All Asia articles – Page 2
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FeatureContainerisation: Why finished vehicle logistics needs to think inside the box
While ro-ro is the traditional method of shipping finished vehicles, containerisation is becoming increasingly viable as the automotive industry decentralises and introduces more EVs. Growth in China and South East Asia offers particularly good opportunities
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FeatureGM Uzbekistan sets plant up in Kazakhstan
GM Uzbekistan is to open a vehicle assembly line in Kazakhstan to take advantage of the shared customs space under the Eurasia Economic Union (EEU). The carmaker, which is now owned solely by state-owned corporation Uzavtosanoat following GM’s withdrawal from the joint venture, has signed a contract with Kazakh automotive ...
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FeaturePSA continues spare parts expansion in China
Groupe PSA has acquired a controlling interest in Longstar, an automotive parts wholesaler based in Fujian province, south-east China. With two main warehouses and 40 hub sites, Longstar delivers a catalogue of 10,000 parts from 18 international suppliers to 4,000 independent repairers. PSA says it will gain access to a ...
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FeatureToyota and Suzuki charge up hybrid partnership
Japanese OEMs Toyota and Suzuki have agreed to begin considering concrete ways of working together, including the mutual supply of engines, platforms and technology.The step forward follows a business partnership memorandum the companies signed two years ago, fleshed out in more detail last May.Now they plan to bring together Toyota’s ...
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FeatureKia to expand UK distribution centre
Kia Motors is to create additional capacity for 8,000 more cars at its UK import and distribution centre in Stallingborough, North Lincolnshire.The company has secured 16.8 hectares of extra land from Associated British Ports (ABP), adjoining Kia’s existing distribution centre which can hold up to 17,000 cars on 35.6 hectares. ...
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FeatureBrexit uncertainty causing concern for automotive
With a reliance on just-in-time and just-in-sequence supply chains, the automotive industry is one of the most vulnerable sectors to disruption caused by a disorderly British exit from the EU
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FeatureUECC invests in battery hybrid PCTC
United European Car Carriers (UECC) has signed a contract for two new-generation pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) with China Ship Building Trading Company and the Jiangnan Shipyard Group. The first vessel is planned for delivery in 2021, and UECC has options for two more PCTCs. Features include a fuel ...
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FeatureRussian vehicle imports hit a bump in the road
Vehicle imports to Russia have been growing for almost two years alongside the recovery in sales in the domestic market. In 2018, the country imported 293,100 finished vehicles, up almost 10% compared with the same period the previous year, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service. The value of vehicles ...
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FeatureMG Motor helps BCA hit record figures
MG Motor’s decision to expand operations through the Portbury docks in Bristol, UK has helped push weekly volumes to a new high for its logistics provider BCA.For the week beginning February 11, BCA handled more than 12,250 vehicles, an 11% increase on its previous record in 2016. The company said ...
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FeatureScania opens Thai factory to better serve Southeast Asia
Swedish truckmaker Scania has moved production closer to sales in Southeast Asia with the opening of a factory in Thailand to assemble truck and bus chassis from complete knockdown (CKD) kits shipped in from Europe, as well as manufacturing truck cabs locally. Last year, the company sold more than 500 ...
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FeatureRZD launches China-Belarus service for Geely
Russian state-owned rail monopoly Russian Railways (RZD) has launched a block train service from China to Belarus for carmaker Geely, to serve its BelGee plant in the city of Zhodino. The plant, which is a joint venture between Geely and the Belarus government, started making cars last year.In a pilot ...
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FeatureKerry ‘hackathon’ explores drone stocktaking
Kerry Logistics Network has staged its first ‘hackathon’ to devise applications for autonomous drones based around warehouse stocktaking.Eight teams participated in the two-day event combining robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. They incorporated a range of technologies including navigation and computer vision, radio frequency identification (RFID) and Lidar (light detection ...
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FeatureTesla to close showrooms and move sales online
Tesla is closing all of its showrooms globally and moving to an online sales model in an effort to lower overheads and find cost efficiencies across the business. The carmaker hopes this will help it to deliver its Model 3 product at a lower price of $35,000 (£26,400) and therefore ...
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FeatureTrump delays tariff hike on Chinese imports
US president Donald Trump tweeted late on Sunday (February 24) that he would be delaying the planned increase in tariffs on imports from China, including automotive goods, which were scheduled to rise from 10% to 25% on Friday (March 1).Trump said there had been “substantial progress” in what were “very ...
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FeatureMues new COO at Imperial Logistics
South Africa’s Imperial Logistics International has appointed Jürgen Mues from Swiss Railways as chief operating officer (COO) starting on March 15th.Imperial has strong operations with “unparalleled capabilities and track records” in their own fields, but few of them exploit their potential across all available locations, said CEO Hakan Bicil. “In ...
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FeatureVolvo starts shipments to Europe from Ridgeville
Volvo has started shipping S60 sedans to Europe from the US, six months after beginning production at its $1.1 billion assembly plant in Ridgeville, near Charleston, South Carolina.“Export markets are critical to the long-term success of our plant and we’re on track to deliver vehicles to our customers worldwide,” said ...
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FeatureAutomotive industry condemns tariff ‘secrecy’
Automotive sector bodies from the US and overseas have rounded on the US Department of Commerce for not giving them access to its report for Donald Trump about possible duties on imports of automotive goods. Trump requested the report in May last year as part of a Section 232 investigation, ...
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FeatureUK's relevance to Honda in doubt after Swindon closure
The long-term impact on the UK automotive supply chain of Honda’s decision to end production at its Swindon plant will take some time to assess, but the carmaker has admitted that Honda of the UK Manufacturing’s current role as a global manufacturing hub “may no longer be viable”.Despite assurances the ...
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FeaturePSA invests in China’s used car sector
Groupe PSA has invested in Chinese company FengChe, which provides supply chain management services, designed to improve used car dealers’ business operations.The OEM's investment has not been disclosed, but is significant, according to a spokesperson for the carmaker. Nevertheless, FengChe remains the majority shareholder and its management structure is unchanged.Used ...
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FeatureSupply lines key to new Nissan plant in Algeria
Nissan is looking to develop a components supply chain in Algeria to support the construction of its new car plant in the North African country with local partner Groupe Hasnaoui.“Using our Japanese engineering expertise, we will build a manufacturing hub and work to develop the supplier industry,” said Peyman Kargar ...