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Post by eca on May 22, 2024 21:36:02 GMT
It’s quite annoying reviewing car brands.
We have the Chinese buying the MG brand then on their adverts they use words implying they have been building cars since 1926 - when that is not correct as the factory and models now produced are totally different and made in China - they simply are not MG cars.
We have the Mini brand owned by the Germans - BMW group and on the wing mirror have a British flag painted on the non mirror side.
Smart cars are joint venture with Mercedes but that car brand is now not part of Mercedes and made in China.
Volvo were bought out by Greeley and now use the slogan “ designed in Sweden “ but use a small Swedish flag on the edge of the seat in the EX 40 - again emphasising Sweden but made in China . One car I have is the R class petrol EX40 which was made in Belgium - if it had been made with Chinese steel in China I would not of bought it. When you phone any Volvo dealer in Australia the phone message has a Swedish accent but speaking English. - it’s all a fraud
We had Ford and Holden both American and stopping their manufacturing in Australia. Holden took a massive government funding inducement to keep the plant in Australia then a couple of years later after stating they were remaining as a manufacturer in Australia changed decision statement and left - without paying back the tax payers inducement to stay.
I know it’s a multi National car industry with Mercedes being made in the far east as an example but it got out of hand the way cars are advertised.
They take the public as fools.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2024 22:16:30 GMT
COYOS
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Post by dohnut on May 23, 2024 6:07:44 GMT
The phrase “ designed in” is not limited to cars. But it’s quite important. Manufacturing is all around cost of production and China with its huge labour market, low cost base and minimal workers rights means cheaper production, minimal disruption and no lack of labour. Quite the reverse of many Western companies. But the key to the quality of the car in my opinion , or any product, is in the design process and the West still has the edge.
But it’s frustrating when the design angle is used to imply a product is Western, when it’s not.
Britain still has a car industry, not too sure if this is limited to the assembly of cars whose components were built elsewhere. As for brands, they are generally owned by shareholders so it’s difficult to know who truly owns a company.
Went to China a few years back. Stories of how quick they build compared to the West. But when you see first hand the mini-cities of container-like buildings and discover workers live away from families, do long 6 day weeks and have no social life it’s no surprise. One factory I saw had 1 suicide a month because of conditions, but hey, plenty more where they came from. it’s the country that matters, not the individual . Maybe that’s changed these day. Bottom line, we pay less for many products. And the West still has a huge manufacturing base so China hasn’t totally taken over. Tariffs help.
I bought my Merc last year. Have no idea where it was built. Hopefully Germany but who knows. Probably components like circuit boards, chips and screens from a variety of different countries. The way it is.
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Post by osoldest on May 23, 2024 9:12:41 GMT
I just bought a Kia shortage , Korean but was assembled and delivered from Germany.
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Post by redshank on May 23, 2024 9:26:46 GMT
It is a fake world,just purchased a new Samsung phone with accessories all made in China.
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Post by Fisch on May 23, 2024 10:16:53 GMT
Erindoors just bought a Suzuki S-Cross. It was "assembled" in Hungary (so Suzuki get round the EU tariffs) but goodness knows where the bits came from.
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Post by orientsc on May 23, 2024 12:54:05 GMT
BMW SUVs are made a few minutes from where I live. That company has been a godsend for my region. There are parts companies here now as well, and together with BMW itself, they employ thousands of people. BMW pays its employees very well, and from reports are they decent to them. They have led to development of our local education system to help provide workers, and they helped found ICAR, a center for the development of the international automotive industry with a local university.
We were a textile region that was crushed by globalism, but then BMW put a plant here and things got much better. They are aggressively expanding here and I’m told by friends who work there that it’s largely because the plant is more productive than other BMW plants. I’m just bringing this up because there can be positives to modern business practices even with all of the problems. I am not a BMW driver, but I respect this company for what they have done for us.
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Post by dohnut on May 23, 2024 13:10:22 GMT
BMW SUVs are made a few minutes from where I live. That company has been a godsend for my region. There are parts companies here now as well, and together with BMW itself, they employ thousands of people. BMW pays its employees very well, and from reports are they decent to them. They have led to development of our local education system to help provide workers, and they helped found ICAR, a center for the development of the international automotive industry with a local university. We were a textile region that was crushed by globalism, but then BMW put a plant here and things got much better. They are aggressively expanding here and I’m told by friends who work there that it’s largely because the plant is more productive than other BMW plants. I’m just bringing this up because there can be positives to modern business practices even with all of the problems. I am not a BMW driver, but I respect this company for what they have done for us. That is really good to hear. Local industry, even from foreign owned companies is massive for the community. The spin off benefits are huge, not just those directly linked with production but the softer areas such as transport, food, clothing and so on. |
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Post by redshank on May 23, 2024 13:46:38 GMT
So true dohnut,we had flooring contracts with many such company's,most wanting the work done at week-ends which more than doubled the weeks wage.So many gone now sadly,Plessey in Ilford employed thousands,some of the best work was in pharma factories and surgical instrument makers.Both of which demanded top quality work which my company was noted for.
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