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Foreign automakers pay from $38 to $65 per hour to non-union workers

As leaders for the United Auto Workers gather in Detroit for their Special Convention on Collective Bargaining to work out the negotiating stance for this year's new labor agreements with the Detroit 3 automakers, what they most want to do is figure out how to eliminate the two-tier wage scale. However, the lower Tier 2 wage has allowed the domestic automakers to reduce their labor costs, hire more workers, and compete better with their import competition. As it stands, per-hour labor rates including benefits are $58 at General Motors, $57 at Ford, and $48 at Fiat-Chrysler – a reflection of FCA's much greater number of Tier 2 workers. The Center for Automotive Research released a study of labor rates (including benefits) that put numbers to what the imports pay: Mercedes-Benz pays the most, at an average of $65 per hour, Volkswagen pays the least, at $38 per hour, and BMW is just a hair above that at $39 per hour. Among the Detroit competitors, Honda workers earn an average of $49 per hour, at Toyota it's $48 per hour, Nissan is $42 per hour, and Hyundai-Kia pays $41 per hour. The lower import wages are aided by their greater use of temporary workers compared to the domestics. Automotive News says the ten-dollar gap between those foreign camakers and the domestics turns out to about an extra $250 per car in labor, which adds up quickly when you're pumping out many millions of cars. That $250-per-car number is one that, come negotiating time, the Detroit 3 will want to reduce, as the UAW is trying to raise both Tier 1 and Tier 2 wages. Another wrinkle is that the domestic carmakers are considering the wide adoption of a third wage level lower than Tier 2. Some workers who do minor tasks like assembling parts trays kits and battery packs already make less than Tier 2, but the UAW will be quite wary about cementing yet another wage scale at the bottom of the system while it's trying to fight a bigger battle at the top. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., BloombergImage Credit: AP Photo/Erik Schelzig Earnings/Financials UAW/Unions BMW Chevrolet Fiat Ford GM Honda Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Toyota Volkswagen labor wages collective bargaining labor costs

Next Chevrolet Malibu to have 'groundbreaking,' 'passionate' design

In our First Drive of the Chevrolet Malibu after its redesign in 2013 we wrote, "Chevy has quickly worked up a host of changes for its ever-important midsize sedan, and will be launching this 'there, we fixed it' 2014 Malibu like it's an all-new product." Still, no one cared. The Malibu has been mentioned in eight posts this year, all but two of them dealt with recalls, and one of those two was about a 2011 Malibu university science project. It came up in precisely zero posts from November 2013 to March 2014. That's why, according to a report in Automotive News, Chevrolet honchos are "hustling" to have a new Malibu ready in a year. Mark Reuss, General Motors' head of global product development, said it will have "groundbreaking design" and "groundbreaking technology," and asked investors who were showed a picture of it, "When is the last time you saw a [midsize] car this distinctive and this dramatic from General Motors?" Doubling down on the bullishness, Reuss said, "We've got our act together here on the midsize-car segment." Then, throwing every last chip on the pile, global design head Ed Welburn said the next Malibu's design will "make a significant statement" with "a very passionate design." Based on the number of comments Malibu posts get, we figure a fair few number of you would love for this to be the case; yet this is a lot of braggadocio to slather on a car that probably hasn't made "a significant statement" since Elton John had a number one record with Honky Chateau. That was 1972, if you're trying to remember. No matter the looks, the AN report says the new 'Bu will make a profit statement, selling for more money while costing less to produce. Alongside the Cruze, GM figures the pair will bring in an extra $800 million in variable profit in 2016. Which, in case it ends up being another 'butterface,' isn't bad for a silver lining. Featured Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: First Drive View 36 Photos News Source: Automotive New - sub. req. Design/Style Chevrolet GM Sedan

GM reports third straight sales drop in China in 2020

BEIJING — General Motors' vehicle sales in China fell 6.2% in 2020, as the U.S. automaker suffered a prolonged slowdown in the world's biggest auto market. GM, China's second biggest foreign automaker, delivered 2.9 million vehicles in the country last year, the company said on Wednesday, for a third straight decline in annual sales. But sales have been recovering in the second half of last year, up 12% between July and September and 14% in the final three months. GM has a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC Motor, in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicle brands are made. It also has another Liuzhou-based venture, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars. Sales of its Buick brand grew 4% on the year and Wuling rose 9%, the statement said. Luxury brand Cadillac's sales increased 8%. Sales of GM's more affordable Baojun brand dropped 33% last year, while sales of its mass-market Chevrolet tumbled 30%. GM's delivery of 2.9 million vehicles in China follows 3.09 million vehicles in 2019, 3.65 million vehicles in 2018, and 4.04 million in 2017, for a three-year decrease of 28%.