Automation – Page 290
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ArticleOakville to build new Ford Edge
Canada – Following a C$700m investment “to make it one of the most competitive and advanced global manufacturing facilities in Canada”, announced last September, Ford says the Toronto plant will export the utility vehicle to more than 60 countries.Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, commented: “Oakville is vital to ...
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ArticleGM celebrates millionth vehicle at Rayong
Thailand – Production of the milestone vehicle, a Chevrolet Trailblazer, was celebrated during a visit to the facility by the company’s new CEO, Mary Barra, and president Dan Ammann.Amman described Rayong as “a key component of our consumer-centric and market-driven strategy for growing our production line-up and Chevrolet brand in ...
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ArticleBosch, GS Yuasa and Mitsubishi to boost EV batteries
Germany – The new Lithium Energy and Power joint venture, headquartered in Stuttgart and with a 70-strong workforce, will begin operations in 2014 with the aim of developing the next generation of lithium-ion battery technology.“In setting up this joint venture, we want to achieve nothing less than a giant leap ...
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Article
BorgWarner appoints Sato to the board
US – Vicki Sato has served as professor of management practice, Harvard Business School, and professor of the practice in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University since 2006.Sato was previously president of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and is currently a director of Bristol-Myers Squibb, Perkin Elmer and Galapagos.www.borgwarner.com
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ArticleBus-making moves in the right direction
Buses are a sustainable form of public transport, but only if they are manufactured in similar fashionLike all sectors of the automotive industry, the drive is on to increase sustainability within the coach and bus sector. One such programme is under way at Thomas Built Buses, the manufacturer of the ...
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ArticleBig challenges off the road
The volumes may be lower and the unit size larger, but the logistical and manpower issues involved in off-highway manufacturing are similar to the automotive industryThe manufacture of huge off-road vehicles follows many of the same processes found in automotive production. Most of these models are made using flow line ...
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ArticleTata and Westport launch natural gas engine
India – The new spark-ignited (SI) natural gas 3.8-litre turbocharged engine features Westport’s WP580 engine management system (EMS).According to Westport, the EMS features engine control strategies which offer reduced fuel consumption and emissions, increased load carrying capabilities with launch torque, and integrated vehicle functionality. The system is also designed to ...
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ArticleToyota: The titan marches on
While production is set to decrease in Japan, the OEM is expanding its worldwide footprintOn December 5, 2013, Toyota passed a notable production landmark when the total number of vehicles made in Japan since the company’s inception passed 150 million, 78 years and five months since the first model, a ...
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ArticleValenciennes to make Toyota Yaris in 3 shifts
France – The move has been made to accommodate an increased production plan for 2014 of 220,000 units, following particularly successful sales of the Yaris Hybrid. The 15% boost in output will require an expansion of the workforce by 500 temporary personnel to a total of 4,000. Toyota Motor Manufacturing ...
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Article
GM ploughs €250m into engines at Tychy
Poland – The OEM has allocated a new generation of mid-size diesel engines to its facility in the Katowice Special Economic Zone, with production set to begin in 2017. Annual capacity will be 200,000 units.The investment is the largest in the history of the Tychy plant and will enable the ...
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ArticleCoping with coatings
The latest solutions for steel include metal-cored welding wires, zinc-magnesium-aluminium alloys and a nanoceramic methodA car body goes through the GardoFlex galvanising bath at Kia Motors SlovakiaThe automotive industry has found steel such a useful material that it seems almost churlish to mention its habit of bonding with oxygen and ...
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ArticlePositively attractive
Magnetic filtration of industrial fluids such as coolants and cutting oils can improve process efficiency reports Steve McAllorum of Eclipse MagneticsMagnetic filtration is widely used in the automotive industry within OEMs and Tier 1 and 2 suppliers for the manufacture of powertrain and engine components. It overcomes the problems associated ...
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ArticlePorsche opens expanded Leipzig plant
Germany – Following two years of work, the facility now includes a bodyshop and a modern paintshop in addition to final assembly in order to accommodate production of the new Macan. Porsche’s Leipzig plant, which was designed to meet strict environmental standards, has been assembling the Cayenne and Panamera models ...
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ArticleExpanding horizons
AMS reports on sustained growth at Volkswagen during 2013 and expectations of more to come in 2014The seemingly unending expansion of the Volkswagen Group continued last year and looks likely to continue into 2014 and beyond. The company is engaged in a three-way battle with GM and Toyota for the ...
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ArticleAutomotive’s new powerhouses
South East Asia has transformed itself from a backwater of protectionism to become one of the world’s vehicle manufacturing powerhouses and analysts believe there’s a lot more room to grow.In combination, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia now build more vehicles than Brazil or India. Thailand is by far the biggest of ...
