Automobile production is the largest manufacturing industry in the US, employing more than 1.3 million Americans in all 50 states, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM).

More than half of these workers are directly involved in production activities, and each day, they have the satisfaction of knowing that their work ultimately helps support another 12 million jobs around the country.

“When you look under the hood of today’s automobile, you’ll see goods from America’s greatest industries,” says Josephine Cooper, president and CEO of the AAM. “These include textiles from the Southeast, computer chips from California, aluminum manufactured in Iowa and air bags produced in Arizona. No other single industry is more linked to US manufacturing or generates more retail business and employment.”

The Financial Benefits

And perhaps no other single manufacturing occupation offers as many rewards, especially where pay is concerned. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) reports that production workers in the automotive manufacturing sector earned an average salary of $865 a week in 2000, which translates to an annual salary (assuming a 40-hour workweek) of about $45,000. And, the BLS adds, “at $1,093 per week, earnings of production workers in establishments that manufacture complete motor vehicles and car bodies were among the highest in the nation.”

The Most Popular Jobs

The most popular occupations in automobile production, in terms of numbers, include:

• Assemblers, fabricators, and metal and plastic workers (about 270,000), all of whom put together parts to create various subassemblies, which in turn are assembled into complete vehicles.
• Welding, soldering and brazing workers (about 45,000), who handle the welding and maintenance/repair duties that robots cannot.
• Inspectors and testers (about 29,000), who not only ensure that completed vehicles meet quality standards but also inspect raw materials and check various parts for defects.
• Supervisors and managers (also about 29,000), who oversee the work of others and coordinate manufacturing processes and production activities.

Where the Jobs Are

The vast majority of automobile production jobs are concentrated in Michigan, home to about 289,000 industry workers — a full 22 percent of the total automobile production workforce. Combined, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana account for half of the jobs in the field, according to the BLS, though there are also significant numbers of auto production workers in California, New York, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.

What It Takes to Break In

You’ll almost certainly need at least a high school diploma to launch a career in this field. But as importantly, you’ll need strong communication, teamwork and computer skills if you want to succeed in a work environment that is becoming increasingly collaborative and technological, thanks to the daily pressures stemming from stiff competition in the industry.

Expect to receive the bulk of your training on the job, often through a formal apprenticeship program that can last anywhere from a few months to a few years. Such programs combine hands-on activities (under the supervision of experienced workers) with classroom training, either on site or at a nearby technical or community college.

Outlook

In September 2003, United Auto Workers — the primary labor union for automotive production professionals — reached four-year agreements with the Big Three automakers (General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group). The union was able to convince the companies not to pass on increasing health insurance costs to workers. But automakers gained more flexibility to close or sell auto production plants in order to better align supply and demand — a development that could eventually mean job losses for some auto production workers.

However, the BLS points out that employment in the motor vehicle and equipment manufacturing industry is expected to rise 9 percent between 2000 and 2010. Some of that increase will result from sheer growth. But, according to the BLS, “in addition to job openings due to growth, the need to replace workers who transfer to jobs in other industries or retire will also generate job openings.”

Opel, Mercedes and Volkswagen are planning to cut close to 29,000 jobs in Germany. But what at first looks like a crisis, is really just the result of bad management. While the layoffs hurt, the future may not be so bleak after all.

Germany’s political establishment this autumn has all the trappings of a suddenly capsized ship. A virtual electoral dead heat between Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and challenger Angela Merkel has resulted in both claiming the right to become the next leader of Germany. No dry land has yet been sighted.

But while the political foundering may have come out of the blue, the truth is that the whole of Germany has long been sinking under the weight of its slow economic growth and, even more worrying, mass unemployment. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that the captains of the ostensible rescue boats — the managers of the German auto manufacturers, which provide fully a seventh of all German jobs — have not only been slow to relieve the needy, but have managed to nearly sink their own vessels.

This didn’t always seem the case. Only two years ago, Chancellor Schröder confidently announced that the auto industry would be Germany’s economic saviour. Signs did, in fact, look good at the time; BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler-Chrysler and Porsche had recently committed to the creation of 10,000 new jobs — a seeming endorsement of Germany as a manufacturing location.

