American carmakers eye Asia

American carmakers eye Asia

By Russell Williamson

The United States big three carmakers, General Motors,
Chrysler and Ford are targeting Asian countries from Japan to
Indonesia in an attempt to catch up with Japanese manufacturers'
dominance in the region.

According to a report in Ward's Automotive International, the
Asia Pacific region's car market outside Japan is expected to
reach six million vehicles this year rising to 8.5 million by
2000.

General Motor's chief executive, Mr John F Smith Jnr, said:
"Clearly this will be the powerhouse automotive market of the
early 21st century and General Motors intends to be a significant
competitor here."

In Indonesia General Motors assembles Opel Vectras and Optimas
and recently added the Blazer which has been a phenomenal success
with orders held for more than six month's production.

The company also won a joint venture agreement to assemble
100,000 mid-sized sedans a year in China beginning in 1997, has
recently begun assembling Opel Optimas or Astra, as the car is
known outside of Indonesia, in India, and is also building the
same car in Taiwan.

Delphi Automotive System's, General Motor's components group,
is also looking at manufacturing operations in Indonesia, South
Korea, Malaysia, Australia and India.

However despite this presence, General Motors still only
claims a 4.4 percent share of total Asia-Pacific sales.

Ford has yet to make a substantial impact on the Southeast
Asian region, although they are planning further investment in
Indonesia and are expected to launch the new small Escort sedan
here this year, but holds sway elsewhere in Asia.

Together with a 33 percent ownership of Mazda and 10 percent
of South Korean carmaker Kia, Ford have established parts making
joint ventures in China and have a very substantial presence in
Taiwan.

Other assembly operations are planned for India, Vietnam and
Thailand, the latter being a joint venture with Mazda to produce
small utilities for both the domestic and export markets.

Chrysler's foray into the region has so far been limited
largely to Jeep Cherokee sales in Japan and Neon in Taiwan.

In Indonesia, the company has had reasonable success with the
Cherokee and plans to introduce the small Neon sedan either
towards the end of 1996 or early 1997.

Although the three carmakers appear to have infiltrated the
marketplace, Ward's reports that Toyota last year sold nearly
600,000 vehicles in the region, more than sales of the Big Three
combined.

Consequently, the U.S. carmakers will have to continue to
invest heavily and ensure their products meet the needs of the
market if they are to break the stranglehold of Japanese
manufacturers.