They also would have to overcome ardent opposition from the United Auto Workers union, said Sean McAlinden, research scientist at the university. With the UAW negotiating a new labor contract with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG this summer, the issue of modular work has become a contentious topic. The union claimed at its convention this year that modular assembly is all just outsourcing forced through whipsawing. If the domestic automakers used modular assembly just in their small-car plants, they could cut 23,000 jobs. Nor are they convinced that going modular would help plants that are already efficient.
Modular assembly can help inefficient plants, however.
Auto parts supplier TRW Inc. set up a subassembly plant near Rover Group's plant in Longbridge, England, and nearly doubled production to 350,000 cars a year from 160,000 cars annually. The plant also builds three models, where it used to build just one, said Christopher Bowman, vice-president of planning for TRW's chassis systems unit. But if an automaker is already efficient, modular assembly may not make sense, said James Padilla, Ford vice-president of manufacturing. Nissan executives stressed that there are other ways to reduce costs.