Japan was a curious rival of the United States, having gone from a military foe to one of America’s biggest suppliers of electronics, cars, and other goods in rather short time. If you read sci-fi from the ’80s, there was also a fear of a strong political role that Japan would play globally. That didn’t quite happen, and once the bubble burst in Japan the greater influence was probably a cultural one than a political one; few people still alive feel negatively about buying a Japanese car.
China is different. There has been no large scale military conflict between the US and China, but both militaries clearly see the other side as the most feared antagonist in a global conflict. Americans buy an enormous amount of goods from China, but few of these are recognizably Chinese-branded. I’m sure plenty of people bought a TCL television without realizing the company was headquartered in Guangdong. China has become the world’s manufacturer, and, for years, you could buy a Chinese-built car in most of Europe and the US.
A Chinese-branded one is a little different, and it’s interesting to see who is building what. When I write The Morning Dump I don’t often lead with a question, because I want to help find answers. Today will be a little different, too, because I am a little curious. Jeep is one of the most quintessential American brands and, soon, will start building cars in China. Will this bother anyone? Canada will be an interesting test case for Chinese cars, and it sounds like automakers with non-obvious Chinese owners, like Lotus, will lead the way. Everything is politics, and the President of the United States has weighed in on right-to-repair on the side of consumers.
That’s heavy. Let’s end light. It’s a Lacoste Alpine!
Jeep Will Build An Electric Car In China
China has built Jeeps before. Back in the ’80s, then-Jeep parent AMC made a deal with the Beijing Automotive Industry Company to form what became known as Beijing Jeep. The trick to that, of course, was that they weren’t branded Jeep, even though they were obviously XJs. And, of course, the current Chinese car industry builds plenty of Jeep-like things as well.
What hasn’t happened before, I don’t think, is a Jeep-branded, Chinese-built Jeep sold in a Western market. With Stellantis expanding its deal with Chinese automaker Dongfeng, that’s what’s apparently going to happen. Here’s how Bloomberg describes the vehicle:
Stellantis and Dongfeng Motor Corp. will jointly produce the large sport utility vehicle, which will be launched alongside other new models carrying the iconic name, Fabio Catone, head of Jeep in Europe, said on a media call. Stellantis will have six Jeep models available in the region by the end of the decade, compared with two now, he said.
That’s interesting. It’ll apparently be a D-Segment midsize SUV and, presumably, some sort of New Energy Vehicle (full electric or EREV). There’s a little more intel from the Australian site Car Expert has a few more details:
In a statement released over the weekend, the automakers announced the existing Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen joint venture plant in Wuhan will produce two “Peugeot-branded” models from 2027. The design of these two vehicles will be based on the Concept 6 and Concept 8 SUV revealed at the recent Beijing motor show.
Both concept cars are on the large side, and if exported back to Europe would help the brand flesh out the top-end of its lineup, which currently tops out with the 4.79m-long 5008 SUV.
This vehicle will join the Recon and Compass in Europe, and shows that Stellantis still sees the brand as a player on the continent. Addressing the potential issue of having a Chinese-built Jeep, European brand head Fabio Catone didn’t seem worried, as Bloomberg reported:
“Jeep is a US brand, certainly, but it’s also a global one.”
I remember when Jeep started selling the Italian-built Renegade in the United States. There was a concern that people wouldn’t want it. To quote Dennis Nedry: See, nobody cares.
The Canadian PM Making Deals To Get Chinese-Build Lotus SUVs Is Amusing To Me
The Lotus Eletre is a curious vehicle and, surprisingly, has been in the middle of the push-and-pull of global trade. It’s been expected that Lotus will sell the Eletre in Canada under a new rule allowing in a quota of Chinese-built cars, and they even gave Thomas one to review.
Now, we have more details via Reuters on how it all came together:
“Geely Holding Group’s Lotus brand electric vehicles will arrive in Canada next month under an agreement between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s ambassador to Canada Wang Di told Reuters on Friday.
They will be the first Chinese-owned and manufactured vehicles for sale under an agreement that allows up to 49,000 Chinese EVs to enter Canada annually at a reduced tariff rate, as Carney tries to diversify Canada’s trade away from the United States.
