FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT

Area Development Site and Facility Planning, Oct/Nov 2005 by Stackhouse, Steve

It's only a matter of time before the global automotive scene will need to make a whole lot more cars, according to Rhys. The bottom line is that the next 20 years are going to see more cars made in the world than the last 110 years of the industry," he says.

"If China and India get to two people per car. which is the average in North America and Western Europe, it means the total number of cars in the world will be five times what it is today." Rhys says. In these countries and elsewhere around the globe, "that's going to mean 150 new assembly plants." Factoring in supply chains, including engine lines, press lines, paint plants, etc., "that will probably be about $180 trillion of investment."

Automotive Headlines

Among recent news items relating to the automotive industry and its facility needs:

Kia Motors is considering building a U.S. assembly plant. The latest industry reports suggest that a site may be picked by the end of the year, and that Mississippi is the frontrunner.

General Motors is to open an assembly plant next year in Lansing, providing work for about 3.000 people. The positions, however, aren't exactly new jobs, because the plant is a replacement for much older facilities that closed earlier this year.

Nissan Motor is boosting production at its Mexican facilities, and intends to add production of a low-priced compact car.

North American plants could gain if U.S. automakers are able to ship more cars overseas and sell them in Europe. Industry newspapers suggest that such plans are in the works, spurred by the falling dollar.

Volkswagen wants to sell more minivans in the United States, and a German business daily reports that the automaker is in discussions with DaimlerChrysler, hoping to have Chrysler build VW-branded vehicles.

In 2004, Ford Motor Co. picked its Kansas City, Mo., plant for production of the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, marking the first domestic production of a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle and the first hybrid SUV. More recently. General Motors decided to make its hybrid Malibu in Kansas City, with release scheduled for 2007. It will make Kansas City the only U.S. location currently slated to assemble two different hybrid models.

Toyota has 10 new hybrid models in development that it hopes to bring to market within the next several years. By early next decade, the automaker believes as much as a quarter of its U.S. sales volume will use hybrid engine technology, which would mean it would be selling about 600,000 hybrids in America every year.

Though the world's automakers have been flocking to China, there are signs that Chinese automakers have their eyes on markets elsewhere. Three Chinese automakers brought vehicles to a recent Frankfurt auto show, and one Chinese SUV model has hit the market in Germany already. During the first half of 2000, Chinese automobile exports more than doubled, compared with the same period of 2004.

Virginia is not known as a major auto state, but the industry nevertheless has a significant economic role there. For example, Virginia Forge, which makes steel forgings used in wheel structures, is now in the midst of its second expansion since it located in the Roanoke Valley in 1997. The expansion will double its production capacity.