DETROIT The glitzy annual auto
show here typically is a beauty
contest for new cars, but this year
it has become a forum for a brag-
ging contest among CEOs who
want to declare their companies
are the most made-in-the-USA
auto manufacturer.
Automakers are practically
tripping over themselves to show
off their American factories fol-
lowing tweeted jabs by President-
elect Donald Trump at compa-
nies that assemble vehicles in
Mexico to sell in the U.S.
There’s a lot at stake.
As Trump threatens a 35% tax
on imported vehicles, which
would require extracting the U.S.
from the North American Free
Trade Agreement, industry exec-
utives are fretting that their ma-
jor investments in Mexico
suddenly could be in jeopardy.
In some cases, automakers
proactively trumpeted their U.S.
investments at press conferences
and in interviews at the Detroit
auto show. In all cases, they’re
well prepared to share statistics
about their commitment to
America, in addition to the
claims:
u General Motors. “We have
the highest domestic content” of
any automaker and have made
$11 billion in U.S. investments
over the last two years, CEO Ma-
ry Barra told reporters.
u Ford Motor. “We are the
largest employer of hourly auto-
motive workers in the U.S.,” CEO
Mark Fields said in an interview.
Last week, Fields announced the
company canceled plans to build
a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico.
u Fiat Chrysler .The third of
Detroit’s Big 3 automakers
earned a laudatory tweet from
Trump after announcing expan-
sion of a pair of plants and plans
to hire 2,000 workers.
u Toy ot a. Japan’s largest
automaker has made “more than
25 million vehicles in the U.S.
over the past 30 years, which
honestly never ceases to amaze
me,” CEO Akio Toyoda said at a
press conference. Toyota said it
would invest $10 billion over the
next five years in U.S. operations.
u Volkswagen. The German
automaking giant noted its recent
$1 billion investment in its Chat-
tanooga, Tenn., plant to manufac-
ture the new VW Atlas
sport-utility vehicle.
“We are a very strong, invested,
good corporate citizen in the
United States,” VW North Ameri-
ca CEO Hinrich Woebcken told
reporters.
u Honda. President Takahiro
Hachigo opened the Japanese
automaker’s press conference by
noting that 2017 is the 40th anni-
versary of Honda’s announce-
ment of its first American plant.
The automaker now has 12 fac-
tories in the U.S.
“We made this decision based
on our commitment to make ourproducts close to our customers,”
Hachigo said.
Jeffrey Conrad, senior vice
president and general manager,
downplayed the political dynam-
ics of those investment decisions
but acknowledged that the im-
pact of the Trump administration
on the auto industry is the No. 1
issue discussed at the show.
“The reality is, we have a presi-
dent that hasn’t gone through an
inauguration yet. Everything tru-
ly is speculation,” Conrad said.
“We are going to look, wait and
see, and we will react accord-
ingly.”
Many of the automaker’s pro-
nouncements cover investment
announcements that already
were in the works.
They raise questions about
whether executives are playing a
publicity game in hopes of halting
momentum for import taxes,
which could have a devastating
effect.
“The repercussions would be
tremendous,” said Tom Webb,
chief economist for Cox Automo-
tive, which offers services to deal-
ers and consumers. “You’retalking about a tremendous falloff
in terms of their basic corporate
structure.”
Barring any significant policy
changes, the Center for Automo-
tive Research projects that U.S.
share of North American auto-
motive production will fall to
58% by 2020, down from the pre-
vious low of 63% last year. That’s
in part because Mexican automo-
tive labor costs remain 80% lower
than American labor, although
higher expenses for security and
transportation erode the savings
gap. Most automakers have
moved production of small cars
to Mexico because they can’t
make them profitably in the U.S.
A 35% tariff would eliminate
the savings of manufacturing in
Mexico, Ford Chief Financial Of-
ficer Bob Shanks said.
“It’s not even close,” he said.
What’s unclear is how the auto
industry would handle the extra
costs of a tariff.
The average Kentucky-assem-
bled Toyota Camry would cost an
extra $1,000 to manufacture be-
cause about 25% of its compo-
nents are imported, Toyota North
America CEO Jim Lentz said in
an interview.
“I understand what the presi-
dent-elect is saying — he’s basi-
cally saying that we want to have
a vibrant economy, that we want
to be more competitive in the
world,” Lentz said. “There will be
some winners and there will be
some losers, and the automotive
sector would be a loser.”
Some believe cars would get
more expensive as automakers
compensate. But Barclays analyst
Brian Johnson said in a research
note that there’s “likely little abil-
ity” for manufacturers to pass
costs along to consumers in the
form of higher prices because
shoppers “are fairly price
sensitive.”
