Chinese Automaker Outsources to Mexico

(Mexico City) One must wonder whether the average Chinese autoworker is upset about the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico.

Leading car-maker, China First Automobile Works Group, has announced plans to build a factory in Mexico. FAW is hoping the new plant will help them profit from a growing middle-class market in the country. Mexico is one of the world's most prolific vehicle producers, and is already home to plants set up by major auto makers from all over the world.

China First Automobile Works Group is working with Mexico's GrupoSalinas to build a factory in the city of Morelia. It's the first Chinese auto plant in Mexico. On Friday, representatives from both companies attended a foundation stone laying ceremony.

It's estimated that the plant will produce 100,000 cars annually by 2010 with a retail price as low as $6,280. Presumably, coordinated Chinese/Mexican requirements for emissions controls and CAFE standards were deep-sixed worked out beforehand.