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Article新的汽车强国
东南亚已经把自己从停滞不前的保护主义转变成为世界汽车制造强国，分析家认为还有更多发展空间。目前，泰国、印尼和马来西亚制造的汽车总数量超过巴西或印度。迄今为止，泰国在这三个国家中位居榜首，去年制造246万辆汽车。泰国惊人的轻型皮卡车行业最初受益于低销售税而迅速发展，有助于当时集中在农业方面的人口购置汽车，并在此基础上不断发展，跻身世界汽车制造国的前10名。像丰田（Toyota）Hilux，福特Ranger和三菱（Mitsubishi ）L200这样的皮卡车仍然是主力车型，但是，在一次成功的“生态汽车”活动后，重点正开始更加倾向于A和B级超小型车，使得更多汽车制造商在泰国制造汽车和采购零部件，以换取丰厚的税收优惠。 印尼的巨大潜力目前，正在方兴未艾的印尼市场复制这种模式，已经看到了制造业的巨大增长，1997年国内的汽车行业仅以全散件（CKD）装配形式装配224,000辆，2013年则制造121万辆。当时长期独裁者苏哈托尝试由他的儿子免税进口起亚（Kia）车型来建立全国汽车，但是，苏哈托早已逝去，现在的重点是坚定地吸引外国原始设备制造商来投资。当地汽车市场去年突破123万辆，快速赶上泰国的132万辆，鉴于其人口为2.5亿而泰国人口只有6700万，因而具有更大潜力。“印尼仍然有发展空间，那里的汽车普及率是该地区中最低的。”专注于该地区轻型汽车生产的IHS Automotive资深分析家杰士达·通巴（Jessada Thongpak）说。根据IHS数字，汽车普及率仅为每1,000人45辆，泰国为每1,000人145辆，马来西亚为每1,000人200辆。 马来西亚将专注于小排量汽车马来西亚（人口2900万）介乎于其他两家之间，主要由于其专注于自己的两家国内汽车制造商Proton和Perodua，预计产量不会达到几乎相同的增长。去年，马来西亚破纪录地生产了601,407辆汽车，多数是小客车，尽管该地区的两大参与者丰田和本田进行了投资，从2007年441,661辆基础上的增长一直保持稳定，而不是激增。马来西亚希望改变这种状况，1月份宣布，它将步邻国后尘，为希望制造低排放的小型汽车的任何公司推出税收友好环境。 然而，IHS怀疑政府会在2020年前实现每年120万辆汽车的目标。“鉴于各大原始设备制造商在泰国或印尼的次紧凑型或低成本汽车方面投入巨资，我不认为其他外国原始设备制造商将在马来西亚投资。”通巴解释说。在另一方面，IHS预测，泰国2018年前每年将制造汽车300万辆，印尼2017年前达到150万辆且2024年前可能达到200万辆。印尼不仅想满足广大当地市场，其政府也想效仿泰国的出口成功策略。去年，泰国出口120万辆汽车，占总产量的46%。再加上出口的汽车零部件，去年，泰国收益相当于220美元。“至少需要30%至40%的出口才能成为增长的主要推动力。”通巴说。泰国的皮卡销往包括欧洲在内的世界各地，该国在这些皮卡基础上制造出很好的硬朗SUV，如丰田Fortuner、福特Everest和雪佛兰Trailblazer。根据环保汽车计划制造的节俭型超小型车（如日产的March（Micra）和三菱的Mirage）的出口量也很大。这些汽车是按照一系列排放和安全标准制造的。泰国是仅次于日本的澳大利亚第二大汽车来源以及本田泰式输出的主要市场，位于该国主要汽车中心罗勇府的福特第二家工厂制造福克斯（Focus）等全球销售的汽车，该公司在2010年组建伊始就宣布在那里生产的85%汽车用于出口。MPV目标市场迄今为止，印尼工业变得更加内向，去年其工厂出口276,000辆汽车和套件。泰国拥有其皮卡车，而面向家庭的印尼的主要车型是7座MPV，更多汽车制造商瞄准了市场领导者丰田在该国制造的汽车。日本完全占主导地位，而雪佛兰2012年占1.2%的市场份额，凭借其新款Spin超小型7座车还有出路，这款车是在主要汽车制造业云集的雅加达以东地区制造的。 瞄准了这个市场还有日产的新预算的品牌达特桑（Datsun），其当地制造的Go+车型在年晚些时候面市时还提供基于加长小型汽车平台的7座车。日产的常规Go掀背车将成为印尼希望汽车原始设备制造商制造的小型低排放汽车的典范，作为其“低成本绿色汽车”计划的一部分。路透社去年估计，丰田、本田和大发（Daihatsu）等汽车制造商已经在生产当地版本的日本“Kei”（轻自动车）汽车方面花费了30亿美元，当地人可以从随处可见的摩托车升级至该款车型。 据IHS的通巴说，其好处是对制造商和消费者的低税收，这是从泰国复制的一种模式。泰国刚刚宣布了环保汽车计划的第2阶段内容，对汽车制造商实施更加严厉的条件以换取14%的营业税（而普通汽车为30-50%），并削减了泰国没有的机械和任何零部件的进口关税。制造商必须在四年内花费至少2亿美元建立产量为100,000辆的新工厂，在当地采购大部分材料。汽车必须配置小于1.3升的发动机，每小时62英里或更好的经济性，排放低于每公里100克。 环保汽车产量增加政府已经表示，鉴于该计划，预计年环保汽车制造业飙升60%，在2010至2013年间制造700,000辆（50%以上日产汽车）。据说，马自达（Mazda）公司有兴趣签约。目标还是增加出口，这在政治不确定的泰国非常重要。2011年可怕的洪灾对位于曼谷北部大城的本田等供应商和制造商造成了打击，泰国已获得强劲反弹。然而，政治动荡更为常见，目前的反政府抗议活动潮是已经摇摆不定的汽车市场12月下跌的主要原因，与2012年同月相比，客车下降45%，产量下降34%。 IHS现在预测，增长情况今年将得以扭转，产量略微下降至241万辆。1月下旬，本田公司执行副总裁岩村哲夫（Tetsuo Iwamura）告诉记者，本田预计今年泰国国内对汽车的需求下降14%，而在印尼的销售将持平。