Ford and GM are particularly
well positioned to weather a
trade storm in North America be-
cause of their substantial U.S. op-
erations. But Toyota, Nissan and
Hyundai each import about half
of their U.S.-sold vehicles, while
Mercedes-Benz and BMW “im-
port the most into the U.S.” de-
spite exports from their
American factories to foreign
markets, Johnson noted.Contributing: Brent Snavely, Detroit
Free PressJIM WATSON, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Toyota said it would invest
$10 billion over the next five
years in U.S. operations.MADE IN
AMERICA
CONTEST
After jabs from President-elect Trump,
automakers from around the world
tout their manufacturing ties in U.S.Nathan Bomey
@NathanBomey
USA TODAY
SCOTT OLSON, GETTY IMAGES
Ford CEO Mark Fields said
the automaker won’t build a
$1.6 billion plant in Mexico.WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2017 MONEY3B
AUTOS
NISSAN VMOTION CONCEPT
MAY POINT TO ALTIMA
Nissan debuted the Vmotion con-
cept car, showing how the rakish
styling of the Maxima flagship se-
dan and Murano SUV could
translate to its bread-and-butter
Altima family car.
The name Vmotion refers to
the shape of the car’s grille. Other
design cues include a deep and
sharp crease in the front doors,
high deck and narrow head- and
taillights. Lighting around the
Nissan badge on the grille glows
to indicate when the car is in Pro-
Pilot mode, Nissan’s autonomous
system. Rear-hinged back doors
open to create a wide entry with
no center pillar.NISSAN DOUBLES DOWN ON
SUVS WITH ROGUE SPORT
Nissan broadens its already ex-
pansive SUV lineup with the re-
veal of the 2017 Rogue Sport, a
five-seater that slots in between
the funky little Juke and more
mainstream Rogue. The Sport is
about a foot shorter than the
Rogue. It has conventional SUV
looks with flared fenders and a
slimmer grille and headlights
than the more family-oriented
Rogue. Other features include pe-
destrian detection, automatic
front braking, blind spot alert, 60/
40 split folding rear seat, 19-inch
wheels, Bluetooth compatibility,
dual-zone climate control, re-
mote start and lane departure
warning and assist.AUDI PUSHES ULTRA-LUXURY
WITH Q8 CONCEPT SUV
Audi is looking to push even high-
er into ultra-luxury with a Q
concept SUV it introduced as it
aims to win over a larger share of
luxury SUV buyers.
The sleek Q8 concept intro-
duces a new design theme that
shows the direction of all of Au-
di’s future models. The five-pas-
senger Q8 is the first in a likely
flood of SUVs at the high end of
luxury brands’ model lines.
The production version of the
Q8 is expected to go on sale in
2019.ROMAIN BLANQUART, USA TODAY NETWORK
Nissan revealed the Vmotion
2.0 concept car during the
2017 North American Inter-
national Auto Show.ROMAIN BLANQUART, USA TODAY NETWORK
The 2017 Rogue Sport is a
five-seater with styling like a
Juke and a Rogue combined.ERIC SEALS, USA TODAY
Dietmar Voggenreiter of Audi
unveils the Q8 concept SUV.DETROIT Kia expects the dynam-
ic Stinger sporty hatchback’s
looks and performance to raise
the brand’s image to an all-new
level.
The new Stinger starts with
the looks of Kia’s popular GT con-
cept car and adds all- and rear-
wheel-drive, a pair of turbo-
charged engines and a
quick-shifting 8-speed automatic
transmission.
The Stinger’s long nose, short
rear deck, sweeping roofline and
flared fenders demonstrate that
Kia’s “tiger nose” styling theme
can stretch from the brand’s pre-
vious family sedans and crossover
SUVs to a European style sporty
hatchback.
Executive Vice President Mi-
chael Sprague said it’s “burning
with passion and performance ...
a car like nothing that has ever
come before it.”
He later added, “The Kia you
know 10, or even five years ago, is
gone.”
Kia’s design studio in Frank-
furt, Germany, styled the Stinger.Engineers honed the car’s dy-
namics on Germany’s famed Nür-
burgring race course.
Gregory Guillaume, a chief de-
signer, said working on the Sting-
er was a dream come true for
him.
The Stinger will offer a 2-liter
255-horsepower turbocharged 4-
cylinder engine and a 365-horse-
power, 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-
engine.
Features will include forward
collision alert with autonomous
emergency braking, pedestrian
protection, adaptive cruise con-
trol, lane-keeping assist, color
head-up display and 720-watt
Harman/Kardon audio.
It goes on sale late in 2017.Kia hopes new Stinger will leave a mark
Automaker unveils
sporty hatchback in
effort to boost image
Zlati Meyer
Detroit Free Press
ROMAIN BLANQUART, USA TODAY NETWORK
Journalists take a peek at Kia’s 2017 Stinger Sedan during the
North American International Auto Show in Detroit.IN BRIEF
Percent of U.S.-sold vehicles
assembled at U.S. plants:
Ford 78%
Honda 68%
GM 65%
Fiat Chrysler 56%
Nissan 52%
Toyota 49%
Hyundai-Kia 45%
Subaru 40%
Daimler 39%
BMW 28%
Volkswagen 13%
Mazda 0%Percent of U.S.-sold vehicles
assembled in Mexico:
Volkswagen 32%
Nissan 27%
Fiat Chrysler 17%
GM 15%
Ford 14%
Mazda 13%
Honda 7%
Toyota 4%
Hyundai-Kia 2%
Subaru 0%
Mercedes-Benz 0%
BMW 0%ASSEMBLY INCLUDED
SOURCE: BARCLAYS, WARD’S AUTO,
IHS AUTOMOTIVE