CKD
Encyclopedia
A knock-down kit is a kit containing the parts needed to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then export
ed to another country or region for final assembly.
A common form of knock-down is a complete knock-down (CKD), which is a complete kit needed to assemble a product. It is also a method of supplying parts to a market, particularly in shipping to foreign nations, and serves as a way of counting or pricing. CKD is a common practice within the automotive industry
, the bus
and heavy truck
industry, and the rail vehicle
industry, as well as electronics, furniture, and in other products. Businesses sell knocked down kits to their foreign affiliates or licensees for various reasons, including to avoid import taxes, to receive tax preferences for providing local manufacturing jobs, or even to be considered as a bidder at all (for example, in public transit projects with "buy national" rules).
An incomplete kit is known as SKD for semi-knocked-down. Both types of KDs, complete and incomplete, are collectively referred to within the auto industry as KDX (for knocked-down export), and cars assembled in the country of origin and exported whole to the destination market are known as BUX (for built-up export).
The terms "knockdown" or "kits of parts" are both misnomers, because the knockdowns were never built up in the first place, and the shipments of parts are often not in the form of kits, but rather bulk-packed by type of part into shipping container
s. The degree of "knockdown" depends on the desires and technical abilities of the receiving organization or on government import regulations. Developing nations may pursue trade and economic policies that call for import substitution
or local content regulations. Companies with CKD operations help the country substitute the finished products it imports with locally assembled substitutes.
Knockdown kit assembling plants are less expensive to establish and maintain, because they do not need modern robotic equipment, and the workforce is usually much less expensive in comparison to the home country. They may also be effective for low-volume production. The CKD concept allows firms in developing markets to gain expertise in a particular industry. At the same time, the CKD kit exporting company gains new markets that would otherwise be closed.
, transmission
, and battery
- which are either supplied as parts for assembly (a "complete" kit), or obtained from third parties (an "incomplete" kit); all of the interiors are already installed at the originating factory. The term SKD for semi-knocked-down refers to a kit with complete, welded car body, usually coated or already painted. To gain some extra tax preferences, the manufacturer needs to further localise the car, i.e. increase the share of parts produced by local manufacturers, such as tires, wheels, seats, headlights, windscreens and glass, batteries, interior plastics, etc.; down to the engine and transmission. At some point, even the steel body could be pressed, welded, and painted locally; this effectively makes KD assembly only a couple of steps behind the full-scale production.
By the time that Henry Ford
co-wrote his 1922 memoir My Life and Work, the Ford Motor Company was already shipping car parts from its Michigan plants for final assembly in the U.S. regions or foreign countries where the cars would be sold.
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
in India
began its business in 1947 with assembling CKD Jeep
s. Mahindra expanded their operations to include domestic manufacture of Jeep vehicles with a high level of local content under license
from Kaiser Jeep Corporation and later American Motors
(AMC).
By 1959, and with the introduction of the Mini, the products of BMC
were still either imported or assembled from CKD kits in several international markets.
In 1961, Renault
began negotiations for a first partnership agreement with AMC for assembly of Rambler
automobiles in Europe
. Beginning in 1962, and continuing through 1967, AMC also sold CKD kits of its passenger cars to Renault. They were assembled in Renault's factory in Haren, Belgium
and sold through its dealers in Algeria
, Austria
, Belgium
, France
, the Netherlands
, and Luxembourg
. The deal allowed AMC to sell its cars in new markets without a having to make a major Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI). The arrangement was good for the French automaker because its product range was lacking large cars and it needed to offer an "executive" model in its European markets. The situation changed by 1977. It was now AMC that sought outside support for a new car in the U.S. sub-compact
market segment, which lead to the first of many agreements with Renault.
In 1968, the independent German automotive firm, Karmann
, began assembly of CKD kits of AMC's newly introduced Javelin
for distribution in Europe. American Motors also provided right hand drive versions of their automobiles to markets such as Australia
, New Zealand
, and South Africa
. The components were shipped in containers to Australia from AMC's plants in Kenosha, Wisconsin
, or Brampton, Ontario
. Assembly of Rambler and AMC vehicles in Australia was performed by Australian Motor Industries
(AMI) in Port Melbourne, Victoria
. Local content requirements were met by using Australian suppliers for the interiors (seats, carpeting, etc.) as well as for lights, heaters, and other components. Various Rambler models were assembled in New Zealand from the early 1960s until 1971 by Campbell Motors in Thames (later Toyota New Zealand
), which had also built Toyota, Datsun, Hino, Renault, and Peugeot cars.