“Geely EVs will be arriving in Canada next month and they will be holding a ceremony when the cars are delivered in Montreal,” Wang said.
Eventually, Chinese-built cars that are not branded as other vehicles will arrive in Canada, but it’s interesting to see that even in Canada they’re starting with cover-brands.
President Trump Says It’s Ok For People To Repair Cars
President Trump surprised automakers when he said that they told him it wasn’t ok for people to repair their own cars:
“We had the auto industry in yesterday. They don’t want people to fix their car. I said, ‘That’s strange!’” Trump said. “They have a thing; nobody’s allowed to fix their car.”
In response to this, President Trump signed a memo indicated support for people to be able to repair their own cars, which is generally a good thing, though this one seems to be mostly limited to emissions equipment:
During the previous administration, crushing environmental regulatory burdens caused the average cost of vehicles to soar. My Administration has therefore taken historic action to reduce or remove these burdensome regulations and decrease the rising costs that consumers face. With the largest deregulatory action in United States history, my Administration rescinded regulations concerning greenhouse gas emissions for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, and affirmed the right to fix agricultural and non-road equipment.
Consumers and aftermarket-parts manufacturers and resellers, however, face continuing regulatory uncertainty concerning whether aftermarket parts may be used in repairs due to the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) prohibition on tampering with emissions controls. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has the only certification process for aftermarket parts currently recognized as sufficient under the CAA, but that process is faulty. Obtaining a CARB Executive Order certifying that a part does not increase vehicle emissions takes increasingly long — now well over a year — even when an applicant has all of the paperwork and testing in order. It is increasingly costly, and it effectively hands the determination of Federal compliance over to the State of California. Further, because it is the only currently available and accepted certification process, the certification of parts is bottlenecked at CARB, driving up costs and limiting the supply of compliant parts. To further ensure vehicle affordability, it is the policy of my Administration that consumers should be able to fix their vehicles with affordable parts without being deemed to have circumvented emissions controls.
It’s time to diesel swap one of David’s Jeeps, I suppose. [Ed Note: I’m pro-us being able to fix our own cars. I am also not a huge fan of the complications associated with California’s strict emissions standards, particularly for older cars. But I do like emissions standards in general, as I want my son to grow up with healthy lungs. So some level of balance here is the answer; it’s not “you can’t fix your car” and it’s not “you have to fix your car 1980s car that you rarely drive with these expensive parts or else.” It’s somewhere in between. -DT].
Check Out This Sweet Lacoste Alpine
Ok, that’s a lot this morning, please enjoy this one-off Alpine A290 RALLYE done up with a Lacoste theme. I love it. They even shot a video:
That’s fun.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
We’re going to Lime Rock, so I’ve got to play some Hall & Oates. Are you out of time, or just “Out of Touch”?
The Big Question
Where was your car built and do you care where cars are built?
Top photo:
Building Jeeps in China can only improve quality, so why not.
After a couple ‘made in america’ vehicles, I’ve become a ‘anywhere except america’ buyer.
Right now: UK, Japan, Italy.
My 2024 Golf GTI was built in Germany, using a German engine and transmission. My old 2015 Golf GTI was built in Mexico, using a German engine and transmission.
Our CX90 was built in Japan.
My 91 YJ was Canadian built!
Mine was built in Belvidere, and I don’t generally care where they’re built. If they come in new and the panel gaps aren’t wider than the Atlantic, and everything is bolted in, then I’m perfectly fine with it.
Seeing the Jeep’s and Ram’s built in America and the problems off the truck they’ve had, while not plentiful, are still enough to make me question why I should want vehicles built in the US.
Ram Trucks are mostly Mexico, but I think it is part and overall design issues versus the poor saps slapping them together. Same in the US. and it certainly is not inherent to Rams. Ferds and Chebby’s have plenty of issues to watch for.
My Ram 1500 was built in Sterling Heights, MI. Not sure how long that has been the case, but I think that’s where all the 1500’s come from these days. I believe the HD Rams are built in Mexico.
Majority of them are built in the US, since most people buy Crew Cabs.
Crew Cabs are built in the US. Quad Cabs and the HDs are built in Mexico.
My current vehicles were, in alphabetical order, built in Czechoslovakia, France, the Netherlands with an engine from France, Sweden, the UK, the UK with an engine and transmission from Japan, the USA, and the USA with an engine from Italy. If I include former vehicles China, Germany, and Japan get added to the list.
