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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2007
50
From the
americas
“We took the long view that by working together we could
make them competitive,” Timothy Myers, a purchasing
executive for Honda of America, told
Forbes
. And Honda’s
commitment to Northwest was absolute, even to a pledge
to swallow the added cost if its parts suppliers would meet
the much higher price (up to $800,000 apiece) of certain
Northwest dies. If Northwest should falter on delivery,
Honda stood ready to help its suppliers transfer the work
to other tool makers.
Calling Honda ‘crazy like a fox,’ Ms Muller noted that it has
always been a ‘quirky’ company driven as much by principle
as by economics – and also that half of its global sales are
in North America.
Honda believes in building cars in the markets where
they are sold, and in using locally produced tools. In the
company’s view, communication among engineers is better
and cheaper when the tool supplier is situated nearby, with
all that that means for manufacturing efficiency and quality
control. Hence Honda’s decision to rescue the ailing tool
and die maker in Walker, Michigan.
“If everything is sourced overseas and shows up in a
crate, we haven’t really learned anything,” said Mr Myers,
whose memory stretches to the 2002 port strike on the
West Coast which delayed the shipment of important
tools needed at a factory in Ohio for the launch of the
Honda Element.
For its part, Northwest had ‘a good mind-set,’ according
to Mr Myers: “They knew they had to change the way they
produce tools to stay in business.”
In other news of Honda Motor Co, the results of this
year’s J D Power and Associates customer satisfaction
survey of US drivers, released on 28
th
June, show the
Japanese company with four models ranked at the top
of their vehicle segments – more than any other auto
maker. The 12
th
annual survey measured ‘owner delight’
with design, content, layout, and performance of the
vehicle, over the first 90 days of ownership.
A global marketing information services firm with an
automotive speciality, J D Power (Westlake Village,
California) said its rankings in 19 segments are based on
responses gathered by mail between February and May
from more than 91,000 people who bought or leased
new 2007 model-year vehicles.
Chrysler joins forces with the Chinese
auto maker Chery
The prospect of Chinese-made cars in the American
market has been the subject of speculation for some years.
Now, Chrysler Group has concluded a deal with China’s
biggest auto maker, Chery Automobile, for a production
venture that could in fact see the first Chinese-made cars
exported to the United States.
Chrysler’s chief executive, Thomas W LaSorda, said at a
4
th
July signing ceremony in Beijing that the first cars
built by the alliance will reach Latin America or Eastern
Europe within a year, and models might be exported to
North America and Western Europe in two-and-a-half years.
❖
Chery is a 10-year-old company based in the city of
Wuhu, in eastern China. Its chief executive and chairman,
Yin Tongyao, said the alliance with Chrysler would help
Chery improve its skills as it expands foreign sales of its own
models. Gallantly referring to his American counterpart as
his teacher in the automotive business, Mr Yin said, “Chery
is still young, so we should learn from Chrysler and improve
our own competitive edge in the near future.”
Mr LaSorda said that the first Chrysler-Chery export will be
based on Chery’s A1 compact and will be sold under the
Dodge brand. A 1.3-litre version of the A1 sells in China for
$7,100 to $7,900. Export prices were not mentioned.
Previously announced plans by others to bring Chinese-
made cars into the American market have all foundered.
At one time, Chery itself was in a short-lived project with
the American entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin to sell cars in
the US.
Asked if Chrysler were worried that its alliance with
Chery might be promoting the development of a possibly
threatening rival, Mr LaSorda said: “No, we’re not. With us
or without us, they’re going to grow. So the question [for
Chrysler] is, are you going to go with a winner?”
Telecom
Patent ruling against Qualcomm
threatens to disrupt supply of handsets
to network customers
A ruling issued on 7
th
June by the United States International
Trade Commission (ITC) in a patent dispute could prevent
importation into the US of new mobile phones containing
certain semiconductors made by Qualcomm. The San
Diego-based company said the ruling, if it stands, could bar
tens of millions of handsets intended for the Verizon, Sprint,
and AT&T wireless networks.
The agency ruled that Qualcomm (San Diego) had infringed
on a key patent held by another California semiconductor
maker, Broadcom (Irvine), for the design of chips for
advanced third-generation (3G) ‘smart’ cellphones.
Broadcom had asserted that Qualcomm used power
management technology proprietary to Broadcom, without
paying licensing royalties.
Qualcomm said that, in addition to asking the federal
appeals court to stay the ruling, it planned to go straight
to President George W Bush whose trade representative,
Susan C Schwab, had 60 days within which to veto the
ruling. The company said it sought ‘to avoid irreparable
harm to US consumers’ and injury to the nation’s economy.
In the meantime, with its ability to provide the next
generation of handsets at stake, Qualcomm was reported
to be in discussions with Broadcom for a reduction in that
company’s royalty rates, which it considers prohibitive.
The ITC ruling in Broadcom’s favour covers only new-model
handsets. Qualcomm was permitted to continue delivering
models that were on the market as of 7
th
June, whether or
not they incorporate the patented technology.