All articles by Steve Garnsey – Page 16
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FeatureWLTP hits tier suppliers’ bottom lines
Two more tier suppliers have attributed declining financial performance to a drop-off in vehicle sales caused by the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) for emissions standards in Europe.Michigan, US-based aluminium wheel manufacturer Superior Industries International has put a third-quarter loss down to the effects of ...
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FeaturePSA and Nissan boost vehicle production in Africa
Production of Opel’s Grandland X and the Peugeot 3008 from semi-knockdown (SKD) kits will begin at the PSA group’s new assembly plant in Walvis Bay, Namibia, before the end of this year. Meanwhile, Nissan has revealed it aims to be the first carmaker to assemble vehicles in Ghana.PSA’s Walvis Bay ...
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FeatureSchaeffler and Michelin announce UK plant closures
Automotive parts suppliers Schaeffler and Michelin have both announced they are scaling back their UK manufacturing operations – the former citing Brexit uncertainty as one of the reasons and the latter blaming the move on changing markets and cheap competition.German firm Schaeffler is closing its 220-employee factory at Llanelli, in ...
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FeatureZF trials drone deliveries at Friedrichshafen
Component manufacturer ZF has started testing the use of a drone to distribute parts at its main plant in Friedrichshafen, south-west Germany.The prototype is being used to transport spare parts such as sensors and control cards from the plant’s central warehouse to various workshops, with the aim of proving that ...
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FeatureAudi to develop closed loop for battery recycling
German carmaker Audi has begun working with Belgian materials technology and recycling partner Umicore to investigate the potential for recycling the materials in electric car batteries. The companies are looking to adopt a closed-loop approach in which valuable elements such as cobalt, nickel and copper from end-of-life batteries are recovered ...
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FeatureSupply chain a factor in Dyson’s Singapore plant
Electrical goods manufacturer Dyson has selected Singapore as the location for its first electric vehicle (EV) production plant.Jim Rowan (pictured), the CEO of the British company – which is best known for its home appliances – was quoted in media reports suggesting that the decision to make the car there ...
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FeatureNovelis puts fresh focus on automotive sector
Aluminium rolling company Novelis is setting up a network of bases to increase product development specifically for the automotive industry. Its customer solution centres (CSCs) will be located close to OEM plants in North America, China and Europe and will be used to encourage the use of aluminium in applications ...
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FeatureToyota begins making transaxles in Poland
Japanese OEM Toyota has started manufacturing the fourth generation of hybrid electric transaxles at its TMMP plant in Wałbrzych, Poland, the first factory outside Asia to make the component.Polish-made transaxles will be shipped to the company’s car plant near Derby, in central England, for use in the hatchback, wagon and ...
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FeatureWLTP hits sales and profits in Germany
Carmaker VW Group and parts supplier Schaeffler have both put weaker third-quarter financial performance down to the effects of the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).As manufacturers have phased out older passenger car models in advance of the more stringent emissions testing procedure coming into effect on September ...
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FeatureBMW moves to drive battery development
German carmaker BMW has formed a technology consortium with battery developer Northvolt and Umicore, a producer of active materials for battery cells, to develop a complete and sustainable value chain for batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe.BMW said its chief objective was to make battery cells sustainable by establishing ...
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FeatureFord starts shutdown at Bridgend engine plant
Work at a production line at Ford’s engine plant in Bridgend, south Wales, has been put hold for five days, just as the company starts work on building a new engine.The halt is on the AJ line which is making an engine for Jaguar, the BBC reported.A Ford spokeswoman told ...
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FeatureGestamp opens first plant in Japan
Spanish automotive parts manufacturer Gestamp has inaugurated a manufacturing unit in Matsusaka, central Japan, the company’s first in the country. Gestamp Hot Stamping Japan will work for Japanese OEMs, starting with Honda.The tier supplier said the new plant would improve its knowledge of the needs of Japanese car manufacturers and ...
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FeatureFord appoints Chen to tackle sales slump in China
Ford is turning its business in China into a stand-alone business unit, Ford China, headed by Anning Chen (pictured). The move is part of a general reorganisation of the OEM's Asia-Pacific operations designed to return the company to profitable growth.The change takes place against a background of falling sales in ...
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FeatureSeat renews rail deal at Martorell
Spanish carmaker Seat has signed a new, three-year contract with Autometro to transport vehicles by rail from its Martorell plant to the port of Barcelona for export.Operating since 2008, the service run by Catalonia’s regional railway FGC transports an average of 105,000 vehicles a year.Under the renewed contract, several technical ...
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FeatureCeva strengthens partnership with CMA CGM
Logistics provider Ceva is to take over the freight management business of its major shareholder and strategic partner, the CMA CGM shipping line.The agreement, part of a wider shake up in the relationship between the companies, comes days after Ceva rejected a takeover bid from Danish rival DSV, which has ...
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FeatureŠkoda tests out drone for stocktaking
Czech carmaker Škoda is trialling an autonomous drone to identify and count containers outside its factory in Mladá Boleslav. The goal is for drone-assisted stocktaking to become a regular feature of operations in the medium term.“We are continuously working on improving the efficiency of our everyday production processes and making ...
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FeatureVW starts making Seat Tarraco at Wolfsburg
Spanish carmaker Seat, part of the VW Group, has begun producing its Tarraco SUV on assembly lines at VW’s Wolfsburg factory – the first time in 20 years a non-VW vehicle has been built at the plant in northern Germany.Designed and developed in Barcelona, the Tarraco is built on the ...
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FeatureMitsubishi starts Chinese engine production
The GAC Mitsubishi Motors (GMMC) joint venture between Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and Mitsubishi Motors has started making engines in Changsha, Hunan province, southern China.The new plant will produce the 4J1 powertrain for Mitsubishi’s Outlander SUV, already manufactured at the adjacent assembly plant, and the new 1.5L direct-injection petrol engine ...
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FeatureFCA to sell Magneti Marelli to CK Holdings
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is selling its Italian-based automotive components business Magneti Marelli to CK Holdings, parent company of Japanese components supplier Calsonic Kansei, in a deal worth around $7 billion.With combined revenues of €15.2 billion ($17.6 billion), the newly combined Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei will be the world’s ...
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FeatureFord highlights the high cost of US-made steel
Ford has highlighted the high cost of US-made steel, in the aftermath of the 25% import duties on the metal imposed by President Donald Trump.Speaking about the cost of key input materials at a recent event to mark the start of Ranger pick-up production at the Wayne assembly plant in ...