All Policy and regulation articles – Page 33
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China cuts import tariffs on vehicles and parts
China’s Ministry of Finance has announced that import duty on foreign-made cars will fall from 25% to 15% with effect from July 1, with tariffs on automotive parts dropping from around 10% to 6%.The move delivers on a promise by China’s president Xi Jinping last month that the country would ...
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Yazaki given record fine over cartel conduct
Japanese parts supplier Yazaki has been ordered to pay an increased penalty of A$46m ($34.5m) by Australia’s federal court in respect of cartel conduct in the supply of wire harnesses used in the manufacture of the Toyota Camry.The decision follows an appeal by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), ...
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Sweet home Alabama
One of the most popular songs about the US state of Alabama, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, opens with the line “Big wheels keep on turning” – and indeed the number doing so is set to grow after the January announcement that a $1.6 billion Toyota-Mazda joint-venture manufacturing plant is scheduled to ...
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MBUSI: In a state of contentment
Why has Alabama become such a mecca for automotive manufacturing?I think there are a number of reasons. You have seen the automotive industry continue to push further south into areas where there is a good workforce available. You have infrastructure that is available. The supplier network has continued to migrate ...
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Clark seeks to reassure automotive sector on Brexit
British business minister Greg Clark (pictured) has suggested the UK government wants to avoid any new trade friction over the processing and transporting of automotive products with the European Union after Brexit, despite open disagreement among cabinet ministers over what sort of customs arrangement should be put in place. Clark, ...
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Russia ends era of industrial agreements
Russia is scrapping its Regulation 166 agreement, which allows foreign carmakers building cars in the country to import parts at preferential rates of customs duty. According to the country’s Ministry of Economic Development, the industrial agreement regime will cease on July 1 this year.In a statement posted on its website, ...
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Russia: Recovery still down the road
Sales of finished vehicles in Russia rose 11.9% in 2017 over the previous year to reach 1.59m units, according to estimates in early January by the Association of European Businesses (AEB). Russia’s long-awaited recovery began in March and gained momentum throughout the year, peaking in December with monthly sales of ...
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Russia moves to boost domestic EV market
Russia has announced a series of support measures to boost domestic sales of electric vehicles (EVs) from fewer than 100 units in 2017 to nearly 100,000 units by 2025 – or 4-5% of overall vehicle sales.According to the federal government’s national strategy for automotive development in Russia, up to 90% ...
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Audi México: Risk and reward
When Audi opened its assembly plant in Mexico in September 2016, it was a milestone achievement on a number of levels. It was the first factory the German carmaker had set up outside Europe and the first that it was exclusively managing overseas (the two factories in China are joint ...
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Gaz Group faces halt in assembly
Gaz Group is reported to have said that it may have to cease vehicle assembly in Russia in June because of recently imposed US sanctions that have blocked the import of automotive components from the US, Germany and the Czech Republic.The OEM’s production and export operations have been in doubt ...
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Car hauliers suspend services at Renault-Nissan’s Chennai plant
Car carriers providing outbound distribution services for Renault-Nissan in India suspended their operations at the carmaker’s plant in Chennai last week in protest at what they say was the OEM’s decision to renege on agreed freight rates.According to the Car Carrier Association (CCA), the dispute dates back to meetings Renault-Nissan ...
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Waking up to a new dawn
Brazilian vehicle manufacturers are increasingly optimistic that the country can claw its way out of a deep recession. The country is experiencing a period of low inflation, low interest rates, light GDP growth and a tentative recovery in employment, reflected in improving purchasing power and consumer confidence. Moreover, consumers with ...
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Trusting the market will stay afloat
European vehicle-handling ports saw growth in vehicle vehicle volumes in 2017, however geo-political worries – not least Brexit – is causing concerns. Ports continue to invest but there are worries over future volumes and capacity levels.
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Trump sanctions leave Gaz exports in doubt
The production and export operations of Gaz Group in Russia remain up in the air, after the US first imposed and then delayed sanctions against its owner Oleg Deripaska this month.Deripaska was as one of seven Russian businessmen and 12 companies targeted by the US in early April in response ...
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Russia to halt parts imports during Fifa World Cup
Russia is likely to cease importing almost all automotive components and spare parts for two months from May 25 to July 25, as the federal government seeks to impose unprecedented security measures in the country for the duration of the Fifa World Cup 2018 football tournament.The government is planning to ...
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Opportunities grow as China opens its market
China is committed to opening its market to global competition, as shown by the announcement last week that it will lower import tariffs and remove a two-decade old regulation restricting foreign carmakers to making cars there only as part of a joint venture with a Chinese company. And according to ...
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Jaguar Land Rover to cut production jobs in UK
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that it will shed 1,000 agency staff jobs at its Solihull plant in the UK Midlands over the next two years because of “continuing headwinds impacting the car industry”. The carmaker, which is the UK's biggest producer, confirmed that in March sales were down ...
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Navigating uncharted waters
At 04.00 on June 26 last year, Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of AP Moller-Maersk, was woken by a phone call from his office. That’s when he learned that the global shipping giant had fallen victim to a cyber-attack. Over the next few hours, the true severity of the incident became ...
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China to slash car import tariffs and aid foreign JVs
China’s president Xi Jinping has said the country will greatly reduce its current 25% duty on foreign-made cars as part of wider efforts to increase imports and reduce its trade surplus with other countries.“This year we will significantly lower import tariffs for vehicles and reduce import tariffs for some other ...
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Mercedes-Benz: Taking an end-to-end approach
It may have taken Mercedes-Benz around 120 years to reach 1m cars per year, breaching the mark around the turn of the 21stcentury. However, the recent surge in growth of the brand has seen it rise by around 1m units in sales and production in just five years, with passenger ...