| Clarion Co., Ltd. (President: Tatsuhiko Izumi), with car navigation production operations currently in Japan, China and Hungary, will soon begin production at its Mexican subsidiary in order to better serve the Central & South American navigation market.
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By Jeff Spira
Entrepreneurs and managers of manufacturing companies are facing ever increasing labor and insurance costs, increasing government regulations, and increasing energy prices, moving at least some of the labor offshore is looking better and better. While there are other low-cost options, Mexico should be first in the short list of possible places to move business activities to reduce costs while maintaining control of the operation for a number of important reasons. First, by moving to Mexico you immediately cut your labor costs in half. While you may be able to cut it even more by moving elsewhere, like China, carefully consider the disadvantages of moving it to places where their control is so severely curbed.
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| DETROIT -- For the first time since 1995, Nissan Motor Co. topped General Motors Co. in sales in Mexico last year.
Nissan's light-vehicle sales fell 26 percent in 2009 to 156,186. But GM's tumbled 35 percent to 138,482. Mexico's total sales of new light-vehicles fell 26 percent to 754,930 in 2009.
Nissan had been a perennial No. 2 to GM since 1995. GM's lead narrowed to just 356 vehicles in 2008, but it still clung to the lead until last year.
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| By Robert Sherefkin
Mexico is emerging as a major North American supplier of key automotive systems, not just individual parts.
Mexico, long considered a supply base for basic parts, is moving toward producing full systems, including brake systems, engine components, suspension systems and transmissions, according to a study by England's SupplierBusiness Ltd.
That shift is expected to gain momentum. "Such a move would entail development of local automotive component suppliers and matching up with international suppliers," the report said.
Mexican auto parts production reached about $30 billion in 2008, the most recent year for which data are available.
ZF Group spokesman Bryan Johnson says Mexico's supply sector is undergoing a natural progression of sophistication from simple component makers to those building larger systems. ZF, of suburban Detroit, generates about $300 million a year from its Mexican suspension and torque converter operations, he says.
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