All Policy and regulation articles – Page 28
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FeatureWLTP causes sharp shift in German car sales
New passenger car registrations in Germany fell 31% year-on-year to an estimated 200,100 in September. In August, the figure was a 25% increase to 316,400.German automotive industry association, the VDA, said the volatility was because of distortions caused by the new Worldwide Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), which is intended ...
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FeatureTesting times
The start of September this year marked the point at which all new car registrations in the EU had to comply with the new CO2 emissions test – the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). This laboratory test is designed to introduce more realistic and stricter criteria when assessing ...
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FeaturePressing a point
Slightly to the north of Wolverhampton in the UK’s industrial Midlands – and perhaps more crucially just a few miles off a key transport route, the M6 motorway – lies one of the latest additions to the worldwide roster of production facilities for stamped automotive metal parts. In mid-September, Spanish-owned ...
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FeatureShipowners should be immune from fuel penalties, says Grimaldi
Emanuele Grimaldi, the managing director of Italian shipping firm Grimaldi Group (pictured), has called for immunity from penalties for shipowners who find themselves in circumstances where it is impossible to comply with the forthcoming rules on maritime sulphur emissions.At the beginning of 2020 it will be compulsory under regulations administered ...
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FeatureEU workers are key: don't close the UK's door
According to the Department for Transport’s official statistics, more goods were imported by road into the UK than exported last year, with 10,000 lorries making their way through Dover Strait per day alone. Up to 86% of cargo exported from the UK went to the Irish Republic (23%), France (22%), ...
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FeatureBMW and Toyota could leave UK after no-deal Brexit
BMW and Toyota have said this week that they could withdraw from the UK if there is disruption to business caused by a no-deal Brexit.Speaking at the start of the Paris Motor Show, BMW’s CEO, Harald Krüger said the carmaker could shift production of the Mini from Oxford to its ...
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FeatureEmissions test and product recalls hit BMW
New emission tests, product recalls and trade wars have forced BMW to warn it anticipates a poorer financial performance this year.The shift to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) has led to significant supply distortions in several European markets and unexpectedly intense rivalry, the German luxury marque ...
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FeatureA crisis in human capital
As the automotive logistics sector continues to automate and let technology take the lead, there are some important human factors to resolve if such plans are to succeed – as delegates at this year’s Automotive Logistics Global conference in Detroit found out While the US car market may be ...
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FeatureMexico hopes for a smoother road ahead
After much uncertainty around trade talks between Mexico and the US and the former’s presidential election, Mexico’s economic and political conditions now seem clearer, leaving OEMs and LSPs in the country more optimistic about the future.Mexico, which is the world’s fourth biggest vehicle exporter, has enjoyed strong levels of exports ...
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FeatureMema slams Trump’s latest tariffs
The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (Mema) in the US has criticised the Trump administration for imposing $200 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports. The duties start at a rate of 10% on September 24 and will rise to 25% in January.“[The measure] will serve as a tax increase ...
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FeatureVolvo seeks US tariff relief for China-built SUV
Following its decision to shift production of its XC60 back to Europe from China, Volvo Cars has revealed it sought exemption from US tariffs of 25% on imports of its SUV, which were exclusively made in China and exported to the US.So far this year the carmaker, which is owned ...
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FeatureDon't hope for a trade war truce
Escalating trade wars look set to be the new risk frontier in the automotive supply chain. With countries and trading blocs starting to retaliate against US moves to raise tariffs, open trade borders are closing in quickly. On July 6, 2018, the US began imposing a 25% tax on $34 ...
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FeatureGaz feels the sting of US sanctions
Russian OEM Gaz Group is facing supply chain disruption due to several European component suppliers ceasing trade with the company following US sanctions on companies owned or controlled by Oleg Deripaska. According to Russian news source Vedomosti, one of the effects is the supply of electric buses to Moscow as ...
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FeatureDeal or no deal – LSPs should prepare for Brexit now
Logistics providers reading the headlines about Brexit may well feel uncertain about how their business needs to transform. A range of potential outcomes, from a soft Brexit to no deal, makes it difficult to know what the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU will look like. Although much is ...
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FeatureKuehne + Nagel builds in blockchain
Logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel is applying blockchain technology to upgrade its existing Verified Gross Mass (VGM) portal. VGM is the weight of cargo, including the dunnage, bracing and tare weight of the container.Since 2016, the IMO has enforced the regulation that requires the shipper to provide the weight of ...
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FeatureRussians drop US dollar for components purchases
Russian Trade and Industry minister Denis Manturov (pictured) has revealed that many Russian automotive manufacturers are increasingly using national currencies, rather than the US dollar, to pay for imported components. The move has been prompted by recent US sanctions on Russia.Several companies have so far announced the policy, trade with ...
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FeatureWLTP: lower emissions, greater challenges
Emissions targets for OEMs are tighter and the method for testing efficiency is more stringent than ever before. As of the start of this month (September), all new vehicles must adhere to New Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) standards, which provide ‘real world’ fuel consumption figures and, therefore, ...
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FeatureEEU cuts import duties but trade within bloc is in dispute
The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) has officially cut duties on finished vehicles being imported into the bloc from 20% to 17%. The rule took effect from September 1 this year, while a further reduction to 15% is proposed to take place at the same time in 2019. The EEU comprises ...
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FeatureTrump rejects tariff offer in trans-Atlantic car trade
Donald Trump has rejected an EU offer to eliminate tariffs on cars, saying the proposal is not good enough.Trump said that ending duties on US car imports into the EU would do little to help the automotive industry in the US because Europeans would still not buy American-made cars. “Their ...
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FeatureFord cancels Focus imports to US from China
Ford has scrapped plans to export the Focus Active model from China to the US because of tariffs of 25% being imposed by the US government. Exports from China were due to begin next year following plans first announced in 2017, when the carmaker decided to supply the car from ...