Does the Mach E being built in Mexico bother you?

[cometguy]

I'm happy to help the Mexican economy... If their economy improves, the US benefits immensely.

Sponsored

 

[jeffdawgfan]

No car is "Built in the USA" anymore. With the world economy you have different parts from all over the world. The engine may be assembled in Turkey while the transmission may be from US while the airbags are from Japan and the computer screens from china etc. The car is being "assembled in Mexico" but parts will be from all over the world. I have no problem with that. The reason we have auto's manufactured in Mexico is because the American workers have priced themselves out of a job. That is the reason that most of the manufacturing jobs have fled overseas. The Mexican workers are just doing what we all are. Trying to survive and support their families the best way they can.

 

[dbsb3233]

While it would be a nice thing if it were assembled in the US, fact is we're in a global economy now and it's getting really hard to limit our purchases to US-made only. Especially for something like an automobile where assembly is only part of the equation. It's made from thousands of parts and many of those parts come from plants outside the US too (even if assembled in a US plant).

I do like that it's a US company, at least. Paying US taxes. Even vehicles assembled in Mexico enable many jobs in the US - in the corporate offices, at dealerships, at parts suppliers, etc.

 

[Bob]

I have not bought a foreign car since a 1976 Volvo 245. When I placed my reservation I thought the Mach-E would be built at an existing plant in Flat Rock, MI:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/business/ford-general-motors-trump.html?module=inline

Unfortunately I had not being paying attention as Ford announced in 2019 that then unnamed SUV would be built in Mexico. Part of the rationale was the $10.00 per hour labor cost vs $29.00 in the US. I am disappointed enough to keep my options open. I am considering the Tesla Model Y and and even the 2023 Cadillac crossover BEV. It begs the question. If Tesla can sell the US made Model Y for roughly the same price as the GT I have reserved why can't Ford do it in the US too?

 

[macchiaz-o]

You might be interested in this clip with Ford CEO Jim Hackett and APM's Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal. It was posted the day after Mustang Mach-E's reveal.

Here's a transcript that I've typed up forthe relevant portion, which starts at 3:09.

Kai: Where are you gonna make this thing, by the way?

Jim: Well, our Mustangs at-large are made in Flat Rock, MI. We produce over a 100,000 a year there. This vehicle will be down in the center of Mexico, it was always the place --

Kai: [cuts him off] I can hear the president on the phone right now.

Jim: Yeah but this is a cool trade, because we didn't lose any jobs for this to happen. Uh, because we had capacity sitting there. We can't have idle plants.

Kai: Right.

Jim: And we just signed a UAW agreement where we've made a bigger commitment for investment in the United States. So they've kind of, they're very happy with us.

Kai: Okay.

 

[timbop]

I would much rather employ people in the US as workers in Mexico will never spend their money at my architecture business. When we employ some other countries middle-class because it's cheaper, it's to the detriment of our people who would be employed manufacturing in the US. BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota, Kia, Volkswagon, Honda are building plants in the US, why can't Ford. I'm not cancelling my order, but yes it does bother me.

I very much agree with this - I've been saying the same thing since the 80's (to no avail). However, I do fully appreciate the fact that Ford is employing engineers, etc here in the US, and of course the profits are here as well. In general Elon Musk is a smacked ass, but I do appreciate him doing more than any other auto maker to build his supply chain here in the US.

 

[JamieGeek]

Keep in mind that Ford employs far more workers in the US than they do in Mexico (and recently Ford employs more UAW workers in the US than GM does).

Comparison of US employees vs Mexico: (Granted this article is 3 years old but from what I've read the ratio's are even more US skewed now due to the latest UAW contract)
https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/news/economy/ford-gm-chrysler-mexican-jobs/index.html

 

[macchiaz-o]

In another video I've just found, Ford's automotive president Joe Hinrichs mentions why the Mustang Mach-E will be made in Mexico.

Transcript (from me), starting at around 4:32:

CNBC: Can you make money on this?

Joe: We're contribution margin positive right from the get go with this vehicle. We're gonna make a profit.

