Industrial Past - The transformation of the American auto and parts industry in the early 1980s

Industrial Past - The transformation of the American auto and parts industry in the early 1980s

In the early 1980s, competition in the world's auto industry shook the traditional way of manufacturing operations in the United States. American automakers are increasingly using imported auto parts.

According to relevant data, GENERAL Motors imported diesel engines from Japan, automatic transmission from France, four-cylinder engines from Brazil and V6 engines from Mexico. Ford imported from Japan adopted a manual transmission, imported from Spain sliding column type suspension, the rear brake device imported from Brazil, steering machine imported from Britain and imported from Italy, the clutch imported from France, the cylinder head from the door, Mexican imports from China Taiwan imported wiring, imported from Germany the valve guide. Ford also imports four-cylinder gasoline engines from Mexico, Japan and Brazil, and six-cylinder and four-cylinder diesel engines from Germany and Japan.

Back then, Americans thought the Japanese were messing up the world auto parts market.

In order to encourage more exports, the Japanese government gives special treatment to exporters. After selecting export targets in industry, Japan made efforts to tap export potential. Electronics, once one of Japan's important export industries, is now included in the automobile, auto parts and computer industries.

These industries benefit in three ways, such as lower taxes, rapid price cuts and deferred tax payments, in order to increase exports.

The gap between the prices of auto parts in the United States and the rest of the world has had a major impact both in the international market and in the United States, disrupting the American auto industry and forcing American auto companies to conduct a thorough study of auto parts problems. Since then, competition in the cost and selling price of auto parts has become increasingly fierce throughout the world.