Since then, though, the picture has looked decidedly grimmer. This year the manufacturers had little in the way of good news to contribute to Schröder’s re-election campaign: Indeed, as last week’s International Motor Show came to a close, the most prominent announcements were not of job creations but of job losses. VW — even if it is planning to manufacture its new mini-SUV, the Marrakesh, in Germany — announced the impending layoff of 10,000 workers; Opel has likewise decided to cut 10,000 jobs; and Mercedes, after widespread speculation that 5,000 jobs were endangered, may — according to Wednesday’s Bild Zeitung — actually be preparing to get rid of 8,600 employees.

Many conclude that the hemorrhaging of jobs proves that, with globalization in full swing, Germany — with its high salaries and powerful unions — simply can’t compete as a site of manufacturing. The problem with that theory is that there are two prominent exceptions to the rule: namely, BMW and Porsche. Both companies have successfully negotiated Germany’s high-wage, generous-benefit-package landscape. And despite the rising price of oil, the sinking value of the US dollar and increasing global competition, both are planning on creating new jobs in Germany.

In actuality, while globalization certainly plays a role, the crisis faced by German auto manufacturers’ — including sinking profits and slow sales — is more a consequence of poor management.

Indeed, BMW and Porsche have always focused on the basics: making sure that their factories were efficient, that the quality of their products remained high and that their new models were well received. Meanwhile, Volkswagen in recent years has been following a different, altogether less disciplined strategy, the results of which were unveiled last week, when top managers announced the 10,000 German job cuts.

In many ways, the layoffs came as atonement for VW’s recent spending spree, during which it doled out billions of euros on a high-tech automobile theme park in Wolfsburg, a fancy new factory in Dresden and the buyouts of several struggling auto manufacturers (including Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti). Meanwhile, the company has spent far too much time and energy re-inventing the Passat and the new Golf. Engineers have shown an urge to carry such redesigns to extremes, rethinking every small detail and coming up with “improvements” — such as the new rear axle for the Golf — that only professional test drivers are able to notice.

This engineering-heavy strategy is in direct contradiction to the principles of industry-leading Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer wagered that the consumer would often not bother to ask the details of minute technological improvements under the hood, but was always likely to get excited about a new design. Toyota was content to recycle proven technology from previous models, but would never release a new line without carefully considering its styling. The result has been less expensive final products, content consumers and fewer quality slip-ups resulting from complex new technologies. VW on the other hand, opted for improvements that were noticeable for the average consumer in the sticker price — but nowhere else. Unsurprisingly, sinking profits were the result.

The company does, though, seem to be learning its lesson: CEO Wolfgang Bernhard recently announced that, in order to begin solving the problems, production costs for the new Marrakesh would have to be cut immediately by €2,000 per car. As of last week, that left €850 worth of fat to trim.

Which fat to trim, though? The prime target was labor costs — German VW workers are the highest paid in the industry. Bernhard talked about moving the new Marrakesh plant to Portugal, until an agreement was reached this week to use lower-cost workers who don’t fall within the in-house wage agreement.

Those successful negotiations, though, won’t save VW from other painful decisions in the near future. The company simply isn’t selling enough cars to justify the continued employment level of over 100,000 Germans. The top brass at the company has announced that productivity will have to increase by 6 percent over the next decade. When the euphemism is unpacked, the prognosis doesn’t look great for VW auto workers: year for year, VW will either have to sell 6 percent more cars, or let go 6 percent of its workforce.

Over at Mercedes, CEO Dieter Zetsche is facing similar problems, though for different reasons. Mercedes was once one of the auto world’s greatest success stories, cornering a sizable niche of the luxury market. The company lost its way, though, after purchasing the struggling American auto manufacturer, Chrysler. Focused on bringing its new possession up to speed, Mercedes diverted too much attention from its own line.

