OEMs and Suppliers in Focus
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NewsVW’s PowerCo and battery recycler Umicore form JV for EV cathode materials
The JV will produce materials from 2025 to make cathodes, a component which accounts for roughly half the cost of a battery cell.
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Europe’s carmakers dim lights, turn back to coal, oil, on approach to bleak winter
Automakers crimp energy use and reluctantly turn to coal and oil but options may be more limited for component and material suppliers upstream.
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Škoda trials 5G communications in lab, anticipating roll-out to manage factories
Škoda trials 5G communications to support production operations and development of the smart factory
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Mercedes-Benz and Rivian to join forces on European EV van factory
The joint plant will offer cost savings to both automakers and speed start-up Rivian’s establishment of a presence beyond North America.
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Keeping it simple: Volta Trucks, ArcelorMittal on keys to start-up success
Volta Trucks has stuck to innovating only where it counts to launch on time while upstream ArcelorMittal is seeking to simplify steel component procurement.
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Factories in China’s Sichuan province forced to close for six days amid power shortage
Plants in China’s Sichuan province, including those run by Toyota and Foxconn, have been told to suspend operations amid electricity shortages
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Mercedes-Benz to buy battery cells from €7.4 bn CATL Hungary plant
Mercedes-Benz will be the first to receive cells from CATL’s forthcoming Hungarian plant, placing the largest initial order.
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What Vorsprung durch Technik means for Audi manufacturing in 2022
Audi is making progress in production through virtual reality, AI and software prototype builds, modular assembly, quality control and energy conservation.
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Cars à la carte – Audi trials modular production to control customisation costs
The premium OEM is applying the efficiency focus that has fine-tuned production lines over many years to the more bespoke tasks in modular assembly as EV and supply complexity increases.
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Oliver Blume to replace Diess as CEO of Volkswagen Group
Porsche CEO and former production chief Oliver Blume will take over from Herbert Diess as VW Group CEO from September.
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Man and machine: Using technology to push efficiency boundaries in logistics and assembly
Experts discuss how they are using digital technology to streamline time-consuming and expensive processes from supply chain monitoring to assembly planning.
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Bosch to invest €3 billion to expand semiconductor production
The EU and German government will part-fund expansion of semiconductor manufacturing which the bloc has identified as an area of strategic importance.
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UK automakers sound alarm on skills shortages, unfilled engineering roles
The pace of electrification is getting ahead of the time taken to train the engineers with the skills needed for an auto industry transitioning to producing EVs.
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Stellantis shifts east France plants towards hybrid and EV future
The strategic purpose of the investments is to gain greater control over the global electrification value chain through vertical integration.
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How Ford will track production planning and suppliers like Uber rides
Ford is deploying digital twins and data analytics at factores in Asia, Africa and South America to bring real-time visibility to production planning and supply chains.
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BMW is 3D scanning all production plants to plan operations virtually
The 3D scans are the first step in producing digital models of all BMW plants worldwide to streamline the planning of production processes.
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Hyundai Motor Group to deploy Singtel 5G network at Singapore centre
The Korean automaker will use the high capacity bandwidth to gather data for quality control purposes.
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BMW to develop and produce e-drives in Steyr, Austria plant from 2025
BMW will develop and produce its next generation of e-drives in Steyr, making around 600,000 units a year.
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Cadillac Celestiq to be built by hand at GM’s Global Technical Center
The automaker will invest $81m to produce the car at its R&D hub in Warren, Michigan.
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Bentley increases use of additive manufacturing
3D printing makes its mark in the luxury segment as early adopter, Bentley, increases its use of this process beyond prototyping
