BMW – Page 11
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ArticleThe Scandinavian settlement
A new plant has been born in an extremely turbulent political environment – Volvo’s first in the US. Michael Nash reportsVolvo Cars has officially opened its first plant in the US. Construction began at Charleston, South Carolina, back in 2015, with president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson highlighting the importance of ...
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ArticleCentre of operations
Investment in new plants and expansion of existing facilities shows central Europe to be at the heart of vehicle manufacturers’ regional strategiesAt first glance, vehicle production in central Europe – essentially the former communist bloc countries west of the Russian border – appears to centre on Volkswagen with its Skoda ...
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ArticleValmet marks 50th year of operation
Finland - The contract manufacturer is celebrating its 50th anniversary at all its facilities. It currently produces vehicles for several companies, including Daimler, BMW and Porsche."Already for five decades, we have demonstrated that our work, know-how and engineering skills are world class," commented Olaf Bongwald, CEO, Valmet Automotive. "We expect ...
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ArticleBMW splashes on new plant
Hungary - The german carmaker has announced it will build an assembly plant in Hungary next year, near the town of Debrecen in the east of the country. Debrecen was selected because of the advantages it offered in terms of infrastructure, logistics connections and proximity to the supplier network. BMW ...
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ArticleVW announces two appointments
Germany - Ralf Brandstätter has been named COO of the Volkswagen brand. He will lead its operating business while also remaining the company's board member for procurement."Ralf Brandstätter has outstanding commercial and technical expertise. In the newly-created function of COO he will make a decisive contribution to taking the Volkswagen ...
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ArticleBMW leverages computer tomography
Germany - The OEM is now using computer tomography (CT) scans during the vehicle prototyping, production and analysis phases at its Research & Innovation Centre (FIZ) in Munich. This follows on from a two year development project, in which BMW and the Fraunhofer Development Centre for X-Ray Technology (EZRT) developed ...
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ArticleSteel makes a strong case
With the push for powertrain electrification gaining strength producers of high-strength steel are preparing themselves to capitalise reports James Bakewell In 2017, global sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) reached 1.3m units, according to Frédéric Painchault, head of Global Automotive Marketing at steelmaker ...
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ArticleBMW & Great Wall in electric vehicle JV
China – BMW Group and Great Wall Motor have signed an agreement to produce MINI electric vehicles through a new 50:50 joint venture based in China. This new joint venture, “Spotlight Automotive Limited”, will also produce electric vehicles for Great Wall, and the partners intend to build a new state-of-the-art ...
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ArticleGaining PACE!
Groupe PSA’s acquisition of GM’s loss-making European operations raised a few eyebrows. Ian Henry looks at the plan to turn around the Opel/Vauxhall brandsAfter several months of due diligence, the deal was completed on August 1, 2017. Come early November, a new strategy, PACE!, was announced. Having been making a ...
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ArticleAAM builds new powertrain plant
Spain - American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) has started construction of a new 15,000 sq.m facility in Viladecans - a town located 20km southwest of Barcelona. The company says it will house the production of powertrain components for several car makers, such as Renault, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Audi and Ford.“As ...
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ArticleNEVS builds factory in Shanghai
China - The Swedish EV maker has started construction of a new car factory in Shanghai. It will be a copy of the plant that was recently completed in Tianjin - a city situated an hour south of the capital Beijing.Both these plants will have an annual production capacity of ...
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ArticleDiesel – is the final curtain about to fall?
Car companies across Europe are facing a serious problem with their diesel line-ups; whether it is the loss of consumer confidence following the VW crisis, or a rising environmental awareness among consumers, coupled with evident official policy moving against diesel, barely a week goes by without reports of declining diesel ...
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ArticleBMW Brilliance boosts battery output
China - Just months after opening the facility, the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture has announced an expansion to its battery plant in Shenyang. New batteries for the BMW iX3, which is set for launch in 2020, will be made here."Today, we break ground for the next stage of ...
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ArticleA global future
Now Chinese-owned Volvo enters its tenth decade looking stronger than ever. Ian Henry reportsFord had owned Swedish carmaker since 1999, but had never been able to integrate it into the rest of its operations. Nonetheless, when Geely bought Volvo it found a company full of new ideas and plans which ...
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ArticleBMW starts Leipzig extension
Germany - The OEM revealed its intension to expand the plant back in July 2017. It originally said the cost would total around €200m (US$234.82m), but has revised that figure to €300m.Construction work has started to extend and update both the bodyshop and paintshop. 500 new robots are being ...
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ArticleForeign policy friction
Tariffs on steel imports, NAFTA renegotiation and the return to sanctions on Iran have been at the centre of recent policy actions by the US president; the implications for the auto industry are potentially severe but how things will develop are far from clear.The decision to impose tariffs on steel ...
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ArticleBMW shuffles production personal
Germany - Robert Engelhorn is set to take over as director of the OEM's plant in Munich. Previously head of the technology and production division at the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture in China, Engelhorn will succeed Milan Nedeljkovic, who is assuming management responsibility for the corporate quality division.Daniel ...
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ArticleOut now: Electric Vehicles 2018
As governments and vehicle-makers turn away from combustion engines, the time for EVs is nowIn this era of stricter regulations, commitment to the environment and energetic competition, alternatively-powered vehicles are central to every OEMs production strategy. While the take up of electrified vehicles over the past two decades has endured ...
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ArticleSmarter EV production
As it launches ‘electric intelligence’ models, Mercedes-Benz is also adapting its factories for flexible productionAt first there was some confusion over what Mercedes-Benz meant when it announced that it was creating an ‘EQ’ division. Was it to be a line-up of cars which would directly challenge BMW’s i models, as ...
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ArticleIntegrating i vehicles
Separate production lines are used to build conventionally powered vehicles and the electrified i models at BMW Leipzig, but this could soon changeA gulf remains between electric vehicles (EVs)and those that are powered solely by internal combustion engines (ICEs). This is evident in consumer demand, in range, in cost and ...