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Jeep Compass "Made in China"?!?!?!?

12K views 26 replies 22 participants last post by  jepstr67  
#1 ·
Made in China? Jeep Compass Could Be Built in Beijing
BEIJING — Media reports here say Jeep is ramping up a new sales offensive in China and plans to import the redesigned Wrangler , the Grand Cherokee and the Commander.

Local press also suggests Chrysler is considering China assembly of the car-based Compass, probably at its Beijing Jeep joint venture.

The Compass is seen as a potential competitor in China to locally built versions of the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4 and even some home-grown products such as the Great Wall Hover.

The news reports here say the Chinese-built Compass, equipped with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, likely would sell for just over $30,000 — about twice the U.S. base price.

What this means to you: Construction of the Compass in China could eventually lead to a Chinese-built Jeep appearing in American showrooms.
source

I added the color my self for emphasis and that part ticked me off... :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
#4 ·
The cost of shipping the Chinese-built Jeeps to the USA will be less than the money they save on labor, so it will be a net savings for them. Just yesterday, Edmunds reported:

"...there is widespread speculation in China that Chrysler will begin local production there of several of its own compacts, including the Jeep Compass. Given parent DaimlerChrysler's ongoing cost-reduction movement, it may be only a matter of time before some larger Chrysler products not only share platforms and underbody components with Chery vehicles, but actually are imported from Chinese factories."

The article also says we can expect the first Chinese-built Chryslers to arrive as early as 2008 or 2009. You can read the entire article here:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=119035
 
#9 ·
A Jeep made in China - aahh. That would be a huge mistake & I would never buy such a Jeep.

I have been a long term Honda driver (3 Hondas purchased over 12 some years) and when they started importing cars into Australia made in Thailand - Accord, CRV & Civic so far I decided NO MORE HONDA, even if I liked the current models. Then I discovered & bought the Patriot and could not be happier. I like having a car built in the US as there are not many down here. Build quality is excellent - truthfully, better than I thought it would be.

John, great comment. You had me laughing out loud.
 
#14 ·
I buy American as much as possible



From My olds, to my neon, to my Jeep,
when i get new tires i make sure they are made in US
even my radio's, bought a few rockford fosgate radios
havent checked lately , not sure if RF still makes radios or just accessories now

But have nothing against jeeps being made in china,
china actually has a great reputation for making budget 4x4's
Cars built for china market have better suspensions as most of the roads are unimproved, and cars take a beating


1 thing i like about US, (being Italian) is we have a choice, a choice not many people in the rest of the world have,
Whether we want a hummer or a prius or something in between,
be grateful you have that choice.
 
#16 ·
I have bought American cars almost exclusively for 25 years. I have all the usual reasons.

That said, if Jeep wants to make Compasses in China, I think they should go ahead. They can sell them into the local market, where a Compass will likely be well received, and compare very favorable to other vehicles.

Ultimately, people get more choice, Jeep has a new market, and everyone's happy.
 
#19 ·
This article says nothing about China EXPORTING what the build, if they do export I would believe it would be for southeast Asia. The Commander is also mentioned and we now know that it's days are numbered, so how much of the rest of the article from Edmonds really holds any truth.

It would make no sense at all to not build the Compass at the Belvidere plant right along with the Patriot and Caliber, what the original intent was and is.
 
#22 ·
Hey mpm See you bought one of them junk AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS! The problem is that most of the products you purchase that you would think is AMERICAN MADE is actualy made overseas, and YES it's dammed hard to find items made here. But it can be done and yes you will pay more for it. But you are paying that person, that made it a living wage. Unlike some Asian countries that have the sweat shop, company store, and company housing for the workers. Ever been to a chicken ranch then you would know what i'm talking about.
Signed
Daniel Rejman Union Iron Worker and proud son of a Union Coal Miner family from Penn and W V USA.
 
#23 ·
Yes, i did buy the Jeep. Mainly because of its very cheap price. The dealership just kept throwing discounts at me and gave me a huge trade in value. However, if you look around at all the incentives that the American car companies have to give now so they can sell its vehicles compare that to the few incentives the foreign companies give out. The foreign companies don't have to give out incentives to buy its cars. I swore that my next vehicle would be a Honda or Toyota after my babied GM truck only lasted me 50K miles, but I could not refuse the deal I got on the Jeep and I like it very much. i like the fact that it came with so many standard safety features. I thought that it was pathetic that you can still buy a brand new GM car and you had to pay extra for abs. Some people here have not been so lucky with their Jeeps though, hoods poping and roofs leaking ect...
 
#24 ·
I assume you are all aware Mitsubishi was been building "Jeeps" using tooling from the original CJ2 and the Willys Wagon for years, well into the 1980's. Jeepster Commandos were built in Spain in the late 70's. Original Jeepsters were built in Brazil after the US run was over. This is nothing new. The only thing that is new is having a current/modern model built in a foreign country. And who is to say that they are not planning to discontinue the Compass here and retool a plant in China.
 
#25 ·
Having a plant in China would make sense. That way both Mitsu and Chrysler would be able to sell models built in country. Would it make sense for Chrysler to discontinue one of the 2 CUVs that they offer with reasonable gas mileage? Only if management is clueless. It does not cost a lot to build both of these and they are getting sales that they would not have gotten with only one of them...

Chrysler has to schedule the transition to new models 3 to 5 years in the future. The right thing to do would be to introduce a new platform to base the Caliber on first with a significant increase in fuel economy and of course a hot rod version. Hopefully the quality will be much better in and out. This would leave the Compass and Patriot on the existing platform for a few years longer to use up the inventory of parts.

One of the rumors that I read indicated that Jeep is going to be the SUV/CUV division, Chrysler the car division and Dodge the truck division. This makes a lot of sense on paper but not necessarily with the actual products. Want to buy a Chrysler Charger? Just doesn't sound right...