Whenever Ford Motor Co. builds a new plant -- anywhere in the world -- Ford manufacturing chief Joe Hinrichs now requires that it have the same processes and equipment as other company facilities. Read More »
The Volkswagen Group has created a U.S. purchasing group based in Chattanooga, Tenn., to meet a demanding local-content target for its U.S.-built sedans. ...
To reduce the cost of building vehicles in Alabama, Honda Motor Co. is taking over some of its suppliers' jobs there. Bringing the parts work inside its Lincoln, Ala., as ...
General Motors thinks it has created a method to build small vehicles profitably in North America and calls it interbuildability. Competitors know the concept as standard ...
Strong vehicle exports and manufacturing flexibility have allowed BMW's U.S. plant to weather the economic downturn without layoffs of permanent workers, the factory's ch ...
Transplant automakers remain vulnerable to supply chain interruptions caused by the General Motors and Chrysler LLC bankruptcies, and are keeping in close communications ...
Toyota's stalled Prius factory project in Tupelo, Miss., might not be a Prius factory when work on the plant finally resumes. The company is entertaining new ideas about ...
Strong vehicle exports and manufacturing flexibility have allowed BMW's U.S. plant to weather the economic downturn without layoffs or derailing a $750 million expansion, ...
Ford Motor Co. is so intent on standardizing factories and assembly plants worldwide that no money can be spent on plants unless the expenditure improves standardization, ...
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. is using vehicle production downtime at its Alabama assembly plant to train suppliers in the Mercedes production system, outgoing CE ...
Desperate to eliminate red ink, General Motors thinks it has created a factory method to build small vehicles profitably in North America. GM calls the method “interbuild ...
To hit a demanding local-content target for its U.S.-built sedans, Volkswagen Group will create a new U.S. purchasing group based in Chattanooga, Tenn. ...
To reduce the cost of building vehicles in Alabama, Honda Motor Co. is taking over some of its suppliers' jobs there. Bringing the parts work inside its Lincoln, Ala., as ...
When fuel prices went through the roof a year ago, most automakers were caught dangerously out of position. They weren't building anything like the mix of fuel-efficient ...
Fiat's grand plan to convert Chrysler plants for production of Fiat-derived cars won't be easy, quick or cheap. Manufacturing experts put the cost of redoing a Chrysler L ...
Planning and executing a change in the daily line speed -- known in manufacturing circles as changing the "takt" time -- is akin to directing the choreography of a Broadw ...
Visitors quickly notice three things about the plant Kia Motors Corp. is constructing here. It's very big, very white and very remote. It feels like the middle of nowhere ...
Bill Taylor was a Ford career man in Canada in the 1980s before joining Toyota to help launch a Corolla plant in Cambridge, Ontario. The Corolla plant's record for high p ...
Honda's assembly plant in Lincoln, Ala., already is building three light-truck models. But the volatile U.S. market means the company now must take advantage of even more ...
Rumors of Mitsubishi's demise as a U.S. manufacturer have been around for years. But the company has passed up every opportunity to close its 21-year-old plant in Normal, ...
As Ford hustles to convert three North American truck plants to small-car production by 2011, the company also is making major advances in factory flexibility. Are Ford's ...
Joe Hinrichs knows that Ford Motor Co. must do better. Ford has improved the ability of its assembly plants to make multiple vehicles, but experts say the company still l ...
When the U.S. auto market crashed last year, BMW quickly shifted gears at its factory in Spartanburg, S.C. But instead of cutting production, it found new customers. Much ...
After two decades of trying to serve the U.S. market from a low-cost production base in Puebla, Mexico, Volkswagen is returning to the United States with an entirely new ...
