Could China-built cars "Fit" American Honda's supply needs?


Autoblog Posted Aug 15th 2006 7:29PM

In the same Ward's Auto World article that saw American Honda's John Mendel nix the idea of a Honda full-size pickup, he also took some time to discuss the hot-selling Fit subcompact. Released in the US at the perfect time, the Fit and its gaudy fuel economy numbers have won over customers to the tune of 15,922 since its Spring launch, according to Ward's. Unfortunately, the demand for the hatchback is so high that Honda is looking at supply problems that are throttling back total sales.

Today, the US-spec Fits are all imported from Japan. Mendel suggested that if Honda were to try to increase US supply, a very real possibility would be the importation of Chinese-built Fits to the States. China already exports the car to Brazil, India, Russia, and Australia, and has even begun shipping some cars to Europe as well. According to Mendel, there would be no quality drop-off if China-built Fits made their way here, and he feels that customers would be indifferent towards the car's point of origin, especially when you consider the number of products we buy that are made in China anyway.

Our feeling is that if the cars are built to the same standard as the Japan-built models, where the they come from won't matter. Would some people shy away from the Fit if they knew they would be getting a Chinese model? Probably, but the majority of customers would never see past the "H" badge and happily plunk down a deposit on one.

Technically, this is all hypothetical, since Mendel told Ward's that no such plan is in the works at this time. The fact that he discussed it at all, however, indicates that the idea has been (and probably still is) discussed at length internally. If Honda -- or any other automaker, for that matter -- were to look to China to supply the US market, would that influence your purchasing decision?

What do you FitFreaks think?

[Source: Ward's Auto World]

 

I think ultimately it wouldn't matter. Honda is going to stand behind their product no matter where it's made. If they didn't the damage to their reputation could be catastrophic in terms of lost profits and customer loyalty. I think a Chinese made Fit would sell just fine as long as it was totally indistinguishable from the Japanese made Fits.

 

I already have mine so I wouldn't have to be worried about it but I think savvy consumers would know and may have concerns, but the majority of the buyers wouldn't know/care.
How many people that bought an Aveo think that GM built it? It says Chevy, they bought it from a Chevy dealer, whats to know..?

 

I personally wouldn't want a Chinese built Fit - - I have no basis for my thoughts just being honest - - mine isn't here yet, but I WILL be looking at the "made in" sticker

 

They did, it was built by GM-Daewoo, GM formed the partnership in 2001 and owns over 50% of the company now.

 

Read... built by Daewoo

 

I wouldn't buy a Chinese Built Automobile, Fit or otherwise. Too much Chinese good in this country already.

 

if I wanted a non-japanese made vehicle, I would've bought a ..............hhmm,............. maybe bought a Honda Streetbike instead..

Point is NO CHINA FIT'S!

 

I take it most of you are not old enough to remember the same attitude was dead set against Japanese cars years ago. Many of them rusted so badly it almost seemed you could see it fall apart.

As for rumors, here is another, blame Google Alerts.
A Fit sedan Hybrid?
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../60814013/1041

 

Yes, I can read English, GM-Daewoo. For more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Daewoo#Passenger_cars

 

Yep, I was around for that, Hondas, Subarus, Dautsuns and Toyotas all had the rot in those days, and the interiors did not hold up well either. My dad's first asian car was a Subaru, said he would never have another when it went for a Talbot Horizon, almost three decades later there is a Subaru in his garage that we will probably bury him in....

 

china will soon be the only world superpower on this earth, i give it 30 years or less

 

Sorry, I didn't intend to imply that you couldn't read. However here is a quote form the link you provided.
"The 2004-current Chevrolet Aveo, Suzuki Verona, Suzuki Forenza, and 2005-current Suzuki Reno, all offered in the US market, are re-badged Daewoos (they are sold in South Korea as the Daewoo Kalos, Magnus, Lacetti sedan, and Lacetti hatchback, respectively)."

So I will stand by my original statement that Aveos are built by Daewoo, and many people that buy them don't know and believe they are buying a made in america car.
Just because GM owns Daewoo, do you honestly think it changed the quality of their cars?

 

I wouldn't buy a Fit made in the PRC until it had been out for a few years and there was a chance to gauge quality. I looked at scooters a few years ago and the PRC built models were really low quality.

 

My Fit which I bought in Venezuela was made in Brazil. I can tell you it has the same quality as any Honda built anywhere in the world. Honda seems to transfer its quality standards to everywhere they manufacture their products, otherwise they wouldn´t put a Honda badge on them. The same can´t be said of other brands. For example, Volkswagens made in Brazil are notorious for their terrible reliability.
I bet Chinese made Honda Fit would be the same as the Japanese built, and they would probably be somewhat cheaper too.

 

All I know is I would like my Honda vin #s to start with a "J"

 

Aren't all the EU Jazz built in China now?

 

No, UK source is still Japan, which is RHD. At least it was when we bought our 5MT in December 05. Mainland European imports are LHD...

 

they've gotta do something to meet demand....the car's unavailability is sending a lot of people to Nissan, Toyota, VW and (gulp) even Chevy. the Chinese have long since proven that the one thing they're good at is mass production. well, and unauthorized reproduction

 

My sister in law just bought a Nissian Versa, cuz she couldn't get a Fit. she wanted the Fit, but didn't want to wait. I told her that the Versa is a "Japanese Ford" (ie: Nissan has a poor quality reputation) but she bought it anyway. Shut my mouth, otherwise I'll get it from both her and the wife. heh