Latest News & Features – Page 168
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ArticleFCA to build Jeep vehicles in India
US – Investing $280m in the company’s manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon, India, will support the production of a new Jeep vehicle and is expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2017. “Today marks an important step as we continue to expand the availability of Jeep products around the ...
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ArticleMagna to build cars for JLR
UK - Jaguar Land Rover has agreed a manufacturing partnership with Magna Steyr to build some future vehicles in Graz, Austria. JLR says the aim of this collaboration is to create additional volumes needed to support the company's plans for further growth, as its three UK vehicle plants approach operating ...
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ArticleUwe Hück joins VW supervisory board
Germany – The appointment by Braunschweig Local Court is effective July 1, 2015. Hück succeeds Jürgen Dorn, who has resigned his mandate.Hück is chairman of the General and Group Works Council of Porsche; chairman of the Zuffenhausen / Ludwigsburg / Sachsenheim Works Council; deputy chairman of the Works Council of ...
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ArticleZF TRW makes 60 millionth EPB unit
Germany – The electric park brake (EPB), motor-on-caliper technology, which was developed at TRW’s technical centre in Koblenz, is currently produced in North America and China. It is now in its fifth generation.“ZF TRW was first to market with its EPB system in 2001, which pioneered with Lancia, Audi and ...
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ArticleSteel solutions
Producers of steel are developing innovative solutions to meet the vehicle lightweighting challengeOEMs have to strike a balance when selecting the right materials for their vehicles. These materials need to be strong enough to protect passengers in the event of a collision, yet light enough to reduce CO2 emissions and ...
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ArticleGM: Chasing Chinese capacity
Phil Kienle, vice-president of Manufacturing for GM International Operations (GMIO and GM China) discusses the production challenges of meeting rising demand in ChinaAMS: How has GM standardised its manufacturing operations globally and is China now operating at a level comparable with GM’s other high-volume production regions?Phil Kienle (PK): When you ...
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ArticleInline cleaning system for machined precision parts
QuattroClean from ACI AG is an inline, fully automated cleaning cell that the company says provides a needs-oriented cleaning step directly between the machining process and measurement step. The system can be integrated into a fully automated production line or used as a stand-alone device, claims the company.Fitted with a ...
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ArticleSpecific lubricants to prevent unwanted vehicle noises
Klüber Lubrication offers a kit of 14 damping lubricants that match the individual requirements of its customers. These speciality lubricants reduce noises generated by vibration and friction as well as the creaking and squeaking of ventilation valves, sun visors, window lifters and other components, claims the company.The company says these ...
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ArticleIndividual solutions for cutting tool production
The Kyocera Unimerco Group says it will offer its customers a special service: Production of custom indexable inserts and tool holders, which it claims offer precise solutions for customers’ individual requirements.The company says it can also individually adapt the cutting edge, giving it a special profile for the respective application, ...
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ArticleGM pours $245m into Orion factory
US – The investment will support a new vehicle programme described by the OEM as “unlike any in the plant’s 32-year history”. The facility in Michigan has received $962m since it reopened in 2010 after being idled. GM did not give details, except to say that 300 personnel will be ...
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ArticleAluminium's arrived
Lionel Chapis and Andreas Afseth, respectively Constellium's MD and R&D market manager for Automotive, explain how the lightweight alternative to steel is now fulfilling its potential – and not only in the USIt is an exciting time to be supplying aluminium to the automotive industry, according to Lionel Chapis, Constellium’s ...
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ArticleVW, Gestamp expand at Chattanooga
US – The further collaboration will involve an extension of Gestamp’s existing plant at Chattanooga and the construction of a stamping facility in Enterprise South for the production of Class-A parts including external metal skin for Volkswagen’s upcoming midsize SUV. The development will add 510 jobs at the site in ...
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ArticleLand Rover Defender hits 2m units
UK – The milestone vehicle, featuring unique design details, rolled off the line at the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Solihull. It will be sold at a charity auction in December, when the model will enter its final days of production.On its aluminium fender, the ‘Defender 2,000,000’ vehicle has an ...
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ArticleMercedes Buenos Aires to make Vito
Argentina – The midsize van will join the production line-up at the end of June and be made in several variants: panel van, Mixto and Tourer. Available in both rear-wheel or front-wheel drive, the vehicle will be powered by a diesel engine for the panel van and Mixto, and both ...
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ArticlePSA unveils plans for Moroccan factory
Morocco – With operations scheduled to begin in 2019, the new facility at Ameur Seflia, Kenitra, will form part of a broader strategy to provide capacity for the African and Middle-Eastern markets, where the OEM expects production volume to reach 8m vehicles by 2025.Costing €557m ($633m), PSA’s Morocco project will ...
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ArticleDodge Viper introduces metallic-matte finish
US – Beginning with the 2016 model, the brand will offer matte finishes in a range of hues, making the Viper available in more than 50m configurations, including over 16,000 colour and 48,000 stripe options.“The Anodized Carbon Viper was the first-ever use of this unique metallic-matte exterior colour by FCA ...
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ArticlePorsche takes over Kuka’s tool-making division
Germany – With locations in Schwarzenberg, Germany, and Dubnica, Slovakia, and a workforce of 600 individuals, the business will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the sports car manufacturer. Kuka Systems will soon be turned into ‘Porsche Werkzeugbau’, subject to approval under anti-trust law.“By taking over the tool-making division, Porsche ...
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ArticlePorsche ends 918 Spyder production
Germany – The final vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen according to schedule, says Porsche, after a production run of 21 months. The hybrid sports car has now reached its limited edition of 918 units.Production development began in 2010, after the go-ahead from Porsche’s supervisory board, and the ...
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ArticleThe overcapacity conundrum
The Automotive News Europe Congress in Birmingham, UK, this month brought together top-level industry executives to discuss manufacturing strategy in the region, and indeed other parts of the world. New Aston CEO, Andy Palmer, intimated strongly that the DBX crossover, which will draw heavily on Mercedes technology, might be made ...
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ArticleKonecranes supplies lifting systems to JLR
UK – The company has installed a range of hoist and crane lifting solutions at the OEM’s new Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC) at Wolverhampton. Konecranes will also conduct on-site planned service and maintenance using its 40-strong technical team, based within 20 miles of the facility.Konecranes has supplied 150 systems with ...