All Expansion articles – Page 9
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Article
BAIC breaks ground at Port Elizabeth
An artist's impression of BAIC's Coega plantSouth Africa – The brand new factory, located at the Coega Industrial Development Zone near Port Elizabeth, will cover 85,000 sq.m and will have capacity to make 100,000 vehicles per year. The new development is expected to create around 2,500 jobs. Four BAIC ...
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ArticleSkid-free flexibility
With the energy savings it brings, the skidless paintshop is proving to be a popular ideaThere are some real heavyweights on the move inside automotive manufacturers’ production facilities: 200kg skids transfer 300kg vehicle bodies from the bodyshop to pretreatment, and on through the entire paintshop. Over 1,200 conveyor components and ...
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ArticleTravel blog: The final frontier with Kia in Pesquería
And for my next mission... Mars! Or Monterrey in Nuevo León, which is similarly arid but uncomfortably hotter. At least I have the benefit of oxygen as I journey to Kia's new factory at Pesquería. I'd heard that Kia had been experiencing problems (Houston!) with this development, but as I ...
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ArticleEditor's note: The eye of the beholder
The allure of a gleaming surface has always been irresistible to the human eye. While technological complexity and model diversity are increasing to a bewildering degree, the external appearance of a vehicle remains an obvious deciding factor for most buyers. As a result, OEMs and their paint providers are coming ...
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Article
Influential India
India’s automotive component sector is relishing its new place on the international stageChanges in the Indian component sector have prompted growth in the role of its companies worldwide in recent years. Likewise, European, Japanese and American suppliers have moved into India. Until around a decade ago, the Indian automotive components ...
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ArticleInfluential India
India’s automotive component sector is relishing its new place on the international stageChanges in the Indian component sector have prompted growth in the role of its companies worldwide in recent years. Likewise, European, Japanese and American suppliers have moved into India. Until around a decade ago, the Indian automotive components ...
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ArticleUK auto industry in fighting form before EU vote
With the referendum on EU membership fast approaching, the UK’s automotive industry gathered at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for the first AutoMechanika show outside Germany. At the accompanying open forum for its members, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders was in buoyant mood, announcing that its supply ...
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ArticleBMW breaks ground at San Luis Potosí
Mexico – Once construction is complete, the plant in the north-central state will make BMW 3 Series sedans, with capacity for 150,000 units per year. Production is expected to begin in 2019.The new factory will have a bodyshop, paintshop and assembly hall, and represents an investment of $1 billion. Its ...
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ArticleJLR opens factory at Itatiaia
Brazil – The plant in Rio de Janeiro State is Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) first wholly owned plant outside the UK and the first production centre opened by a UK automotive group in Latin America. The company invested 750m reais ($215.7m) in the factory and associated Education Business Partnership Centre.“Land ...
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ArticleVoith prepares to open wheel/tyre plant
UK – The facility in Coventry will be inaugurated in September, replacing a 30-year-old operation nearby. The new factory is intended to supply premium brands such as Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as well as high-volume manufacturers such Vauxhall.“Our new plant covering 150,000sq.ft is over 50% bigger, and the investment in ...
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Article
Rings around the world
Like its premium brand competitors Audi is now establishing a global manufacturing networkThe geographic expansion of Volkswagen’s vehicle production beyond Germany, into Mexico, China, Spain, India, Brazil and South Africa, is now well-established. Meanwhile, parallel expansion at Audi is, with the exception of China, a much more recent phenomenon.Despite the ...
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ArticleHonda opens Prachinburi plant
Thailand – The new factory at Rojana Industrial Park, Prachinburi province, represents an investment of 17.15 billion bahts ($48.3m) and features the latest Honda production technology, including the Assembly Revolution Cell (ARC) concept. The plant will strengthen the role of Honda Automobile Thailand within the company’s worldwide network.“Thailand has increased ...
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ArticleRings around the world
Like its premium-brand competitors, Audi is now in the process of building a global manufacturing networkThe geographic expansion of Volkswagen’s vehicle production beyond Germany, into Mexico, China, Spain, India, Brazil and South Africa, is now well-established. Meanwhile, parallel expansion at Audi is, with the exception of China, a much more ...
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Article
Toyota opens Porto Feliz engine plant
Brazil – The new factory in São Paulo State represents an investment of 18 billion yen ($170m) and is the OEM’s first engine manufacturing facility in Latin America. Built on 872,500 sq.m of land, it has a capacity of 108,000 engines per year and a workforce of 320 individuals.Porto Feliz ...
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ArticleGKN starts production at Villagran
Mexico – Built at a cost of $17.5m, the 12,000 sq.m facility in the central state of Guanajuato will support both local and global demand for all-wheel drive vehicles. The plant is now making a new type of propshaft, the GKN VLi, which its maker claims is fast to assemble ...
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Article
Grupo Antolin opens a new factory in China
China – The new plant, part of a joint venture with Dongfeng Visteon, will manufacture headliners and door panels for Renault, PSA, Nissan, Infiniti and Honda. The JV has invested more than €11m in the project that will expand employment to around 125 people by the end of the year.Currently ...
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ArticleCould Brexit mean business as usual?
As the UK's competing EU referendum campaigns gather speed, it is fascinating to ponder the impact a vote to leave would have on the automotive industry. About a year ago, I would have said that the so-called 'Brexit' would be unremittingly bad news for the UK's automotive manufacturing sector. Now, ...
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Article
EU referendum
As the UK‘s EU referendum campaigns gather speed, I am frequently asked for my views on the impact of a vote to leave on the industry. A year or so ago, I would have said that leaving the EU would be unremittingly bad news for the UK auto industry. Now, ...
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ArticleNexteer announces European expansion
Poland – The motion control specialist will spend over $16m on building a third plant and on opening a technical centre in Tychy later this year. The company will add 100 engineers to its workforce and has already started the recruitment process.The new factory will boost Nexteer’s capacity to produce ...
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Article
Interior angles
Despite much merger, acquisition and joint ventures, the automotive interiors market remains fragmented Seats and dashboards/cockpits are the two largest segments of the interiors market, both in terms of component size and value. Historically these components have been supplied by a mixture of in-house and independent suppliers, while in recent ...