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NewsEurope needs to take charge of its battery supply chain
There needs to be a concerted effort to build more gigafactories in Europe and secure the lithium battery supply chain for the future of regional EV production, according to speakers at this autumn’s Future Mobility roundtable hosted by Kuehne + Nagel
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FeatureSallaum Lines adds BMW and Ford volumes to global shipments
Sallaum Lines is taking on new business with BMW and Ford shipments from South Africa to Europe
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PodcastInform’s Justin Newell discusses software to optimise port operations
Ports are immense operations both in terms of size and complexity, and this is where digital technology can make a big impact: optimising processes, reducing paperwork, organising the workforce and improving efficiency. Justin Newell, chief operating officer at Inform Software, speaks to editor Joanne Perry about the company’s recent work ...
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FeatureWhy there needs to be a holistic approach to EV battery supply
EVs are often portrayed as a mainstay of the fight against climate change, but when the supply of battery materials and processing of used batteries are taken into consideration, they are much less green than they look. Automotive Logistics investigates the idea of a holistic approach to EV batteries, as ...
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FeatureECG develops Covid-19 best practices to protect personnel
The Association of European Finished Vehicle Logistics (ECG) has announced a series of best practices to help protect car transporter drivers, vehicle compound workers and dealership staff from coronavirus. The measures were detailed by Wolfgang Göbel, the association’s president, at its Spring Congress last week (May 14), which was ...
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FeatureAutomotive industry back in crisis mode, says ECG
The automotive industry is “back in crisis mode and fighting again” now that coronavirus has disrupted a decade of growth since the financial crisis of 2009-2010, Wolfgang Göbel, president of the Association of European Finished Vehicle Logistics (ECG) told the audience at its Spring Congress last week ...
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FeatureComment: Crisis leads to change
In ordinary times, when we talk about something being viral we normally mean social media – a wildly popular video of someone falling over, or perhaps a puppy montage. In the extraordinary times that we now find ourselves, the meaning of the word has reverted back to being deadly serious. The emergence of Covid-19 (coronavirus) this year has ravaged the global population, sent entire nations into lockdown and brought business virtually to a standstill.
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FeatureReaching for the stars: how Galileo’s satellites could help automotive logistics
Since launching its first test navigation satellite in 2005, the European Space Agency (ESA) has steadily built up the Galileo global positioning network and today operates 22 satellites. With four further launches due in 2020, the Galileo network is set to become the first fully operational high-accuracy global navigation satellite system (GNSS) – heralding a new era of precision navigation and, for the automotive industry, bringing opportunities for improved vehicle logistics.
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FeatureWater woes: how European river transport projects have ground to a halt
In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland the authorities are embarking on big projects aimed at boosting cargo flows along key rivers. Potentially, this could provide more opportunities for the European finished vehicle logistics industry, but for a number of reasons it is not clear that river transport in the region will become more popular.
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FeatureAl-air: a better battery for EVs?
A long-range, lightweight, cost-efficient, recyclable and ethically sourced battery is, arguably, the Holy Grail of the EV market. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are currently the main focus of multibillion-dollar investments by OEMs and tier suppliers, but there are other contenders that could offer a breakthrough with alternative technology. One of them is the aluminium-air (Al-air) battery.
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FeatureFighting back against fake parts
Counterfeit parts in the automotive industry will soon be worth more than the annual gross domestic product of Canada, Brazil or Italy. According to World Trademark Review, the estimated global economic cost of counterfeiting in the automotive industry could reach $2.3 trillion by 2022. In Europe, it is estimated that €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) is lost annually to counterfeit tyre sales alone, while counterfeit battery sales effectively steal €180m ($198m) from OEMs. Furthermore, the rise of e-commerce is making it ever easier for consumers to knowingly or unknowingly access counterfeit, possibly dangerous vehicle parts.
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FeatureRussia to tie vehicle utilisation fee to local production
The Russian government is changing the rules of its utilisation scheme, through which it allocates state aid for the reimbursement of fees paid by carmakers that are intended to cover eventual vehicle recycling charges. Carmakers in the country are divided over whether linking the utilisation scheme to the localisation programme is fair.
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FeatureDRS and STVA UK to support Ford finished vehicle shipments
Ford has awarded a contract to Direct Rail Services (DRS) for the transport of finished vehicles from its UK factory in Dagenham to DRS’ rail terminal at Garston, near Liverpool. Services are to begin mid-2020. DRS will work with transport provider STVA UK, now owned by France’s ...
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FeatureWeighing the cost of the EV revolution
The rise in the number of electric vehicles being transported in Europe is bringing with it some significant challenges for those carriers tasked with volume shipments. They are having to deal with heavier and higher voltage vehicles that need charging on routes that cross countries with differing regulations on load dimensions
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FeatureQ&A: Pascal Trummer, Magna International
The tier supplier’s vice-president of sales and marketing in Europe discusses major trends in the automotive industry, plus the state of the market in Central and Eastern Europe
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FeatureKeeping calm: RNM Alliance’s Mark Sutcliffe on how to handle supply chain volatility
The automotive industry is undergoing a technological transformation and facing upheavals in key markets, but the OEM’s senior vice-president of industrial strategy and supply chain management believes there are ways to successfully tackle these changes
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FeatureSuppliers set CEE on firm foundations
In the decades since the end of the Cold War, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been attracting automotive components suppliers by virtue of its cheap labour, low taxes and convenient geographical location. Now, the region is aiming to maintain or even build on its gains in the face of vehicle electrification, rising global competition and other challenges.
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NewsVW Group Components supply network supports ID.3 assembly
Volkswagen Group Components, a relative newcomer within the German OEM’s corporate structure, is manufacturing numerous parts for the production of VW’s ID.3 electric vehicle. Pre-series production of the new EV has begun at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, which will be relying on a supply chain linking other VW factories ...
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NewsAutomotive industry angry over US import tariff threat
OEMs, parts manufacturers and sector bodies have all strongly criticised Donald Trump’s pronouncement that he is considering levying duties as high as 25% on imports of vehicles and parts into the US. Trump has this week said he would delay any imposition of duties for ...
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FeatureDelivering a smarter factory
Magna Steyr’s vehicle assembly plant in the Austrian city of Graz is not a typical automotive factory; the site, which in 2018 brought its cumulative total production tally to 3.5m vehicles, produces vehicles under contract for OEMs such as Daimler, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover. Efficiency is important in any ...