New Zealand had developed a car assembly industry as a means of import substitution
and providing local employment, despite the small size of the local market. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, including the lowering of import tariffs, the ability to import Australian-built vehicles duty-free under the CER
agreement, many car companies ended assembly in New Zealand and switched to importing completely built up vehicles from Japan
, Australia
, or Europe
. More significantly, the easing of import restrictions led to a large number of Japanese used imports
, which were far cheaper than locally-assembled used cars, and continue to outnumber so-called 'NZ New' vehicles. The last companies to assemble CKD kits in New Zealand were Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi
, and Honda
, which closed their plants in 1998, when the government announced plans to abolish import tariffs on cars.
More recent examples include Ukraine
, which has almost prohibitive import taxes on finished cars. AutoZAZ
assembles CKD kits of some Lada
, Opel
, Mercedes-Benz
, and Daewoo
cars. It went as far as adopting a version of Daewoo Lanos
for full-scale production and equipping it with a domestic engine. The German automotive
giant - Volkswagen Group
also produces SKDs in the Ukraine at its Solomonovo
plant, producing cars under its Škoda
and Volkswagen Passenger Cars
marques.
In Russia
, the most known KD assembling facilities are owned by Avtotor, which produces Hummer H2
, BMW 3-series and BMW 5-series in Kaliningrad
, and Renault Logan in Moscow
using facilities that once belonged to AZLK
. In Kaluga
, Volkswagen Group is currently constructing a new plant, which when completed, is expected to produce an annual output of 150,000 units.
In the USA
, Daimler AG has a CKD assembly plant in South Carolina
that re-assembles Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
vans for sale in the US and Canada at Dodge and Freightliner dealers — essentially to circumvent the Chicken tax
.
In 2009, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
has announced it will import pickup trucks from India in knockdown kit (CKD) form, again to circumvent the Chicken tax
. CKDs are complete vehicles that will be assembled in the U.S. from kits of parts shipped in crates.
are also sold as "knockdowns" after they have ended their service life
, packaging them with serviceable aircraft. This allows them to be used for cannibalization
of spare part
s.
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
ed to another country or region for final assembly.
A common form of knock-down is a complete knock-down (CKD), which is a complete kit needed to assemble a product. It is also a method of supplying parts to a market, particularly in shipping to foreign nations, and serves as a way of counting or pricing. CKD is a common practice within the automotive industry
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
, the bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and heavy truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
industry, and the rail vehicle
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
industry, as well as electronics, furniture, and in other products. Businesses sell knocked down kits to their foreign affiliates or licensees for various reasons, including to avoid import taxes, to receive tax preferences for providing local manufacturing jobs, or even to be considered as a bidder at all (for example, in public transit projects with "buy national" rules).
An incomplete kit is known as SKD for semi-knocked-down. Both types of KDs, complete and incomplete, are collectively referred to within the auto industry as KDX (for knocked-down export), and cars assembled in the country of origin and exported whole to the destination market are known as BUX (for built-up export).
The terms "knockdown" or "kits of parts" are both misnomers, because the knockdowns were never built up in the first place, and the shipments of parts are often not in the form of kits, but rather bulk-packed by type of part into shipping container
Shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes...
s. The degree of "knockdown" depends on the desires and technical abilities of the receiving organization or on government import regulations. Developing nations may pursue trade and economic policies that call for import substitution
Import substitution
Import substitution industrialization or "Import-substituting Industrialization" is a trade and economic policy that advocates replacing imports with domestic production. It is based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of...
or local content regulations. Companies with CKD operations help the country substitute the finished products it imports with locally assembled substitutes.
Knockdown kit assembling plants are less expensive to establish and maintain, because they do not need modern robotic equipment, and the workforce is usually much less expensive in comparison to the home country. They may also be effective for low-volume production. The CKD concept allows firms in developing markets to gain expertise in a particular industry. At the same time, the CKD kit exporting company gains new markets that would otherwise be closed.
Automotive
In the automotive industry, the most basic form of a vehicle in KD kit lacks the wheels, internal combustion engineInternal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
, transmission
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
, and battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
- which are either supplied as parts for assembly (a "complete" kit), or obtained from third parties (an "incomplete" kit); all of the interiors are already installed at the originating factory. The term SKD for semi-knocked-down refers to a kit with complete, welded car body, usually coated or already painted. To gain some extra tax preferences, the manufacturer needs to further localise the car, i.e. increase the share of parts produced by local manufacturers, such as tires, wheels, seats, headlights, windscreens and glass, batteries, interior plastics, etc.; down to the engine and transmission. At some point, even the steel body could be pressed, welded, and painted locally; this effectively makes KD assembly only a couple of steps behind the full-scale production.
By the time that Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
co-wrote his 1922 memoir My Life and Work, the Ford Motor Company was already shipping car parts from its Michigan plants for final assembly in the U.S. regions or foreign countries where the cars would be sold.
