Apparently answering today's QOTD with a "hell yes," our friends in Auburn Hills have tied the super-best automaker from the Land of the Rising Sun in at least one category: Most productive manufacturer, according to this year's Harbour Report. What does that mean? That Chrysler assembles a vehicle in 30.37 hours on average, exactly the same figure reported by Toyota. How'd they do it? Outsourcing!
Chrysler's Toledo Supplier Park was named North America's most productive assembly plant, slapping Jeep Wranglers together using just 13.57 labor-hours. But who's actually doing the work? The Toledo Supplier Park uses Kuka Group (Augsburg, Germany) to manage the body shop, Magna Steyr (Graz, Austria) to manage the paint shop and Hyundai Mobis (Seoul, South Korea) for chassis assemblies. Somewhere, Lee Greenwood is weeping softly.
[Automotive News (sub. req.)]