CNBC: Cause it's made in Mexico, which is also kind of a flashpoint.

Joe: Well part of the reason it's made in Mexico -- it's a global vehicle. It's important to our European portfolio, and we can export from Mexico to Europe duty free. That's a big part of this. But, you know we make 80+ percent of our sales in the U.S., or made here in the U.S. and we're pretty proud of that. And our manufacturing plants in the U.S. are pretty full.

CNBC: Do you expect to hear from uhhh, do you expect any mean tweets?

Joe: Well, the White House knows this is part of our plan. And remember, as far as Ford goes, we produce more vehicles in the U.S. than anyone else, we employ more manufacturing workers than anyone else, we export more than anyone else, ... [interrupted by host]

CNBC: A lot of times those things don't matter.

Joe: Well, the facts hopefully matter in this case. We are the most American auto company, and we're proud of that.

 

[Badger_Prof]

It does not bother me any more than it bothers me that our economy is dependent on people in other countries buying things from the US (which does not bother me). I believe that the world is likely to be a more peaceful place when people get to know one another through commerce and travel. I also believe the world is likely to be more peaceful and just when jobs are shared around the world and people have a chance to be self-sufficient. It does pain me if US workers lose a job because it has gone somewhere else but the jobs going elsewhere are lower value jobs at the moment.

 

[Badger_Prof]

Does it bother you that Ford makes ICE vehicles that contribute to pollution and climate change? It bothers me but I believe that Ford is making a realistic good faith effort to improve mileage, make EVs, and reduce the negative impact of its products on the environment and Ford seems to have a reasonable plan for moving in a direction that will achieve that in a reasonable amount of time (assuming consumers buy in).

 

[abr]

Does it bother you that Ford makes ICE vehicles that contribute to pollution and climate change? It bothers me but I believe that Ford is making a realistic good faith effort to improve mileage, make EVs, and reduce the negative impact of its products on the environment and Ford seems to have a reasonable plan for moving in a direction that will achieve that in a reasonable amount of time (assuming consumers buy in).

At least Ford is not fighting CA clean air programs and has partnered with CA and the other states that follow CA protocols, unlike many other large car companies. Also, as to Mexico, my current 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid (277k miles) was assembled in the Hermosillo plant and has been wonderful.

 

[Mach Daddy]

Doesn’t bother me either. The I-Pace and E-Tron have shown that consumers are very price sensitive. Those are good cars with paltry sales in the US due to price.

Ford is already stretching our wallets, so imagine the flop they would have if the MME base started at $60k and GT at $80k. They have to be close to Tesla on performance and price or else the MME fails.

I will even argue that a successful MME is needed to save US jobs. Electric competition is coming for the Focus, Expedition, F-150, Transit...the learnings from the MME will go into those vehicles.

What bothers me is a slow response to Tesla. If Ford would have responded earlier they would have competed with a $100k car with a small customer base instead of a $50k car with mass appeal. So Mexico it is.

 

[Maric]

Doesn’t bug me at all. All the points already made about the global economy are valid.

Someone mentioned Musk and Tesla being American and possibly considering a Tesla in lieu of a Mexican made Mustang because Musk is encouraging and supporting U.S. labor.

Musk’s original plan was that from the Model 3 forward, all Tesla vehicles were going to be made by an all robotic assembly line. As a matter of fact, the original Model 3 factory was mostly robotic, but the cars coming out of the factory were a disaster and Musk had to quickly re-engineer the factory and get manual laborers in to complete the vehicles.

This is still Musk’s vision. Very few people and a totally automated assembly line. It’s the world we live in now. Another reason why getting people trained in sustainable energy tech is important for the future of our workforce. Writing is on the wall.

 

[Luffie]

I would have preferred the MME to be build in Europe, for reaching 2020-delivery

 

[ChasingCoral]

Remember that 60% of the first year cars are going to the EU. Producing them in Mexico is a big financial advantage to Ford because of different EU tariffs on Mexican vs US-made cars.

Sponsored