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. The company was set up in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by brothers K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
began its business in 1947 with assembling CKD Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
s. Mahindra expanded their operations to include domestic manufacture of Jeep vehicles with a high level of local content under license
Licence-built
The term licence-built refers to an object manufactured by one organisation with the authorisation of the organisation that owns the intellectual property of the design...
from Kaiser Jeep Corporation and later American Motors
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC).
By 1959, and with the introduction of the Mini, the products of BMC
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
were still either imported or assembled from CKD kits in several international markets.
In 1961, Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
began negotiations for a first partnership agreement with AMC for assembly of Rambler
Rambler (automobile)
Rambler was an automobile brand name used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914, then by its successor, Nash Motors from 1950 to 1954, and finally by Nash's successor, American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1969...
automobiles in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Beginning in 1962, and continuing through 1967, AMC also sold CKD kits of its passenger cars to Renault. They were assembled in Renault's factory in Haren, Belgium
Haren, Belgium
Haren is an old municipality of Brussels in Belgium, that was merged into the municipality of the City of Brussels in 1921...
and sold through its dealers in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. The deal allowed AMC to sell its cars in new markets without a having to make a major Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
(FDI). The arrangement was good for the French automaker because its product range was lacking large cars and it needed to offer an "executive" model in its European markets. The situation changed by 1977. It was now AMC that sought outside support for a new car in the U.S. sub-compact
Subcompact car
Subcompact car is a North American term used to describe automobiles whose class size is smaller than that of a compact car, usually not exceeding in length, but larger than a microcar...
market segment, which lead to the first of many agreements with Renault.
In 1968, the independent German automotive firm, Karmann
Karmann
Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, commonly known simply as Karmann, in Osnabrück, Germany was until 2009 the largest independent motor vehicle manufacturing company in Germany...
, began assembly of CKD kits of AMC's newly introduced Javelin
AMC Javelin
The Javelin was a production version of one of the AMC AMX prototypes shown during the 1966 AMX project nationwide tour. Intended to rival other pony cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. American Motor's Javelin debuted on 22 August 1967, for the 1968 model year...
for distribution in Europe. American Motors also provided right hand drive versions of their automobiles to markets such as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The components were shipped in containers to Australia from AMC's plants in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, or Brampton, Ontario
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, with an average...
. Assembly of Rambler and AMC vehicles in Australia was performed by Australian Motor Industries
Australian Motor Industries
Australian Motor Industries was an automobile assembly firm that was significant in the early history of the automobile industry in Australia.- Start of production :...
(AMI) in Port Melbourne, Victoria
Port Melbourne, Victoria
Port Melbourne is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km southwest of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government areas are the cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, Port Melbourne had a population of 13,293....
. Local content requirements were met by using Australian suppliers for the interiors (seats, carpeting, etc.) as well as for lights, heaters, and other components. Various Rambler models were assembled in New Zealand from the early 1960s until 1971 by Campbell Motors in Thames (later Toyota New Zealand
Toyota New Zealand
Toyota New Zealand is the importer and distributor of new Toyota and Daihatsu vehicles in New Zealand. It also imports used vehicles from Japan, and refurbishes them at its plant in Thames. Until 1998 it also assembled a variety of vehicles....
), which had also built Toyota, Datsun, Hino, Renault, and Peugeot cars.
New Zealand had developed a car assembly industry as a means of import substitution
Import substitution
Import substitution industrialization or "Import-substituting Industrialization" is a trade and economic policy that advocates replacing imports with domestic production. It is based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of...
and providing local employment, despite the small size of the local market. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, including the lowering of import tariffs, the ability to import Australian-built vehicles duty-free under the CER
Closer Economic Relations
Closer Economic Relations is a free trade agreement between the governments of New Zealand and Australia. It is also known as the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement and sometimes shortened to...
agreement, many car companies ended assembly in New Zealand and switched to importing completely built up vehicles from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, or Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. More significantly, the easing of import restrictions led to a large number of Japanese used imports
Grey import vehicles
Grey import vehicles are new or used motor vehicles and motorcycles legally imported from another country through channels other than the maker's official distribution system...
, which were far cheaper than locally-assembled used cars, and continue to outnumber so-called 'NZ New' vehicles. The last companies to assemble CKD kits in New Zealand were Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
, and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, which closed their plants in 1998, when the government announced plans to abolish import tariffs on cars.
