Europe News
Electrification nation
A corridor of factories is being established in Finland to satisfy the rapid growth in demand for electric vehicle batteries
Volkswagen Group starts producing new gearbox
Spain - Around 450,000 units of the new gearbox will be made of the new MQ281 gearbox
Valmet expands production at Uusikaupunki
Finland - A new production line is being installed to speed up production and increase flexibility
thyssenkrupp invests in advanced forging line
Germany - thyssenkrupp will make front axles for trucks and crankshafts on the new forging line
BMW Dingolfing
BMW makes batteries and electric motors at its Dingolfing plant, as well as the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Series models. The company’s electrified vehicle sales increased by 40% during 2018 when compared to 2017.
A blaze in Bavaria
The foundations have been laid at BMW’s Dingolfing plant to make more electrified models and components, but more is yet to come. Michael Nash reports
Gestamp starts production in Slovakia
Slovakia - Gestamp has started making aluminium components for JLR at its new Slovakia plant
Opel to build new Astra in two Europe plants
Italy - The new Opel Astra will be built in Germany and potentially the UK, depending on the outcome of Brexit
Nissan builds 10m vehicles at Sunderland
UK - Nissan has hit a major milestone at its Sunderland plant
Aston Martin St Athan
Production has started at Aston Martin’s second UK manufacturing plant. Located in St Athan, Wales, it is the company’s sole production facility for the DBX - Aston Martin’s first SUV.
Vision of the future
Skoda is set to make the leap into electro-mobility this year with the launch of the plug-in hybrid Superb and the all-electric version of the Citigo small car. Report by Nick Gibbs
Mercedes-AMG Affalterbach
The newly developed Mercedes-AMG 2.0-litre M 139 engine in production at Affalterbach. It is the world’s most powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine in series production.
Hino builds new factory in Russia
Hino will be making light- and medium-duty at the factory in a bid to increase its global presence
Haval starts production in Russia
The Chinese OEM is pushing ahead in its globalisation strategy
Ford’s new electric offering
Ford has recently announced it will bring 16 electrified vehicles to market in Europe over the next few years. Michael Nash provides a rundown of the first batch to be introduced
Real clean steel
With vehicle-makers and tier suppliers wanting greater performance from less material weight, Ovako’s engineering steels seem a good fit. Nick Holt visits its production facility at Hofors in Sweden to find out more
Mercedes begins Actros production in Wörth
Germany - The first new Actros has come off the production line at the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant in southern Germany. It is the first facility in the OEM’s global network to start making the new model.
Ford Saarlouis
Ford has recently invested in its Saarlouis plant to produce the latest generation of its popular Focus model. Key additions include the introduction of two hot forming press lines and eight related laser cutting stations for the high-strength steel sections.
A two-tone finish
Bi-colour coats and enhanced quality assurance are high on the agenda in the paintshop at SEAT’s Martorell factory. Michael Nash gets an inside look
Mercedes starts building battery plant
Germany - Mercedes-Benz has started the construction of its battery production facility in the Brühl sub-plant at Untertürkheim, Germany. This is part of the €1bn (US$1.13bn) investment that the OEM has set aside for its global battery production network, which currently comprises of nine battery factories at seven locations on ...
