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Genuine Mercedes Parts Are Now Made In China

Started by Squiggle Dog, 20 February 2016, 02:46 PM

Squiggle Dog

You heard it right folks, Genuine Mercedes parts are now made in China! I saw it firsthand with my parts order today. No wonder, with my last brake rotors being made in Egypt, and Mercedes now charging $75 a year for their once free electronic parts catalog. What ever happened to "no compromises, ever"?
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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

daantjie

Benz styles for the Asian market almost exclusively now. Look at the GL and ML classes. They are purely styled for old Asian ladies. Thus makes sense for them to produce parts in Asia too. Of course much cheaper labour there. Simple economics. Also 1 out of 2 new S Class is sold in China.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

karmann_20v

C'mon now, we all knew it was a matter of time...

As I've said before, manufacturing in China is not the end of the world, as long as the manufacturing process and material quality is maintained. What is truly concerning though is that apparently URO parts has been awarded a contract to manufacture MB original parts (don't know exactly what P/Ns)...

floyd111

It's a poor defense, but not false; Benz HAS to, by Chinese law. Automotive companies all want a piece of China, and the gov insists that an x-percentage of all parts must be China-sourced, in order to allow another X-amount of parts to be imported.
All Automotive imports into China are illegal by default, and getting the gov to make an exception is a highly complicated, lengthy, costly process.
And yes, illegal means that not a single scooter shock, or car-screw is allowed to be imported. Whatever gets in still, is done under joint-venture, bilateral agreements, or blatant smuggling, which is rampant, off course, with Hong Kong being the main hole in the Chinese wall.

marku

Never thought to see that although with a factory in China I suppose it makes sense rather than shipping them round the world. Wonder if we will see them in Europe it was always reassuring to see "Made in Germany" on everything unlike here in England where we now have no locally owned car manufacturer and who seem to source parts from where ever is cheapest.
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

ptashek

If MB sells badly made parts (are they badly made, actually?), blame their greed and/or poor quality assurance process, not some factory in China or wherever else.
Back in my day in the industry, virtually every tier 1 European automotive manufacturer (think MB, VAG, GM/Opel) was enforcing their entire supply chain to be certified to either VDA6.1, QS9000 or, post 2006, to ISO/TS16949. The result were by far the most bureaucratic and strict QM/QA processes you could imagine. Parts were taken off of the assembly line, and scrapped, because of a shallow scratch on the housing (e.g. rear lamp units), that was covered up in the ready product never to be seen again. Entire batches were sent back to suppliers for similarly trivial reasons. And a lot of those parts were made in Germany :D

So yeah, I'd say that part made in China might not be that crappy if a good QA process is adhered to :)
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

UTn_boy

I certainly agree that having a good QA process is tantamount to producing a quality product regardless of where it's made.  The problem is that places like China lack the skill and knowledge to produce a quality product.  They can be just as capable as the Germans with proper training, but with that capability comes a higher price, too.  What upsets me the most is knowing that China will charge them much less in labor, but Mercedes will still charge astronomical prices. 

Can someone please explain why it's mandatory for an automobile manufacturer like MB to have a certain percentage of their parts made in different parts of the world?  That seems very strange.....
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

floyd111

China is very protective of their Automotive industry, and on top of that, they are protective all over. Moving your production to China is a painstaking process, if you are planning to assemble products that require importing goods. It's not just an automotive issue.
They are well aware of the fact scores of multinationals want to make cash in china, so they abuse that reality as much as possible, for it brings in more cash for them, employs more people.

This is often partially or fully reciprocated by other countries, like here in Taiwan, where automotive imports from China are banned, unless assembly of those Chinese vehicle-parts is done in Taiwan.

ptashek

Quote from: UTn_boy on 22 February 2016, 02:19 AM
The problem is that places like China lack the skill and knowledge to produce a quality product.

That's a common misconception about China. Don't underestimate their corporate espionage capabilities :D Isn't their latest fighter jet a twin of the F35?

QuoteCan someone please explain why it's mandatory for an automobile manufacturer like MB to have a certain percentage of their parts made in different parts of the world?  That seems very strange.....

Those are called "offset deals". It's as common as can be, especially with military contracts.

One party agrees to make certain purchases  outside the main deal, the other party agrees to some concessions in return.

Let's say some country agrees to buy fifty F16 fighter jets from Lockheed-Martin, with a spares deal for 25 years on the side. That's a ton of money. In return, LM  agrees to offset (a.k.a. technology transfer) manufacturing of some spare parts, or services into the country.

Likewise, MB wants in on the Chinese market as it's worth billions in potential sales. The government knows it and let's them operate in peace wanting the taxes, but the concession is a local plant and locally sourced parts.

1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

UTn_boy

I didn't mean to disrespect China or it's people.  Corporate espionage is usually master minded by the wealthy and elite.  I was talking about the factory workers, or the "working class"  (I hate labels with a passion, but I have to use that terminology in this instance).  The factory workers are told what to make, and the engineers were taught exactly what Chinese government wanted them to learn.  That's why I said they lack the knowledge to make top tier parts.  However, they're definitely just as capable as the rest of the world.  I just wish someone would break that proverbial mold and rid the world of the misconceptions associated with the Chinese.  They're an extremely bright and capable race!  :)  After all, some of the smartest people in the world are Chinese.
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

marku

Its all political here both China and Russia are continually rubbished as being incapable of producing anything of worth in their own right. I remember a time when exactly the same was said about Japan and look at the innovation coming from there. Look at all the MB parts available on Ali Baba. Any one noticed that in any proper assessment China is now the world's biggest economy? Don't they make the Mercedes Viano, we have one and it is the most useful vehicle we have had, for the Asian market?
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

mirafioriman

For me it's not really the fact that they're making the parts in China it's that they're no longer German manufactured.

Mercedes used to be known as a quality car maker that was based on German engineering and design which was held in high regard for their high quality.

Yes this came at a high cost but they were significantly better cars than their competitors. In my opinion sadly this is no longer true.

In relation to China, unfortunately early vehicle manufacture has led to them having to overcome a poor reputation.

Perhaps quality is better now but if you watch crash testing film of early Chinese built vehicles you can clearly see how far behind they were in terms of safety.
I'm called Dave! I currently own: Mercedes W116 450 SEL 6.9, Mercedes W109 300 SEL 6.3, Mercedes W126 420 SEL, Fiat 130 Berlina, Fiat 131 Supermirafiori, Fiat 131 Panorama, Fiat 132 2000, Fiat Argenta and a Citroen Xantia.

marku

Yes I thought they had a policy of supporting home manufacturers but I suppose it is as said that its a commercial trade off. Looking on the bright side given MB quality testing I would think that being made in China is irrelevant. Sure some there has been some poor stuff in the past but we have had several items from China and the quality is first rate.
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

floyd111

My oh my, if only I would permit myself to speak out here. We would find us in an explosion of comments and judgements. ???
I have been on top of this market for a decade. Don't even get me started.
All I can say with certainty is that "the Chinese are NOT coming" Ever.
Anyone making opposite statements has never spent any time in those parts of the world. We are quite safe.

revilla

generalization is a big/dangerous trap.  let's be careful.   this is where facts will be welcome to backup those perceptions.  this applies for the China case but also to the rest of countries/cultures involved in manufacturing parts.