Zetsche has made clear that he recognizes the problems faced by Mercedes. “A lot of hard work is ahead of us,” he has emphasized. And he is likely to prescribe short term remedies similar to those put in effect by Bernhard at VW. In addition to the 8,600 jobs Mercedes is now eliminating, Zetsche also wants to focus on returning the line to the quality and attention to detail of years previous. Customers in the luxury market have high expectations and Mercedes needs to again begin the process of earning their trust.

The German public, though, continues to hold its breath. Although there are signs of slow improvement, the country’s economy continues to stagnate. And one of the reasons that it has not entirely run aground has been the traditional strength of its auto industry. Experts say, though, that there’s no reason to panic. The industry is still fundamentally strong, especially if the stalwarts, BMW and Porsche, smooth out their occasional hiccups, Porsche’s recent announcement — considered reckless by some — that it would purchase 20 percent of VW, is a troubling case in point.

And the possibility that VW’s and Mercedes’ problems are the result of poor executive decisions is oddly encouraging. With more competent leaders at the helm, the industry seems likely to return, if not to dominance, at least to respectability.

04 September 2006 - The humble Toyota Corolla is celebrating its 40th birthday. Now control yourself because this is clearly exciting stuff.
It may have a reputation of being one the dullest cars around, but through many overhauls and redesigns, more cars called Corolla have rolled off the production than any other – an incredible 31.6 million.
The first Corolla hit the Japanese market in the autumn of 1966, the same year as Start Trek first aired, the Barclaycard was introduced and England won some sort of global trophy for a sport called football. Since then, it has had more facelifts than a sexagenarian former beauty queen and been manufactured in 16 countries including Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, China and dear old Blighty.
In 2005 alone, Toyota shifted 1.36 million Corollas, which probably goes to show that it’s a car suitable to the needs of a variety of motorists. Sure, some critics might suggest that means blandness – and in the past, that’s been a fair comment – but today’s Corolla is much better than that, even though it’s now become a relatively pricey number – especially in its much more practical MPV Verso form.

[Source:pocket-lint.co.uk]

If you think by investing your money in one of those transponder-equipped cars you making your car theft proof then you are highly mistaken. Emad Wassef’s transponder installed 2003 Lincoln Navigator was stolen in Orange County, California. When he claimed for the provided $25,000 insurance cover, the company, Unitrin Direct declined. Brad Stone from San Francisco and John Hutton, an architect from Fairfax, Virginia faced similar incidents—naming just a few.

The insurance companies lose $14 billion to auto fraud every year in the US, and 20 percent of all stolen-car reports are false. However, too much reliance is placed on these transponders. Rob Painter, a Milwaukee-based forensic locksmith who has testified in dozens of auto insurance court cases, for both sides blatantly says: They are just theft deterrents. Tell me a car can’t be stolen and I’ll show you how to do it.

Let us examine how. Remember, the hype around GM’s 1986 Corvette that had the first electronic antitheft system, the Pass Key I. That promising piece of work quickly lost its value when GM gave permission to dealers and locksmiths to stock blank keys so that by the early ’90s police were arresting car thieves who had rings of all 15 GM keys.

In Germany, BMW invented a new antitheft system based on radio frequency identification chips in 1995. US and Japanese manufacturers quickly embraced the technology in their high-end models. The technology was an instant success. However, to the surprise of many, even such systems were easily cracked by thieves by opening the hood and sparking certain fuse from the power relay center in the upper left corner.

Besides, when these transponder-equipped cars change hands keys get misplaced so auto-repair supply and locksmithing companies started selling The Jet Smart Clone devices, the Code-Seeker, and the T-Code, which allow anyone to create a new set of keys for a fixed-code transponder-equipped car. Last few years, Bay Area cops have been tailing Hondas and Acuras thieves. These thieves, by using “jiggle” keys – keys with the teeth shaved down easily turn the tumblers inside any car’s door lock. Earl Hyser, the superintendent of State Farm Insurance’s Vehicle Research Facility, also shared that these transponder-equipped cars came with a secret “cheat” code designed to allow people who lose their keys to drive back to the shop. Hope all such insurance guys read this.

