Latest News & Features – Page 84
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ArticleTransformation pressure on the automotive industry
Audi has resolutely turned to the concept of the smart factory. But how does this profound transition work exactly? What role are humans playing in the process? Are suppliers ready to meet the new demands of the OEMs? The entire industry has to make crucial decisions on its future course, ...
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ArticleMagna opens aluminium casting facility
UK - The supplier has opened a new aluminium casting facility in Telford, England, in order to provide structural castings to Jaguar Land Rover. The facility covers 225,000 sq.m and will employ around 300 people."With this new aluminium casting facility, we have established a world-class centre of excellence to bring ...
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ArticleCloser to commercialisation
Fuel-cell electric vehicles have lagged behind other EVs, but upcoming models could help that to changeEveryone involved in hydrogen fuel cell development is probably tired of hearing the same old joke: large-scale adoption is a decade away, and always will be. David Hart, a director at sustainable energy consultancy E4Tech ...
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ArticleForging a future in Factory 56
New car manufacturing facilities will need to be highly flexible as the trends of vehicle electrification and autonomous driving continue to evolve. Mercedes-Benz futuristic ‘Factory 56’ paves a new path.
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ArticleSmarter EV production
As it launches ‘electric intelligence’ models, Mercedes-Benz is also adapting its factories for flexible productionAt first there was some confusion over what Mercedes-Benz meant when it announced that it was creating an ‘EQ’ division. Was it to be a line-up of cars which would directly challenge BMW’s i models, as ...
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ArticleIntegrating i vehicles
Separate production lines are used to build conventionally powered vehicles and the electrified i models at BMW Leipzig, but this could soon changeA gulf remains between electric vehicles (EVs)and those that are powered solely by internal combustion engines (ICEs). This is evident in consumer demand, in range, in cost and ...
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ArticlePacking in the power
As JLR ramps up its electrification efforts, Mike Farish visits a pilot production line for battery packs, developed together with WMG at the University of WarwickThe difference between round and square is not just a matter of abstract geometry; it has real implications for the construction of effective battery packs ...
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ArticleGreat Wall Motors builds new plant
China - The OEM has started constructing a new manufacturing base in Yongchuan, Chongqing. It is costing 4.5 billion yuan (US$710m) and is expected to be completed before the end of 2019."For this project, Great Wall Motors (GWM) will run at a higher and newer starting point," commented the company's ...
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ArticleTravel blog: A slice of Turkish delight
Once renowned for its pristine beaches, soaring temperatures and enthusiastic hospitality, Turkey was a hot spot for tourists across the world looking to get away for a week or two. But as conflict in neighbouring Syria erupted in 2011, the number of holidaymakers visiting the country plummeted. Change is now ...
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ArticleSubaru of Indiana starts making Ascent
US - Production of the all-new 2019 Ascent SUV, which was unveiled in November 2017 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, has started at the OEM's plant in Lafayette, Indiana. It is the biggest vehicle in the company's portfolio, and will be made alongside the Outback, Legacy and Impreza."The Subaru ...
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ArticleToyota invests in Canada plants
Canada - The Japanese OEM has said it will spend C$1.4 billion (US$1.08 billion) to upgrade its three assembly plants in Woodstock and Cambridge, Ontario, in order to prepare for the production of new models that are based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). These include the all-new 2019 ...
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ArticleDriving the EV revolution
Behind the scenes, suppliers are hard at work developing a range of innovative technologies that are underpinning the race toward electrification GKN unveiled the eTwinsterX at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor ShowNew electrified concept cars are flooding motor shows, with OEMs looking to deliver on their promises to offer a certain ...
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ArticleA bigger bet on BEVs
Most famous for its hybrids, especially the Prius, Toyota is now widening its focus to battery-electric vehiclesUntil relatively recently, Toyota positioned battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as a niche solution for short-range urban mobility. This stance led directly to the launch of models like the i-Road, an ultra-compact electric commuter vehicle, ...
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ArticleHeavy on the hybrids
It may have been slow off the mark with electrification, but Ford is now stepping up its efforts through a new global growth strategyIn October 2017, Ford’s new CEO Jim Hackett set out a strategy centred on a major cost-cutting exercise worth $10 billion over the next five years, taking ...
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ArticlePursuing profitability
Reinventing itself as a high-tech leader since its 2009 bankruptcy, GM has set out an ambitious timeframe to launch more than 20 all-electric vehicles vehiclesIn science-fiction films of old, the 21st century was meant to be awash with technologies transforming our lives. Soon after the century ticked over, General Motors ...
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ArticleInterview: Pamela Fletcher, GM Global Electric Vehicle Programs
AMS speaks to Pamela Fletcher, VP of General Motors' global EV programmes, about the manufacturer’s bold electrification plans General Motors' Pamela Fletcher stepped into the newly created role of Vice President – Global Electric Vehicle Programs in 2017GM is planning a new EV platform. Can such a platform be more ...
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GM is planning a new EV platform. Can such a platform be more flexible compared with a standard combustion-engine platform?What’s more important than flexibility is optimisation. When you try to convert an ICE-based vehicle platform into an EV, you run into issues that could only be avoided by having a ...
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ArticleConstellium provides aluminium for CLS
Netherlands - The supplier has announced that its Surfalex aluminium is being used in the Mercedes-Benz CLS, which went on sale in March 2018. The material is used for outer trunk lid panels and fenders."Constellium is proud to contribute to the new Mercedes-Benz CLS with our Surfalex® aluminium solutions," explained ...
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ArticleNavistar appoints manufacturing head
US - Mark Hernandez has been named senior vice president of global manufacturing at Navistar. He was previously a practice expert in lean production for commercial vehicles at McKinsey and Company, and has also been general manager of the Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) plant in Mount Holly, North Carolina, ...
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ArticleNew kids on the block
Many promising start-ups are looking to crack the electric vehicle segmentOf all the disrupting forces threatening to unseat established automakers, the rise of electric power could be first to strike. After all, this is a proven technology that can be swiftly adapted, engineered and marketed by any start-up company with ...