U.S.' popular autos often Mexican-made

Cheaper production keeps prices low

A worker rides past an unfinished building at the Ford production plant construction site near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Jan. 4, the day after Ford announced it was canceling plans to finish construction of the plant.
A worker rides past an unfinished building at the Ford production plant construction site near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Jan. 4, the day after Ford announced it was canceling plans to finish construction of the plant.

DETROIT -- Some of the U.S.' most popular cars and trucks are made in Mexico -- for now.



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Many Americans have benefited from Mexico's emergence as a production hub. Low-cost production helps keep sticker prices lower on vehicles such as the Ford Fusion and Nissan Sentra.

But Mexico's growing share of the auto market has captured the attention of President Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose border taxes on vehicles from Mexico to force companies to make them in the U.S.

Partly because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico's share of North America's vehicle production has risen to 20 percent from 3 percent three decades ago. It's expected to hit 26 percent by 2020, according to LMC Automotive, a forecasting firm.

The majority of automobiles sold in the U.S. are still made here. Of the 17.5 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year, 9.8 million were made in the U.S. and just under 2 million were made in Mexico, according to WardsAuto. Canada and Japan followed closely behind Mexico.

Ford Motor Co. has built the midsize Fusion sedan at its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, since the model's introduction in 2005. In 2013, Ford added Fusion production to a plant in Flat Rock, Mich. But car sales have been slipping as consumers gravitate toward SUVs, so Ford stopped making the Fusion in Michigan last year. Prices for the Fusion start at $22,120. The company sold 257,865 Mexican-built Fusions in the United States in 2016.

The Ram pickup, Fiat Chrysler's best-selling vehicle, recorded sales of about 246,000 Mexican-built vehicles in the U.S. last year. Fiat Chrysler makes some Rams at its 79-year-old truck plant in Warren, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. But it has also made them in Saltillo, Mexico, since 1995, the year after NAFTA went into effect. The Ram 1500 pickup starts at $26,395.

The Silverado pickup is General Motors Co.'s best-selling vehicle. Most Silverados are made at plants in Flint, Mich., and Fort Wayne, Ind. But four-door crew-cab versions are made at GM's assembly plant in Silao, Mexico, which opened in 1995. A Silverado crew cab starts at $36,840. GM sold about 222,000 Mexican-built Silverados in the U.S. in 2016.

The Nissan Sentra small car was made in Smyrna, Tenn., from 1985 to 2000, when it was moved to Aguascalientes, Mexico, so the Smyrna plant could make SUVs. Since then, Nissan Motor Co. has built a second plant in Aguascalientes to make Sentras for global export. Nissan is Mexico's market leader and the biggest automotive manufacturer in the country, with total production of 848,086 vehicles in 2016. The Sentra starts at $16,990. Nissan sold 214,709 of them in the U.S. last year.

The subcompact Nissan Versa was released in the U.S. in 2006. Nissan sold 132,214 of them last year in the United States. The car is made at one of Nissan's plants in Aguascalientes. The Versa starts at $11,990.

Volkswagen AG sold 121,107 Jettas last year in the U.S., where it continues to be Volkswagen's biggest-seller. It was made here briefly in the late 1980s before Volkswagen closed its plant in Pennsylvania. When Volkswagen built a new plant in Tennessee in 2011, it was intended for larger vehicles like the Passat sedan. Volkswagen has been making the Jetta in Puebla, Mexico, since 1993. In 2016, Volkswagen had the highest percentage of Mexican-made U.S. sales among major automakers, at 32 percent. The Jetta starts at $17,895.

Since its introduction in 2009, the Dodge Journey midsize SUV has been made at a Fiat Chrysler plant in Toluca, Mexico. The Toluca plant, which opened in 1968, has made numerous other vehicles over the years, including the Chrysler PT Cruiser. Dodge sold 106,759 Journeys in the U.S. last year. The Journey starts at $21,145.

Like its corporate twin, the Chevrolet Silverado, the GMC Sierra is built in Flint, Mich. and Fort Wayne, Ind. Last year, GMC sold about 99,000 of the Mexican-built versions in the U.S. They are built in Silao. The Sierra crew cab starts at $38,015.

When Toyota Motor Corp. introduced the midsize Tacoma pickup in 1995, it was made at a joint General Motors and Toyota plant in Fremont, Calif. In 2003, Toyota built a new plant in Baja California, Mexico, to expand Tacoma production. Toyota still makes some Tacomas in the U.S., but it moved production to San Antonio in 2010 after selling the California plant to Tesla. The Tacoma starts at $24,320. Toyota sold about 86,000 Mexican-built Tacomas in the U.S. last year.

Ford reintroduced the subcompact Fiesta to the U.S. market in 2010. It's built at a Ford plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, that opened in 1964 to build pickups for the Mexican market. The Fiesta starts at $13,660. U.S. sales last year were 48,807.

Business on 02/09/2017

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