[Source:wired.com]

Honda announced a $1.18 billion expansion plan to meet the growing demand for its cars. The plan, announced by Honda president and CEO Takeo Fukui in his 2006 mid-year speech, identified three focus areas:

1. Strengthening production and R&D capabilities in Japan,
2. Increasing production capacity oversees, including the USA, Canada, and Asia, and
3. Strengthening the commitment to reduce environmental footprint, with the main focus on CO₂ emissions reduction.

In Japan, Honda plans to build a new auto plant capable of synchronous auto production—from the engine to the entire automobile—in Yorii, Saitama. Honda will also build a new R&D center in Sakura, Tochigi, and expand existing production plants.

The plan for overseas growth calls for a new auto plant in the USA, to become operational in 2008. A new engine plant will be build in Canada, neighboring the existing auto plant in Alliston, ON. Furthermore, expansion is planned for motorcycle production in India, Philippines, and Pakistan, as well as for automobile production in India, China, and Brazil.Based on the expansion plans, Honda envisions 2010 global unit sales of more than 4.5 million units for automobiles, 18 million units for motorcycles, and 7 million units for power products.

Honda voluntarily set global CO₂ reduction goals for its products and production activities. In 2000, the global average of CO₂ exhaust emissions from Honda automobiles was 179.5 g/km. Despite increased sales of larger-size vehicles such as SUV and minivans, average CO₂ emissions were reduced by 5% from 2000 to 2005, said Honda. A further 5% CO₂ emission reduction is targeted from 2006 to 2010.The product strategy to achieve the CO₂ emission targets includes a new dedicated hybrid vehicle, and new clean diesel cars. The new, more affordable hybrid will be launched in 2009 and offered at a price level lower than the Civic Hybrid. The projected annual worldwide sales are 200,000 units, including 100,000 units in North America.

Honda will expand the application of diesel technology to medium-to-large size vehicles. Based on the diesel engine currently sold in Europe, Honda is developing a cleaner next-generation 4-cylinder diesel engine, which will meet the US EPA’s Tier 2 Bin 5 emission standards. Honda plans to introduce this super-clean diesel engine to the market within the next three years. Honda will also work toward development of a clean V6 diesel engine.

[Source: world.honda.com]

ISLAMABAD (September 10 2006): The government has said that a long-term auto industry development program would be finalised soon following productive discussions with the stakeholders.Talking to Business Recorder, Engineering Development Board (EDB) Chief Executive Officer Imtiaz Rastgar said the plan has been prepared keeping in view the long-term needs of the industry which give eight-year clear road map for investment.
The demand for long-term auto policy has been fulfilled in the form of new plan, which not only gives a clear timeframe but also tariff structure for about eight years to the industry for expanding their units.
To a question about a policy for new entrants, he said the rules are being prepared and government wants to open the doors for new investors in the auto sector. The new entrants in the automobile sector would create competition, he added.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the comments on new plan are yet to be received from the industry which was earlier sent to the manufacturers for their inputs about one and half months back.
The plan was sent to the industry in July after Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had given a go-ahead signal and constituted a committee for negotiation with the industry. The prime minister was also given a detailed briefing on the auto program prepared by the EDB.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Akram Sheikh is heading the committee, while Industries and Production Secretary Kamran Rasool and Central Board of Revenue (CBR) Chairman Abdullah Yousaf are the members.
Under the plan, manufacturers will be given a target of producing 0.5 million cars and one million motorcycles by the end of 2010-11 for which the government would provide all-out support to the industry.
The total car production till May 2006 is 143,921 against the total sale of 140,071, whereas the production of motorcycles, according to EDB officials, stood at 600,000. However, the industry has been demanding for reduction in depreciation allowance from 2 to 1 percent and at least three-month registration mandatory at the person’s name prior to importing a car under transfer of residence scheme.

[Source:brecorder]

The Indian automotive sector is looking at big opportunities in Pakistan should the direct shipment linkages between the two nations be established.
Industry bodies in India said that if direct shipment linkages between the neighbours are opened up, the automobile industry in Pakistan will move into a ‘virtious cycle’ from the current high-cost, low-demand vicious cycle.
The automobile industry in Pakistan is today heavily dependent on high cost inputs from Japan. Leading automobile players like Suzuki, Honda, Toyota and Nissan have already established presence in Pakistan, but suffers from low level of localisation.
A recent survey done by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has come up with an estimated business of Rs 100 crore by 2010 for the on the auto component sector.

