FBI Raids Chinese-Owned Auto Supplier that Makes Aluminum Wheels for GM Vehicles

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FBI Raids Chinese-Owned Auto Supplier that Makes Aluminum Wheels for GM Vehicles

Photo Credit: Dicastal.com


Last Monday, the FBI executed a search warrant on alloy wheel manufacturer Dicastal North America and agents raided the Greenville, Michigan headquarters. Dicastal makes aluminum wheels for the many automotive OEMs, including GM, Ford, Stellantis, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan.

FBI spokesperson Mara Schneider only confirmed that a sealed search warrant was executed, but no other comments were forthcoming other than that the investigation is ongoing. Sealed warrants are confidential and not viewable by the public. The Detroit Free Press said that plant employees were sent home and that computers were seized from the company.

David Porter, assistant special agent in charge from the FBI Western District of Michigan, told the Daily News, “We’re executing a law-enforcement function here today.”

GM spokesperson David Barnas told the Detroit Free Press that “We are monitoring the situation, but expect no impact to GM vehicle production,” while a source at Ford gave them a similar comment.

Dicastal C7 alloy wheel Photo Credit: Marklines.com


Dicastal North America is a subsidiary of China-based CITIC Dicastal Co, and the company’s website says they are the “world’s largest supplier of aluminum alloy wheels.”

Wheels for the C7 Corvette were made by Dicastal, and we have high confidence that they are also the supplier for the C8’s aluminum wheels. GM uses cast aluminum wheels for the Stingray with the exception of the new 2023 70th Anniversary wheels, which like all the aluminum wheel options for the Z06, will be made from forged aluminum.

Thanks to YouTuber CarSpeed for the story:

UPDATE
Our friends at the MidEngineCorvetteForum got confirmation from a GM spokesperson who works in Corvette supply chain logistics. The C8 Corvette’s wheels are made by CITIC Dicastal in China and are not manufactured at the Michigan facility that was raided by the FBI.


Source:
Detroit Free Press via CarSpeed

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19 COMMENTS

  1. “World’s largest supplier of aluminum alloy wheels”. “no impact to GM vehicle production”.

    I wonder….Z06 stock alloy wheels?

  2. Why in the world is GM having wheels made by the Chinese? What the F…. Is going on in this twisted world. Do you not understand what this amounts to! Do I have to explain?

  3. Why in the world is GM having wheels made by the Chinese? What the F…. Is going on in this twisted world. Do you not understand what this amounts to! Do I have to explain?
    I have never said this before!!!!!!

  4. Ahh so that explains why C7 GS/Z06 wheels crack when you sneeze on them, made by China.

    I cracked one of mine 500 miles into owning the car new, over a dip in the road that my C4 and C6 handled without a single issue for years.

  5. Just like cigarettes havd a warning label, there should be a warning lable, “Warning, made in China”.

  6. Everything made in China “appears” to be the real deal but in reality it’s copy cat junk!

  7. I don’t get it twisted they’re making the rims there they just illegally stamp the wheels made in China. When big companies come to make checks on their facility they hide all the rims. Not to mention all the paint and stuff they’re putting back into the water in the area Source: used to work there in the CMM department.

  8. They can make them in China have them shipped to the U.S.A. for a cheaper price than having them made here. The quality is less as with much of other items.

  9. The C8 wheels are NOT made in the USA they are made in China, which is the explanation of how the raid won’t affect the supply chain.
    Not surprising. Most of the AC Delco plugs, filters, and other parts are also made in China. Nothing like doing 180mph in a car made in China huh?

    “The C8 Corvette’s wheels are made by CITIC Dicastal in China and are not manufactured at the Michigan facility that was raided by the FBI.”

  10. This is what you get with a global economy. Keep it in America and pay the difference. Also, quit bellyaching about the price.

  11. It’s sicking what the love of money has done to this country. The Capitalism’s virus is alive and well.

  12. On fletcher – surely you’re not that dense. This has nothing to do with Capitalism (Karl Marx coined the term). This is about Government meddling in the free market, i.e. free trade agreements, Chinese WTO membership, subsidies, etc.

  13. I will cancel my order for a new corvette. All things for the car and any car shouldn’t be made in a communist country. Disappointed

  14. Let’s face it, the chain of production from North America to China, would take decades to break and likely will never happen. As more and more production left NA, more and more factories closed. The Auto industry, starting in Canada, headed south to Texas, New Mexico and then to Mexico. It even got worse, as it then shifted to South America, with adjoinIng plants side by producing different products, cutting down on delivery times or JUST IN TIME. Then the big guys forced their part suppliers to China and the rest is history. That is where we are today.
    Wonder why China is producing millions of cars now? Ha, even Musk, could not resist the additional profit and sales. Think they could make a copycat of his car?

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