Chinese carmaker Jianghuai Automobile (JAC) said it intends to sell more than 1.6m cars by the end of the 2015 with exports accounting for 25% of the volume.
The company’s largest market share is in South America and last year it reported exports there of around 30,000 units.
In terms of localised production in South America, JAC is already assembling CKD kits at a plant in Venezuela, imported from China, and last November began work on a $600m plant in Brazil at Camacari, Bahia. The plant is expected to be operational by 2014 and is set for a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles.
In an interview with the China Daily, JAC’s chairman An Jin said that the company would be concentrating on improving quality both for the domestic market and for overseas buyers. He also said the company has been setting up maintenance outlets overseas to provide post-sale service and would not rush to export to countries without those outlets.
"Without a maintenance network, a Chinese auto company's presence overseas will not last long," he told the China Daily.
The emphasis on quality reported follows the recall of just more than 117,000 Tongyue vehicles in China that had been fitted with rusted chassis. The vehicles were exposed by a corporate malpractice investigation aired on China Central Television. Volkswagen was also targeted in the programme for its problems with its direct shift gearbox (DSG) transmission, which is reported to be causing cars to speed up or slow down during driving.
Achilles works with carmakers on SCM tool
Supplier management provider, Achilles, is working with Toyota Motor Europe, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover to develop a supply chain mapping (SCM) tool that will allow automotive companies to mitigate supply risks, such as bottlenecks, by providing enhanced visibility. The tool is undergoing tests and is expected to go live in the next couple of months according to Achilles.
“As automotive supply chains become more complex, the potential for major disruption through the failure of a lower tier supplier rises,” said Adrian Chamberlain, CEO at Achilles. “So we are working with these companies on technology that will enable them to map and understand their supply chains right through the many tiers. This will allow them to see the interaction and dynamics of them and risk assess in a way that has never been done before.”
Speaking for Toyota Motor Europe, Guillaume Jacques, purchasing general manager, Projects & Strategy Planning, added: “Our recent experience showed us that most of our supply chain problems came from tier two suppliers and below, while our current supply chain risk management process was covering mostly tier one suppliers.
“We warmly invite other OEMs to join Achilles’ automotive solution as the targeted efficiency gain will be fully delivered only if the solution becomes an industry wide standard,” continued Jacques.
Renault renews overnight contract with TNT
Renault’s division in Germany has renewed its express shipping contract with TNT’s overnight carrier service Innight for three more years.
TNT Innight has been providing time-critical spare parts deliveries for Renault in the country the past three years and will continue to supply around 750 Renault and Dacia dealers across Germany.
Distribution of parts including windshields, bodywork and engine components is managed out of a 25,000 square meter warehouse in Brühl, south of Cologne.
Parts ordered before 4pm can be delivered before the start of the next working day, with around 4,000 to 5,000 items leaving the Brühl warehouse each day.
Innight also processes returns for Renault Germany from its dealerships.
Strong show from LSPs at GM awards
At its 21st Supplier of the Year awards recently held in Detroit, General Motors handed out accolades to 83 of its best global suppliers, including 13 logistics service providers.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History, GM’s vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, Grace Lieblein, noted the critical role suppliers played in its business. “Each winning company consistently exceeded our expectations by being innovative, delivering high quality products and services on time, and by creating outstanding value,” she said.
This year’s awards recognised 46 companies that were repeat recipients of the award. Among them was Italian shipowner Grimaldi Group, which received the award for the 12th time.
“It has been a great honour for us to have been chosen for the 12th time as the best supplier by one of our biggest customers” said managing director, Emanuele Grimaldi. “We are pleased to receive this award which is the result of the continuous efforts of our Group to offer high-quality logistics services to General Motors”, he said.
Maersk Line and Höegh Autoliners were also recognised for ocean transport and logistics services.
Another repeat logistics recipient was DSV Air and Sea, the division of DSV that manages alternative routes. It has been organising supply chains for GM from Europe, Africa and the Near East to production locations and spare parts centres in Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. It is the second year the company has been recognised with an award.
"Our customers demand reliable, cost-effective transportation, but the biggest and best also want transparency and close cooperation in all aspects of the supply chain,” said Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO of DSV. “This is what we continue to deliver to General Motors, and they have rewarded our efforts by making us Supplier of the Year. It makes me very proud on behalf of DSV and our employees.”
Amongst the other logistics providers receiving awards were Algai, Amports, Chunil Cargo Transportation, CJ Korea Express, FedEx, Mueller – Die Lila Logistik, Rich Transport, Ryder System and Union Pacific.
