All Expansion articles – Page 11
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All hail the new taxi
Combining ingenuity, a bold export plan and a government grant, Geely has launched an all-new LTC electric taxi manufactured at a purpose-built factoryHow do you build a niche, low-volume car like the London black cab and make it profitable? That was the conundrum facing the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group when ...
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LTC announces van for new factory
UK – Following the official launch of its new facility at Antsy, Coventry, London Taxi Company (LTC) said that a range-extended light commercial vehicle would be the second vehicle to roll off the line after an electric taxi. An additional £25m ($31.5m) from parent company Geely brings the total investment ...
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Presidential suite
As Donald Trump has entered the White House, Ford has elected to make a number of key financial and strategic changesThings have changed at Ford in recent times, both financially and strategically. And since November 2016, its strategy has changed still further, with a number of key decisions taking on ...
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Perfectly crafted
As demand for light commercial vehicles grows, Volkswagen sees its new facility in Poland as a laboratory for future LCV manufacturing operations with 70% of production tailored to customer specificationThe gala opening of VW’s new production facility at Wrzesnia revealed a very impressive, state-of-the-art factory, albeit at the time producing ...
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Working with Mercedes-Benz
As its manufacturing presence expands into new territories, Mercedes-Benz turns to a Geico Taikisha team fully conversant with paintshop best practice globallyGeico-Taikisha has been working with Daimler Benz to develop new paintshop facilities on a greenfield site in Brazil and expanding capacity at an existing Mercedes-Benz plant in India. AMS ...
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Toyota breaks ground in Guanajuato
Mexico – The $1 billion plant in the central state will make the Corolla from 2019, with capacity for 200,000 per year. Employing 2,000 individuals, the factory will be Toyota’s 15th in North America and will raise its total capacity in the region to 2.2m vehicles per annum.Toyota Motor Manufacturing ...
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New premium bus factory for China
China – Scania and Higer have opened a new bus and coach factory in Suzhou, China, which will exclusively build Scania Touring and Scania-Higer dual-branded high-end buses and coaches. The current capacity of the new factory is 1,000 premium coaches per year, with the potential to raise this to 2,000 ...
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Reflections on the Paris Motor Show
This year’s show was notable for a number of intriguing launches, corporate reinventions and absences – no Mazda, no Volvo, no Bentley, no Lamborghini and, most interestingly, no Ford. Mazda stated that the strength of PSA and Renault in France made it difficult for it to have much of an ...
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Editor's note: A headlong rush
Vehicle-makers can barely get into Mexico fast enough. No fewer than six new factories will be opened between 2016 and 2019 – more than one a year. This September witnessed official plant launches by Kia and Audi, next year it will be Renault-Nissan in partnership with Daimler, Ford will follow ...
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Feeding the machine
Mexico's strong growth in vehicle production is requiring suppliers to invest in their own manufacturing facilities in the country. AMS takes a look at some of the key developments over the past few years A global supply point A regional supply point A key cog in global production A source ...
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Mexico's boom time
Car plants are popping up across Mexico as OEMs recognise the benefits of manufacturing in the country, but this may put pressure on the labour supply. AMS looks at the latest projects – and potential pitfalls FCA's reshuffle continues Ford's big investments GM pours money into Mexico Kia's new factory ...
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Motoring in Mexico
Like its competitors, GM is being lured by the idea of higher production in low-cost Mexico, to the consternation of US unions. The vehicle-maker will invest $5 billion in its four existing factories by 2018Like its main rival, Ford, and most other carmakers which are building vehicles in North America, ...
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Finding affordability
Ford has caused controversy at home by announcing a $1.6 billion vehicle factory in Mexico, but this is not its only investment in the country; it is also building a transmissions plant and expanding an engine facilityFord is moving more vehicle production to Mexico and – alongside most other major ...
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Increased Magna-tude
A veteran of manufacturing in Mexico, Magna has started production at a new exteriors plant in QuerétaroOne of the latest additions to the roster of tier-one supplier facilities serving Mexico’s automotive OEM community, the new Magna Exteriors plant in Querétaro, central Mexico, started operations in July of this year. The ...
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Interview: Fidel Otake, GKN
GKN Driveline has had a manufacturing presence in Mexico since the 1970s and has grown strongly in recent years. The company's operations director for the country discusses its new propshaft facility in GuanajuatoJoanne Perry (JP): GKN Driveline has many facilities around the world but relatively few in the Americas. Is ...
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Mazda: Growing in Guanajuato
AMS gives an update on the OEM's recently opened plant at Salamanca, Mexico – its first in North AmericaIn January 2014, Mazda joined the flood of vehicle-makers arriving in Mexico by opening a new plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato – its first independent production site in North America. The idea behind ...
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Nissan heads in a new direction
The OEM has been manufacturing vehicles in Mexico since 1966 but the new COMPAS collaboration with Daimler will add premium cars to the line-up by next year. AMS went to check on the progress so farThe rush among carmakers to set up a manufacturing base in Mexico will see no ...
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Kia's brave new world
The South Korean OEM has just opened a state-of-the-art factory at Pesquería in Mexico, but political problems are preventing this first Latin American manufacturing base from reaching its full potentialA sun-scorched hilltop in Monterrey provides the perfect view of Kia Motors’ first Latin American factory: a gleaming white press shop, ...
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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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Skid-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 ...