All the Assocham’s constituents that sent in their responses on a random survey conducted on ‘’Prospects of Indian Auto Component Exports to Pakistan’ Post-JBC Take-off’ were of unanimous view that direct shipment linkages will be established between Gujarat and Karachi which will have twin benefit for Indian auto component manufacturers as their direct exports will become cheaper by one third and will also open up gate to facilitate their component exports to Afghanistan via Pakistan.
The Automotive Components Manufacturers Association however pointed out that apart from the benefit that will accrue to the local component industry in India, the direct trade linkages will help in reducing the cost of automobile in Pakistan.
An ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association) offical said, ‘Today the automobile industry in Pakistan is heavily depended on high cost imports from Japan.
Opening links with India will go a long way in cutting cost and also getting technology into that country.’

Toyota’s quarterly results are out on Friday and, if reports in Japan’s Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) newspaper prove correct, they look like being huge. Without quoting sources, the Nikkei reported over the weekend that Toyota’s operating profit will reach a mind-boggling $4.3 billion–up 23% from last year–for the three months through June. Sales for the same period should rise 10% to $48 billion. What’s more, despite a few problems of late including increasing recalls and a sexual harassment lawsuit against a former top executive, the Nikkei reckons operating profit for the year through March 2007 could top 2 trillion yen ($17.4 billion).

If you thought American drivers weren’t big on diesel, just look at Japan where the fuel has long been perceived as being dirty and offering sluggish performance. Until yesterday, when Mercedes-Benz began selling its E 320 CDI Avantgarde diesel in Japan, the only other diesel passenger vehicle on the market was Toyota’s Landcrusier Prado SUV which sold 1,800 units last year or just 0.4% of total industry sales. In Europe, 49.5% of passenger car sales are diesel. Still, Mercedes’ new offering is a timely boost for diesels in Japan. For one thing, with a top speed of 155mph and 0-60 in 6.6 seconds, the turbo-charged engine dispels the myth of sluggish performance. For another, the quality of diesel on offer in Japan has improved remarkably in the last five years and is now the cleanest in the world in terms of sulfur quantity, which has been reduced 50-fold to 10ppm since the beginning of the decade, according to the Japanese Petroleum Association. Whether that’ll be enough to get more people demanding diesels–and domestic automakers offering more diesel models–remains to be seen. But at $72,000 for (or $75,000 for the stationwagon) the Mercedes offering, welcome as it is, isn’t one for the masses.

[Source:businessweek.com]

 TOKYO (AFP) - Japan’s top motor company Toyota plans to boost its overseas production by 40 percent from 2005 levels to five million units in 2008, a press report said. The plan will be led by greater output in North America and in the fast growing market of China, the leading Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.Toyota Motor Corp is also targeting 2008 domestic production at about 4.15 million units, up 9.5 percent from the 2005 level of 3.79 million units, the report added.Toyota’s overseas output, which totaled 3.57 million units in 2005, is expected to exceed its domestic output within three years, the daily said.

No official was available at the firm’s head office here to confirm the report. Overseas production by Japanese motor companies as a whole already topped their domestic output for the first time in the business year to March 2006, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association announced earlier. Toyota targets its 2008 output in North America at about 1.84 million units, up 20 percent from 2005. It plans to open a new plant in Texas in the coming months and another in Canada in 2008, the report said.

The firm’s 2008 production in China is targeted at about more than 600,000 units, compared with 134,500 in 2005. Toyota will assemble the subcompact car Yaris at a factory in Guangzhou and also produce small cars in Tianjin. In the rest of Asia, excluding Japan and China, Toyota’s 2008 production is projected to exceed one million for the first time, the report said. The firm will start up its third factory in Thailand to produce a line of its IMV (Innovative International Multipurpose Vehicle), a mainstay model for its global strategy, the daily said.

[Source:aawsat.com]