News: Commercial Vehicles

2020-08-23

Kubota To Build Factory for Small CN Equipment in US

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT

Kubota will invest up to US$ 93.9 Million (10 billion yen) by 2026 to build a factory for small construction equipment in the US. The company will manufacture crawler-driven models used for residential construction and other purposes locally to increase the production by 25%.

Akihiro Komuro
Akihito Komuro

With COVID-19, there is a movement of people moving from the city center to the suburbs in the US. Kubota expects that the demand for small construction equipment will increase in the regions where it has sales channels and aims to become the largest manufacturer in the US by increasing production. First, they will invest 5.6 billion yen (56 Million USD) to build a new factory in Kansas.

The company will start mass production of its “Compact Track Loader (CTL)” in September 2022. By 2023, annual production will reach 3,000 units. Depending upon demand, the company could be producing 5,000 units annually by 2026. Japan is producing about 20,000 of the same model. With the addition of 5,000 units from the United States, the total production will increase by about 25%.

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Taiwan Audi Teams with Noodoe To Create EV Charging Plan

To continue to promote the deployment of electric vehicles in Taiwan, Taiwan Audi officially entered the pure electric vehicle market at the end of 2019 and launched the “E-tron Future” reservation project.

Erik Martin
Erik Martin

To meet the pure electric future, Taiwan Audi has joined hands with strategic partner Noodoe to accelerate the deployment of Taiwan’s charging network. Evaluating home charging station installation and a cloud-based charging operating system paired with Taiwan Audi’s charging solution aims to realize a pure electric mobile life.

From north to south, Taiwan spans only about 500 kilometers.  At the same time, the main population centers are concentrated in the seven largest metropolitan areas. These cities–while clearly defined–are connected by a comprehensive road network that provides excellent advantages in the development of electric vehicles. Audi has been actively promoting the deployment of electric vehicles in Taiwan since last year. It is expected to introduce the first electric vehicle model ─ Audi e-tron – before the end of 2020 with a battery life of 417 kilometers (WLTP). Through the 150kW fast charge mode, it can be charged in 30 minutes to 80% power.

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How Does Market Brace for Low Speed EV Impact?

By August 12, after 20 days of product launch, SGMW’s MINI EV will hit a sales record of 15,000 vehicles, making it the world’s fastest car model reaching the threshold of 10,000 units.

Source: D1 EV      Read The Article

Qin Fen
Qin Fen

PSR Analysis: Consider BYD’s electric bus, SGMW’s MINI EV, as well as premium car brands like Tesla: These traditional and emerging automotive OEMs are reformulating rules of the auto game, with their own proprietary technology. 

As a matter of fact, it’s not just the automotive market that needs to brace for the impact of electrification, the off-road market also is trending toward electrification.  The changing markets include passenger car, light commercial vehicle, medium and heavy duty vehicle, forklift, and lawn mower. Will this wave continue to expand to other off-road applications?  How much more will it change the rules of the game?     PSR

Qin Fen is Business Development Manager for Power Systems Research

DATAPOINT: 2020 NA Off-Highway Truck Production Forecast Is 1,200 Units

The 1,200 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Off-Highway Trucks to be produced in North America (Canada and the U.S.) in 2020.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

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Trucking News: Asking The Expert

Do you expect a sharp slowdown for truck purchases in October due to the possible resurgence of the Coronavirus this fall?

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

PSR Analysis: At this point, no.  The “shock and awe” of the pandemic appears to be well behind us.  During the past few months, commercial truck demand has stabilized albeit at a low level but continues to improve. 

Recent surveys have indicated that trucking conditions are improving.  The biggest threat to the health of the industry would be a further lockdown of the economy which would cause trucking conditions to slow but would not likely upend the market.  However, we do believe it will take a further 18-36 months for the economy to return to a pre-virus level.

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2020-08-16

DATAPOINT: 2020 Production of NA Off-Highway Trucks Forecast at 1,200 Units

The 1,200 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Off-Highway Trucks to be produced in North America (Canada and the U.S.) in 2020.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

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2020-07-26

New Restrictions for Import of Right-Wheel Engines to Russia Launched

New restrictions for imports of right-wheel engines to Russia became effective July 1. Completely barred from import are machines of the M2 and M3 class – trucks, buses, LCVs and construction machines.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

On top of this, the procedure of Custom’s clearance of right-wheel passenger cars became more complicated. The owner of such car should obtain technical certificate, confirming compliance of car design to the safety requirement.

According to the Federal Customs Service, the amount of payments will depend on ecological class, production date, engine volume and other parameters. This will include processing fee, custom’s tax and utilization fee.      Read The Article

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Super App Strategy Is at a Crossroads: Grab and GOJEK

Grab and GOJEK, the two strongest Southeast Asian ride-hiring services, will focus their resources on their ancestral businesses of car dispatch, delivery and payment. Due to the impact of the new coronavirus, both companies have decided to reduce their workforce for the first time since their founding about 10 years ago and are withdrawing from their non-core businesses.

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The “Super-app” concept, which provides a full range of lifestyle-related services, was forced to be reviewed.

Grab and GOJEK announced in succession in June that they would be laying off 5% (360 employees) and 9% (430 employees), respectively.

Since February, the business environment has changed dramatically with the COVID-19. The use of the service has plummeted due to restrictions on behavior by governments.

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Hyundai Exports Fuel Cell Trucks To Europe

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor announced on July 6 that it has begun exporting commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to Europe. The company shipped 10 trucks to Switzerland, and it plans to export 1,600 units by 2025 using a long-term lease contract system.

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Hyundai has set up a joint venture company to build a hydrogen infrastructure in Switzerland; it also plans to develop hydrogen stations and other infrastructure in cooperation with a local company. They plan to use Switzerland as a base for expanding their exports throughout Europe.

The South Korean government is also focusing on the spread of the hydrogen-based society and will appeal to the governments of other countries. The trucks exported this time will be used by the food distribution industry. The route for these trucks is fixed, making it easy to set up the infrastructure for refueling.

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National Grid Joins Switch-on Mode Team

Qin Fen
Qin Fen

In July, MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology summoned a meeting with local governments, industry associations and automotive companies on battery switch-on implementation.  People attending offered thoughts on implementing battery switch-on operations, sharing recommendations for policy and discussing challenges of proposed actions.

Source: D1 EV     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Electric vehicle development is facing several different technology road maps.  While the automotive industry prefers plug-in and charging, grid companies are more inclined to favor the battery switch-on mode based on grid reliability. 

Such debate is good for advancing electrification in the auto industry, it is vital to have all participants’ input before promoting electric vehicles on a larger scale. PSR

Qin Fen is Business Development Manager – China, for Power Systems Research