All China articles – Page 12
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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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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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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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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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FeatureHonda strikes deal with CATL on battery supply
Japanese carmaker Honda has signed a cooperation agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) under which the Chinese battery-maker will supply about 56 GWh of lithium-ion electric vehicle (EV) batteries by 2027.The accord, seen as way for Honda to diversify its supply sources, also provides for the companies to cooperate on ...
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FeatureStepping up the quality
There are several advantages of shipping vehicles in kits rather than as completely built units, including lower costs for transport, better customs import conditions and the support of local government in exchange for providing employment to the workforce. A major disadvantage, however, is that defective, damaged or lost goods may ...
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FeatureGerman automotive body warns on US trade tensions
German sector association the VDA has warned that ongoing trade tensions between the US and Europe and, separately, the US and China should not be allowed to derail the mutually beneficial relationship its OEMs currently have with the North American country. The warning coincides with news that VW and Ford ...
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FeaturePacking a punch
Electric cars could revolutionise transport by providing a cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly way to travel. The International Energy Agency forecasts that there will be 13m electric vehicles (EVs) on the road globally by 2020, while PwC Autofacts predicts that 55% of all new vehicle sales will be fully ...
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FeatureFCA combines purchasing and supply chain in new roles
Carl Smiley (pictured) has moved from electronics supplier TE Connectivity to take the newly created role of chief purchasing and supply chain officer at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). At the same time, Scott Thiele adds head of supply chain in North America to his responsibilities as head of purchasing for ...
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FeatureMercedes-Benz takes to rail to move cars to China
Russia’s railway monopoly RZD has delivered the first batch of finished Mercedes-Benz vehicles from Bremerhaven, in Germany, to Chongqing in China. The new route, which is informally referred to as the new Silk Road, has already proved a viable alternative to ocean shipping vehicles from Europe to China, which takes ...
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FeaturePSA buys shares in China's UAP
Carmaker Groupe PSA has purchased a stake in Chinese spare parts supplier UAP, based in Shandong province, as part of the French group’s expansion in China strategy.The latest acquisition is a first step and could lead to a greater interest in UAP, with several steps defined to increase PSA’s participation, ...
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FeatureAuto tariffs pose biggest threat to US economy, warns OFII
The possibility of Donald Trump placing duties on cars and automotive parts being imported into the US is the largest threat to the country’s economic competitiveness, according to the chief financial officers (CFOs) of international companies taking part in a recent survey.The US Department of Commerce is currently investigating whether ...
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FeatureEconomic nationalism to force a lane-change
Typically, the world experiences waves of economic nationalism every three decades but these are often limited to one region each time. Today we’re experiencing a global wave of economic disruption across multiple regions simultaneously. In reaction, automotive manufacturers are having to increase the flexibility and agility of their supply chains ...