posted 12-27-2007 05:35 PM ET (US)         

Merc's 30HP and below, all 4-strokes, are made in a new plant [located in Komagane, Nagano Prefecture, Japan] with Tohatsu (who also markets product as Nissan). It's a brand new, ultra modern plant that can turn out a large number of these beautifully designed engines. Supposedly, they are a good product, and the only 25 and 30 EFI's on the market. I have noted that now the Tohatsu's and Nissan's coming out of here are all painted black also. These engines can be bought through catalog sales from West marine and Cabela's. Incidentally, what has happened to those 25 and 30 HP E-tecs, promised since 2004? Is this another HP market segment completely abandoned by Evinrude?

posted 12-27-2007 11:57 PM ET (US)            

I have never seen any sales data for outboard motors in China. However, I would tend to think that given certain nationalistic tendencies, outboard motors which were made in Japan might suffer a slight amount of bias in the Chinese market. On that basis, I think it is probably very likely that an American brand like Mercury, which is made in a factory in China, will find very strong acceptance in the Chinese market. Even without a single shred of actual data, I would be willing to believe those China-built Mercury motors are selling well over in China.

I have heard that American brand automobiles which are made in China are are selling well there.

One of the risks for manufacturers who move production to China is the possibility for their products to be stolen and manufactured by copy-cat manufacturers. The automotive suppliers have already seen this.

Up to this point I would characterize the North American market as being somewhat resistance to expensive manufactured items manufactured in China. A good example is an automobile. I don't think there is much volume of imported automobiles from China.

posted 12-29-2007 05:52 PM ET (US)         

Considering the very few number of people here rigged with E-TEC 40 and 60-HP engines, we have seen several indications of considerable problems and moderate performance.

So these Chinese assembled Mercury engines must be pretty good, better than what's coming out of Wisconsin.

posted 12-29-2007 06:17 PM ET (US)            

As for your conclusions about the comparative quality of the products assembled in China versus Wisconsin, I would like to know if you think that this same conclusion applies to the Mercury motors made in Wisconsin?

posted 12-29-2007 06:42 PM ET (US)         

Another proof of their copycatting, Merc dropped the 3 cylinder 30 HP engine made on this platform, in favor of the newer, lighter, Merc/Tohatsu 30. True to form, Yamaha dropped their copycatted 30 HP engine at exactly the same time. Yamaha does not currently have a 30 HP 4-stroke, which makes me wonder even more why they would have followed Mercury's lead, dropping the big 30 and leaving a HP gap for them.

ALso Mercury dropped their American made 25HP 4-stroke when the Japan plant came on line, making the lightweight 25EFI.
Here again, copycat Yamaha dropped their identical displacement 25 4-stroke, following Mercury's lead. Now Yamaha has no 25 HP 4-stroke offering. Just don't understand why Yamaha would give up the 25-30 HP market, just because Mercury brought out new models. But then again, maybe Yamaha is copycatting Evinrude's lead, who also has no 25 or 30 HP E-tecs, and hasn't for the last 4 years.

posted 12-30-2007 01:31 AM ET (US)            

What I question is the idea that Yamaha bought complete power heads from Mercury, shipped them to Japan, assembled them into Yamaha branded motors, and then shipped them back to North America for sale. And now that the power heads are being made in China, I have more questions. Japan and China are generally not really big trading partners, and there is the question of cultural biases to consider.

posted 12-31-2007 11:57 AM ET (US)            

Many North Americans probably remember Nagano as the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Komagane is a relatively small city--a hamlet by Japanese standards--with a population of around 35,000.

A nice picture of the plant is available on-line.

Almost all references to this manufacturing facility that I can find mention TOHATSU as the owner and operator of this plant. For example, Tohatsu says in their website:

"In January 2005, Tohatsu opened a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the mountainous area of central Japan that boasts over 34,000 [square-meters] of space and has a production capacity of over 200,000 units per year. Tohatsu's new plant uses technologically advanced machinery that is fully automated to produce reliable outboards with award winning reputations."

You can see more images from the plant at:

http://www.tohatsu.co.jp/en/boat/profile.html

Tohatsu also mention this facility in their corporate profile:

http://tohatsu.co.jp/en/htm/comp/index.html

Here is more information about the Komagane plant, but, again, it seems to be all-Tohatsu in this coverage:

"TOHATSU: NEW STATE OF THE ART FACTORY IN 2005

"After the success Tohatsu are reaping world wide, Tohatsu invested heavily in a modern factory in Tokyo. Tohatsu believe in delivering only Reliability & Qaulity [sic] Salt Water Outboards. The new factory is 200km away from Tokyo in Komagane. It has 3 production assembly lines, 360 factory workers working in 2 shifts and total capacity for 200,000 units. The total factory build up area is 36,000 [square-meters] with futher area available for expansion. The new machines in the factory have increased the production schedules, always aiming to achieve better quality standards & best quality rewards: ISO 9001:2000 & ISO 14001 Certifications. To be in Tohastu's position in being of of Japan's leader in Outboard Manufacturing is no mean feat. In the Tohatsu Factory, all Outboards manufactured are tested individually to ensure that the end delivered product reach the optimum at the final destination."

Source: BoatsAndYachting No. 60, March/April 2005, page 70.

Brunswick mentions (what I assume to be) this same facility in their website, where they say it is a "joint venture with Tohatsu – TMC."

Cf.: http://www.brunswick.com/company/worldwide/primarymanufacturing.php

As far as the plant being a "joint venture" I cannot explain why Tohatsu never brings this up anywhere, but perhaps it is one of those idiomatic expressions in English that does not translate well.

posted 12-31-2007 03:27 PM ET (US)            

quote:

---

I have noted that now the Tohatsu's and Nissan's coming out of [Komagane] are all painted black

---

According to Tohatsu:
--
"New Paint Process

"Tohatsu has a new look for 2006. Our motors are now painted with the 'Aquamarine Blue' color and are all produced at our new plant in Komagane. Using state-of-the-art machinery, Tohatsu has upgraded the 5-layer painting process to now include an additional clear coat of acrylic resin that provides superior protection for the outboard."
--

A deep aquamarine blue is quite a standard color in the outboard industry these days. I think you could categorize E-TEC as being in that same hue range. Suzuki and Mercury are definitely black. Yamaha has some very dark gray engines, too.

I think the new color choice is more in tune with modern color schemes. In the past, pastel colors may have been more popular in Japan. If you recall Yamaha used to have a metallic powder blue color. Tohatsu's prior color was a lighter color, also a metallic medium blue, I believe.

The engines being made in Komagane have an elaborate five-layer coating:

--chemical conversion treatment
--zinc chromate primer undercoat
--acrylic high-solid paint
--acrylic finish paint
--acrylic resin clear overcoat