I care mostly in the sense of trying to collect a complete set.
You’ve illustrated a point that’s far too often overlooked. “Made on Planet Earth” should be applied to most cars nowadays. All brands are global brands. Why should anyone care where the corporate headquarters are located?
All my Ford hatches come from Mexico, baby! And they have all been built well.
Everything I’ve ever owned has either been made in Japan or the US (Specifically Marysville, OH), except for one – my Thailand-built Kawasaki ZX-4RR. I’ve had no problems with mine, but there are definitely a few cut corners and cheap hardware I’ve found that I probably wouldn’t on a Japanese-built bike.
I used to object to the thought of buying a Chinese-built car, but I don’t think we really have the moral high ground anymore here in the US. Now it’s more just an issue of them (or anyone else around the world) not making anything I find interesting enough to buy.
My car was built in China and as of last week it’s now outlawed in this country.
Do I care? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
TBQ: in Bursa, Turkey apparently. I wasn’t aware… and to be honest I couldn’t care less (as long as they respect human rights, that is).
Well, Turkey are hardly a shining example under their current president.
You are right, but I suppose conditions in the factory would be ok?
I don’t care where my car is built as long as it’s not slave labor/slave wage workers building it. Which does appear to be what is going on in China.
I’m old enough to remember when “Made in Japan” was a punchline in cartoons when something didn’t work as expected. Then maybe 10 years later they surpassed us handily in cars and electronics.
My old 500 Abarth was a funny vehicle, the window sticker said it was Italian/US with a mixture of Mexico as well. Wish I could remember the percentages.
As far as I know, the GR Corolla was Japan, the Crosstrek…Japan? 90 Celica GTS probably Japan. And the NB2 Miata I’m guessing… also Japan?
I remember it most keenly from Back to the Future…
Doc: “No wonder this circuit failed; it says ‘Made in Japan’.”
Marty: “What do you mean, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan.”
I don’t think that joke was ever anything than racist jingoism masquerading as an attempt at humor
meh, yes it was racist or maybe more indicative of a stereotyping incident based upon the flood of cheap stuff that was initially all they had to make to rebuild(which is racist I suppose). They copied and perfected a lot of good manufacturing techniques from the early years of the US to be honest though.
South Korea (Ioniq 6), Mexico (Maverick), and Japan (Miata).
Location of final assembly isn’t a high priority ( different parts from different countries make up most cars anyway). . The brand and model are obviously what drives the decision for me ( no Teslas for me, for example).
So the executive order doesn’t actually save people much money on most repairs, but does allow people to pollute more? It’s a classic lose-lose from this administration.
And doesn’t address the China made catalytic converters that are being sold on ebay and such, even in California, for super cheap because they have little or even no platinum group metals they need to actually function.
Something I thought everybody was missing in 2024 campaigns was a crackdown on the ever-increasing connectivity-enabled fraud – fake products on online marketplaces like you refer to, scam calls from spoofed phone numbers, nearly everything crypto. Instead we got pardons for scam artists and “fraud” used as a dogwhistle to demonize immigrant communities – Mehmet Oz complaining about Armenians recently was a notable example.
People long for the good old days of rivers routinely catching fire and smog blotting out the sun.
Make America Gasp (for breath) Again!
My body count includes cars built in the following locations:
USA – 1 (California, at the long-demolished GM plant in Van Nuys)
Belgium – 2
Germany – 8
Mexico – 2
Sweden – 1
South Africa – 1
I have never noticed any quality issues that obviously stemmed from where a car was built. The SA-built BMW E90 was a turd, but that had much more to do with the basic design and materials of the car, and how they had aged—all of which were specced in Germany—than with the actual assembly quality.
The only car I’m experienced with that was built in two different countries, but was the same make, model, and generation is the mk1 Subaru Legacy and the Japanese built cars felt better made and had little details that were nicer, nothing of any consequence or that would be noted by absence without being in the Japanese car first (or maybe at all), but it showed a little more attention to detail.
Yeah, the E90 for the US market was built in a few different locations, and my two Belgian-built Volvos were models that were also built in Sweden (and Canada, in the case of the 850), but I only have experience with each of those models from one point of origin, so I have no basis for comparison. But I can’t imagine there would be any real difference.
