Tag: OE business
Engineers working on £120 million Fort William alloy wheel factory
On 5 February plans to make Fort William a UK alloy wheel centre of excellence reached another milestone as ground engineers moved onto the site earmarked for Liberty’s flagship factory. According to the company, the technical team moved in with their rigs and excavators for six weeks of in-depth ground investigations which will provide vital information for the design of foundations for the planned plant that is intended to manufacture wheels for at least a fifth of all UK-made cars from 2022 onwards.
SMMT: Automotive industry on Brexit “red alert”
UK automotive companies are reducing production and backing off investment as a way of bracing themselves for a no-deal Brexit, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
CEMA: Brexit will impact UK type approval
CEMA, the European agricultural equipment association, is advising that Brexit will impact UK-originated type approval. According to the association, once the UK has left the EU it will not be possible to place “vehicles and components with an EU type-approval issued by an UK authority” on the market.
21 million more electric vehicles expected worldwide by 2030
Deloitte’s latest electric vehicle (EV) research shows the pace of global EV adoption, rising from two million units in 2018, to four million in 2020, 12 million in 2025, before rising to 21 million in 2030. By 2030, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) will significantly outperform the rest of the EV market, accounting for 70 per cent of total EV sales.
VW and Ford establish van/EV partnership
Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Company have will partner in the production of light commercial vehicles after announcing the first formal agreements in “a broad alliance”. The alliance does not involve cross-ownership between the two companies.
Uncertainty stalls UK car manufacturing
Commenting on October’s car manufacturing figures, Justin Benson, Head of Automotive at KPMG UK, said: “The automotive sector in the UK is at a hiatus. Consumer confidence is on a downward trend and is already at lower levels when compared to the same period last year.
‘Modest’ overall decline in November new car sales
The UK new car market declined by a modest -3.0 per cent in November with some 158,639 units registered, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Stalling consumer confidence, supply delays due to implementation of the new WLTP emissions test and model replacement all combined to affect overall sales.
November LCV sales up 9.6 per cent
SMMT figures show that he new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market grew 9.6 per cent in November, as more than 29,000 vans and pick-ups joined UK roads. This increase represents 2,549 more pick-ups and vans registered in the month compared to November 2017.
Chinese tyre manufacturers aim to increase OE supply
When you look at Tire+’s deliberate proximity to a premium car show such as Auto Guangzhou, the first thing that comes to mind is original equipment (OE). If we take a comparable European equivalent event such as the Geneva Motor Show as an example, most of the leading global tyre players as well as some of the larger up-and-coming brands use Geneva as a way of showcasing new technologies and products in order to generate additional OE tyre sales as well as the benefit of the enhanced ongoing tyre replacement sales that come with the so-called OE pull-through effect. While it is not as linear and transactional an equation as investment in a motor show equals OE contracts, it clearly is an important part of the corporate courtship ritual. Surprisingly, things are a little different in China.
2017‑2021 trailer demand could set five-year record
Following the news that West European economies have had their forecasts for economic growth downgraded for 2019/20, analysts have concluded that suggestions of a slowdown in demand for trailers in the region during 2019 are likely to be correct.
October motorcycle sales ‘disappointing’ say dealers
Commenting on the latest figure released by the Motor Cycle Industry Association, Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK, said: “Following September’s modest growth, it was disappointing to see the new motorcycle market decline by -2 per cent in October. Positively, the market is still above 2017’s levels on a year to date basis”.
KPMG: Brexit uncertainty behind UK car production dips
Following the news that UK car production fell almost 17 per cent in September, Justin Benson, head of Automotive at KPMG UK suggested the latest SMMT car manufacturing figures could motivate government to consider automotive industry incentives:
Millbrook expands ADAS test facilities
Millbrook is expanding its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) test facilities. According to the well-known test centre, Millbrook has “the best facilities for testing these cutting-edge technologies in the UK”. In addition to modifications to existing road and test track infrastructure, Millbrook is reportedly making “a significant investment in high-precision instrumentation and soft targets that allow contact without damage”.
Do markets dream of electric cars?
Phillip K Dick may well have been thinking far further into the future than the current popularisation of electric cars when he wrote his famous novella “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”, however the rise of big data alongside electric and autonomous vehicles means the most advanced cars of today have an increasing amount in common with the artificial intelligence in the source material for the film Blade Runner.
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