More recent examples include Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, which has almost prohibitive import taxes on finished cars. AutoZAZ
ZAZ
ZAZ or Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant is the main automobile-manufacturer of Ukraine, based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhia. It is also known for its former mother company name, AvtoZAZ...
assembles CKD kits of some Lada
Lada
Lada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
, Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, and Daewoo
GM Daewoo
GM Korea Company is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer and is a division of the General Motors Company. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo which was split from its parent company, Daewoo Group, in 2001...
cars. It went as far as adopting a version of Daewoo Lanos
Daewoo Lanos
The Daewoo Lanos is a subcompact car manufactured by the Korean automaker Daewoo Motor from 1997 to 2002. It was manufactured under license agreements from 1997 to 2008 by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych in Poland, where it was marketed as the FSO Lanos, from 1998 to present in Ukraine by AvtoZAZ,...
for full-scale production and equipping it with a domestic engine. The German automotive
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
giant - Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
also produces SKDs in the Ukraine at its Solomonovo
Solomonovo
Solomonovo is a village in the Uzhhorodskyi Raion of the Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine.It had a population of 1,342, according to the 2001 census. The village is well-known for its Škoda owned Eurocar subsidiary ....
plant, producing cars under its Škoda
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
and Volkswagen Passenger Cars
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
marques.
In Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the most known KD assembling facilities are owned by Avtotor, which produces Hummer H2
Hummer H2
The Hummer H2 is an SUV and SUT that was marketed by General Motors under the Hummer brand. It is a large truck , while longer, heavier , and taller with room for six passengers , seven passengers in some models. The rearmost part of the H2 SUV was modified to a pickup truck bed for the 2005 H2 SUT...
, BMW 3-series and BMW 5-series in Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, and Renault Logan in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
using facilities that once belonged to AZLK
AZLK
AZLK was a Russian automobile factory , the maker of the Moskvitch brand....
. In Kaluga
Kaluga
Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...
, Volkswagen Group is currently constructing a new plant, which when completed, is expected to produce an annual output of 150,000 units.
In the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Daimler AG has a CKD assembly plant in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
that re-assembles Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light and heavy commercial vehicle, built by Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a van, chassis cab and minibus, and sold as a Mercedes model, except in the U.S. where it is built from complete knock down kits and was sold by Freightliner until 2010 when Mercedes...
vans for sale in the US and Canada at Dodge and Freightliner dealers — essentially to circumvent the Chicken tax
Chicken tax
The Chicken tax was a 25% tariff on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks imposed in 1963 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson as a response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken...
.
In 2009, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. The company was set up in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by brothers K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed...
has announced it will import pickup trucks from India in knockdown kit (CKD) form, again to circumvent the Chicken tax
Chicken tax
The Chicken tax was a 25% tariff on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks imposed in 1963 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson as a response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken...
. CKDs are complete vehicles that will be assembled in the U.S. from kits of parts shipped in crates.
Rail
- The practice of selling "knocked down" railcars, called by that name, pre-dates the 20th century, as evidenced by an advertisement by J. G. Brill and Company in the Street Railway Journal from 1898.
- BombardierBombardier TransportationBombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
ships incomplete cars from its plant at La Pocatière, QuebecLa Pocatière, QuebecLa Pocatière is a town in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec.A Bombardier plant which manufactures subway and railway cars is located there. Educational institutions include the Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and the Cégep de La Pocatière...
, to Plattsburgh, New York and Barre, Vermont facilities for final assembly. These are to meet US "buy American" policies for public transit agencies and tariffs. - Kawasaki Heavy IndustriesKawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Companyis the rolling stock production division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Since beginning operations in 1906, the company has produced more than 90,000 railroad vehicles.- Products :...
(KHI) has an assembly plant in Yonkers, New YorkYonkers, New YorkYonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
that completes final assembly of cars using bodies shipped from Kobe, Japan. - AlstomAlstomAlstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
's Hornell, New YorkHornell, New YorkHornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 9,019 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. Its current population has not yet been released by the new census....
assembly plant produces final completed cars using stainless body assemblies shipped from the Lapa plant in Sao PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Aircraft
Unserviceable military aircraftAircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
are also sold as "knockdowns" after they have ended their service life
Service life
A product's service life is its expected lifetime, or the acceptable period of use in service. It is the time that any manufactured item can be expected to be 'serviceable' or supported by its manufacturer....
, packaging them with serviceable aircraft. This allows them to be used for cannibalization
Cannibalization of machine parts
Cannibalization of machine parts, in maintenance of mechanical or electronic systems with interchangeable parts, refers to the practice of removing parts or subsystems necessary for repair from another similar device, rather than from inventory, usually when resources become limited...
of spare part
Spare part
Spare Parts may also refer to:* Spare Parts , by Status Quo* Spare Parts is a Doctor Who audio drama.* Spare Parts , by Servotron* "Spare Parts" , by Bruce Springsteen* "Spare Parts"...
s.