My Corvair was built in California, but several other GM plants throughout the US (and Canada, and Switzerland) built them as well—but the lore around quality in the domestic industry at the time is that it matters more what day of the week your car was built than where. I guess mine must have been built on a good day, because it’s generally held up well with most of its original parts intact.
This was also true of Honda in the 80s and early 90s. They started building cars in Ohio but you wanted the VIN for the ones from Japan if you could get them.
It took a while but I think they finally achieved a certain level of parity from a quality POV. That may be due to the Japan-built versions not really being sold here in large numbers but I haven’t heard about VIN-searching in a long time.
Gimme a reliable and economical car that I enjoy driving. So long as I can get parts, where it’s built means three fifths of fuck-all.
It’s not amusing to me. I want the cheap EV shitboxes. Why are 200k cars the focus? We already have those.
IMO, they need to incentivize this better by removing the quota if they have an MSRP below $25k CAD.
When do the Chinese built Tesla3s arrive? Or did they already?
I understand those are all coming with LFP batteries. Which will be an interesting contrast to everyone else.
And does Canada still have the German-build TeslaY?
I read somewhere that capt fantastic shipped them all back to the us or Europe so he could capitalize of the Chinese import quotas.
My car was built in Mexico. I don’t care where my car is built as long as those building it are properly compensated and can build a good life for themselves.
Does anyone care if Jeep starts building cars in China?
They would if quality improves.
COTD
Can’t have that, now can we?
Most of my cars were built in Japan. With a few from the us. Most of my trucks built in Mexico. Several from the us. I have a few Korean built and one German. Almost all my motorcycles from China. I don’t care anymore. I used to avoid certain countries if I could help it. I didn’t care for Korean built cars now I think they are just as good if not better then north American. Same with Chinese.
I didn’t realize Mazda built some of their cars in Mexico until I bought a Mexican built 3.
I think the Manual 3’s are built in Japan though or maybe higher trims or something like that? I remember when looking into them people said check the vins they listed to see build locations
Well it’s not manuals as I have one, but it could be based on trim. I’m not sure where the split is.
I didn’t know that either until I bought my Japan-built 3. I was looking up some random part, and saw that there were two different part numbers based on where it was built.
That would be very annoying wonder if the parts are interchangeable though?
I feel like it’s ground hogs day with this question as I swear we had this like a month ago. As I stated then and will state now at this point I don’t really care where my car is built. I don’t support the Chinese and the umm lax labor laws they have but majority of the auto companies use some sort of Chinese product for their goods even if assembled in the US it doesn’t matter much. I wish things were like the old days but nah yay corporate greed.
Tbq: Daily: Japan. Fun Car: West Germany. It says so on the serial number tag.
And, yes, I’d like it if my car was built by well-paid and decently treated workers.
Cars are increasingly being built by robots. Whom are unpaid and their maintenance schedules unknown.
IIRC, there was an article recently that showed a Chinese car manufacturer where the factory floor was fully automated. The only humans were for operations and maintenance, which is skilled labour.
Ah, here it is.
They’re referred to as “dark factories”, cause they don’t even need to be illuminated since there’s no humans on the production floor.
That article only refers to automated assembly of the body shell, which I am pretty sure all major manufacturers have already fully automated. It does refer to automating some of the inspection processes, but that a lot of it is still done by humans.
Their goal is to have full Dark Factories online by 2030.
Which makes sense, robots are cheaper than people to operate.
my Jeep was built in Toledo (I just checked the window sticker) and I do not care where cars are built. I hope wherever that is, it is a union shop, even if very unlikely.
You realize how strongly connected those two things are, right?
yes I do and did when I typed it. I also know the world is not perfect but we should strive.
Two of my cars were built in Michigan, one was assembled in California from a CKD made in Michigan, and one was built in Ontario
I don’t especially care, maybe a little, but that’s just how it worked out
My Camaro was built in Michigan and my F-150 in Virginia.
I prefer my cars to be built in the country where the brand is from, but I understand why people don’t care
I have a car from England, a small motor home chassis from Japan with an American camper on it, and a CJ5 and an S10, both presumably from the US.