本田与丰田争夺泰国当地汽车销售的主导地位，并于最近公布建立第二家工厂，使其2015年前在该国产量达420,000辆。 中等收入陷阱虽然希望出口会使工厂忙碌起来，但是，泰国政府还热衷于使汽车制造业成为“将泰国从中等收入陷阱中挽救回来的一个主要行业”，正如其在“2012-2016年泰国汽车行业总体规划”中所述。一些经济学家认为，马来西亚已经陷入这个陷阱，对于以低成本吸引制造商的国家，那里的工资涨得太高，但是，在花在使其成为创新中心所需的技能或教育方面的钱又不足。泰国的工资已经上升，IHS的通巴警告说，需要解决技能差距。“泰国确实存在劳动力短缺的问题。这是政府和教育部门需要做的事情。”他说。 为了满足不断增长的中产阶级较富裕阶层的需求，该地区存在着由优质汽车制造商提供的规模小但完善的装配业务。宝马（BMW）自1976年起首先在印尼从套件装配520i车型汽车，目前在它雅加达附近的工厂装配其3系轿车。像奔驰一样，宝马在泰国的业务较大，制造X1和X3 SUV。似乎有些耸人听闻，沃尔沃（Volvo）是一家首批进入马来西亚的制造商，其装配厂是1967年获准的六家装配厂之一。这家瑞典公司仍然在该国制造汽车，最近升级了工厂，开始装配全散件，而不是以前的半散件（SKD）套件，目标是2015年前每年生产4,500辆汽车。 在汽车发展方面还有更多的拦路虎，最大的问题是使该地区特大城市陷入困境的恶劣交通状况。雅加达市市长已公开反对政府发展小型车市场的计划，鉴于逐渐减少的道路空间，称之为不可持续。但是，根据波士顿咨询公司（Boston Consulting Group）分析家的数据，预计2012年印尼的中产阶级和富裕消费者（所谓的MAC）将从2012年的7400万上升至1亿4100万，而且泰国巧妙地将自身打造成为一个出口枢纽，东南亚洲制造业的未来看起来前途十分光明。
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ArticleAbsorbing competition
Lightweighting is driving continuous improvement in all materials, but especially steelLighter weight equals less power equals lower carbon emissions. The equation is simple and the quest to find ever-lighter materials for use in automotive production is unending. Aluminium is a lot lighter, plastics are both lighter and easier to form ...
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ArticleToyota to end all Australian production
Australia – The move comes as a result of “various negative factors”, according to Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). He said these included “an extremely competitive market”, “a strong Australian dollar” and “forecasts of a reduction in the total scale of vehicle production in Australia”. Toyoda described ...
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Article
Continental buys Veyance
US – The tyre manufacturer, headquartered in Germany, has agreed a price of €1.4bn with The Carlyle Group in the US for the rubber and plastics company, which has 27 plants worldwide and a workforce of around 9,000.“Veyance’s business and geographic presence complements Continental’s existing global footprint,” commented Elmar Degenhart, ...
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ArticleA shared manufacturing future
AMS investigates what the formation of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) means for the global production footprint of two previously separate OEMsEven before they officially tied the knot in January, Fiat and Chrysler had been planning a shared production future, in countries where it makes sense to do so. Jeeps made ...