cost less. They pay less in taxes, and cost more in govt services too, which means that those a little higher on the ladder must pay more in taxes (the elite can 'tax avoid') and/or we must borrow more money (which affects all of us--but again, the elite are somewhat immune to the vagaries of inflation and asset confiscation) Japan has open a pretty open auto market, yet even the Germans make limited inroads there. No tariffs, just that quaint 'patriotism', even as corporate Japan jettisons lifetime employment and moves more production off-shore. Say what you like about Trump (and there is a LOT I dislike about him), he is right-on when it comes to trade. Now, whether that is because he feels the world has gotten richer at America's expense, OR whether he feels he and his family can profit by talking tough on trade and then 'reaching deals' with other countries--that we can debate, lol. One thing we can't debate: there is NO way I am every buying a US-Branded vehicle made in China, built by people who live in a dictatorship that can imprison them on a whim. A pliable workforce is just what our big business leaders like. That's why they love the H4 Visa program. Who says slavery is bad? Rant complete :)

Like Reply
- See 5 previous
- Sub-600 on Jun 15, 2018
  
  Non-union, extremely low wage labor really helps the old throughput dollar, especially when you don’t have to schedule 40 hours for the hell of it. American companies can Kaizen and 6 Sigma themselves to zero inventory and still not be in the ballpark when it comes to bring competitive. Trump knows this and needs to level the playing field.
  
  Like
- Sgeffe on Jun 15, 2018
  
  @Sub-600 I've heard that stuff such as Six-Sigma and ISO 9000 simply amounts to having a standard way to shuffle paper, and nothing more. This told to me by someone who made a living certifying to those standards.
  
  Like
- Sub-600 on Jun 15, 2018
  
  @sgeffe If implemented properly, Kaizen and 6S can make a difference, I’ve witnessed it firsthand. ISO has become become more or less just an icon companies want to be associated with these days, All of these have become cottage industries in their own way, spawning thousands of consultants. It’s all moot versus government backed slave labor anyway.
  
  Like
- Ect on Jun 15, 2018
  
  tomLU86, Trump is entirely wrong about trade. and its effect on jobs. It is a fact that, since NAFTA was signed, US manufacturing output has doubled (in real terms,, so adjusted for inflation), while direct manufacturing employment has fallen by 1/3. Technology has been killing unskilled industrial jobs in this century, just as it killed unskilled jobs in agriculture 100 years earlier. It is also true that the focus on balance of trade is more than misguided, it is completely ignorant - as anyone who understand economics knows. For example, Japan has run a trade surplus every year since 1981, while the US has run a trade deficit every year since 1971. If one looks at GDP per capita over the last 25 years, the US has hugely outperformed Japan - real GDP per capita has fallen in Japan, while it has more than doubled in the US. We have spent the last 150 years learning that free trade builds prosperity, while trade restrictions destroy it. It's a shame that so many people refuse to learn this lesson.
  
  Like
- DeadWeight on Jun 16, 2018
  
  @ect I am not going to get into the macro economic argument that you are setting forth (for a variety of reasons) at the moment. What I will do is state that with respect to China (and many other U.S. trade partners), there is no "free trade." Free trade would presuppose a system where neither China nor the U.S. require than any tariffs or levies or any other monetary sums be paid in order to export or import any item or service being provided by the other. In other words, you and the many others who set forth the type of macroeconomic argument that you just did fly right past, almost seemingly intentionally, the fact that we have nothing remotely close to a "free trade" relationship with any of our trade partners, because that's an inconvenient fact that does not support said argument. Tariffs and MASSIVE subsidies to companies and entire industries (direct and indirect) have muddied the waters of global commerce to such a degree, and infected global commerce so viciously, that the argument that you set forth is one that can only be made as one of pure theory, and not factual reality, able to be tested, because there's never been "free trade." And China strategically subsidizes key industries that its centrally planned government officials and economists have designated as "critical" (including automotive and automotive parts manufacturing) in a much more massive way as a % of GDP than the U.S. does.
  
  Like
- "scarey" on Jun 17, 2018
  
  @ect---Let's just say that President Donald Trump is A LOT SMARTER than you. How many people have YOU ever employed ? How many corporations have you run ? Trump is the ONLY person at this time who can handle the gigantic financial and fraudulent mess that has been created over the past many decades. And yes, if it comes to that, he may have to oversee the bankruptcy and restructuring of the $21 Trillion national debt that started in 1913 with the creation of the "Federal" Reserve. It MAY be too large to ever pay back, unless he can find and recover the missing estimated $21 Trillion that was stolen from the U.S. government between 1998 and 2015. (See Catherine Austin Fitts). You should be praying for him. I am. Trade is only one of the huge problems that he is working on at this critical time.
  
  Like
Tankinbeans on Jun 15, 2018

If a Chinese manufacturer wants to sell here let them try as they'relikely to have more pride in their homespun goods than being the lowest bidder for Americans, but I'm not about to buy an American branded vehicle made in China. I lost any interest I had in the Focus when they were still on the docket to be sold here and made in China; I've had two of the current generation an SE and an ST and always considered myself more of a Ford guy (if the choices were only the 3 from Detroit), but not anymore. Several years ago I bought a Kia, a car which I knew was Korean and which I knew was manufactured in Korea. It was relatively inexpensive ($14k IIRC) and I didn't expect too much from it. Aside from a few niggles it was fine. I didn't believe I was buying an American car and it was no surprise that it wasn't made here. Buyers of these cars, who don't necessarily read the online forums are probably buying thinking they're supporting US workers, after all the big bow-tie means America and "from the heartland" or whatever their current tagline is. It's a ruse. I recall years ago the strident guys driving their Mexican built Silverados with "Buy American" bumper stickers. Long story short: if a foreign brand builds a car at home and tries to sell it here I'm fine with it. If that company tries to build here and sell here, I'm fine with it. The big 3 deciding to source from a "developing" nation strictly because it's cheaper and because they have failed to make the case that their vehicles are competitive at prices they would charge for using American labour for whatever the reason is nonsense. Full disclosure: I have a Canadian Buick and a Japanese Mazda. I bought the Buick very used and none of the money made it back to GM.

Like Reply
- "scarey" on Jun 17, 2018
  
  If carmakers want to sell Chinese cars here, let them MAKE Chinese cars here. Like THATS ever going to happen...LOL And I include GM, Ford, and FCA in that..
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Honda1 Unions were needed back in the early days, not needed know. There are plenty of rules and regulations and government agencies that keep companies in line. It's just a money grad and nothing more. Fain is a punk!
1995 SC If the necessary number of employees vote to unionize then yes, they should be unionized. That's how it works.
Sobhuza Trooper That Dave Thomas fella sounds like the kind of twit who is oh-so-quick to tell us how easy and fun the bus is for any and all of your personal transportation needs. The time to get to and from the bus stop is never a concern. The time waiting for the bus is never a concern. The time waiting for a connection (if there is one) is never a concern. The weather is never a concern. Whatever you might be carrying or intend to purchase is never a concern. Nope, Boo Cars! Yeah Buses! Buses rule!Needless to say, these twits don't actual take the damn bus.
MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)