PSR Analysis: A win-win situation for CAMC and Geely. There are still some legal proceedings to finish, but once it’s done, CAMC will save itself from financial trouble and Geely will add an asset to its commercial vehicle lineup. PSR
Qin Fen Is Business Development Manager for Power Systems Research
After the first sale of NG trucks at Fenatran in October 2019, Scania has sold 22 more, including 18 to Pepsico. The forecast of 100 NG Trucks to be sold this year has been reduced because of the pandemic effect.
Power Systems Research published in the June 13 issue of Automotive Business magazine a high level update on perspectives of MHV and Off-Highway segments. See the article at the link below and translated presentation.
PSR Analysis: Although ANFAVEA published a decreased forecast, we believe that the decrease will be lower than the Light Vehicles decrease. Metrics we follow, such as Diesel consumption and the number of Vehicles going through tolls by weight category, show a lower impact in Commercial Vehicles. Other factors: a smaller than expected reduction during the pandemic isolation, agribusiness remaining strong and a lower than expected impact on mining/construction.
Carlos Briganti Is Managing Director, Power Systems Research – SA
MotorIndia is sponsoring a panel discussion of leading industry experts across the commercial vehicle value chain to share their insights on the short- to mid-term challenges in the truck industry.
Jinal Shah
The event will be held Wednesday, June 3, at 5:00 pm IST.
The panel will be moderated by Jinal Shah, Regional Director, South Asia Operations, for Power Systems Research (PSR), a leading provider of global production data for engines and equipment.
The development of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) that use hydrogen as a fuel for heavy-duty trucks is accelerating. Since the start of 2020, major manufacturers such as Hino, Isuzu, and Daimler have been announcing cooperation with other companies one after another.
Akihito Komuro
In April, Daimler and Volvo announced that they would establish a 50-50 joint venture to develop and mass produce fuel cell heavy-duty trucks.
Sales of electric version of GAZelle Next LCV have begun in Germany. Stuttgart company EFA-S is modifying Russian vehicles. The assembly started this year.
Maxim Sakov
The German company purchases LCVs in Russia without transmission, engine and fuel system. Then in Stuttgart they install an electric motor and battery.
Currently, four versions of the electric vehicle are available – a side truck, a wagon, a 2-cabin wagon and a mini-bus. All LCVs are powered by a 110 kWt electric motor and can reach a speed of 88 km/hour.
KAMAZ driverless trucks have been tested in the Eastern-Messoyakh oilfield in the Nenetsky region. The vehicles were driven 2,500 kilometers without accidents.
Maxim Sakov
The joint project of Gazpromneft and KAMAZ was put together with support of region authorities in difficult climate conditions beyond the Polar Circle. The main target of tests was to determine the efficiency of driverless trucks, which would increase safety of cargo transportation and optimize supplies to territories with difficult access.
During the tests, the driverless trucks showed high potential to move on pre-set routes with high accuracy, to exchange information via duplicated communication systems, to recognize obstacles and forecast movements on actual environment.
The word “hybrid” in the power generation universe has generally been understood to mean a fossil-fuel engine supplemented by another power source, usually a renewable.
Tyler Wiegert
Then, the word grew to include vehicles and equipment that ran primarily on battery power but could be switched to a smaller engine that would recharge the battery while it ran.
Now, we are entering a time when “hybrid” includes drive systems that are primarily renewable-based and supplemented by an additional renewable system.
In this sphere, alternative power has primarily meant batteries and hydrogen fuel cells; one of the major impediments to wide adoption has always been range.
R&D World magazine recently examined the global market for lithium-ion batteries and concluded that there could very well be a shortage in the next decade. They projected that recent investments will ensure supply keeps ahead of demand for at least the next two years, but that the demand for lithium in 2030 will be 2.3x higher than the global output in 2019, and investments may not be happening at the pace needed to meet it.
Tyler Wiegert
The main bottleneck is that it takes 5-10 years to bring a new lithium or cobalt mine online, but their low prices right now remove some of the incentive to make those investments.
In the absence or shortage of those investments, control of current resources will play a critical role in the production costs of lithium-powered equipment, including on-highway vehicles. In this area, as in many others, Tesla appears to be a leader. The electric car maker has made a number of moves recently to pursue vertical integration, including, most recently, signing a supply deal with Hanwha for battery production equipment. But they are also making moves to secure ownership of the raw materials needed for battery production.
Power Systems Research has created a Coronavirus Special Report detailing the impact of COVID-19 on the global production of Off-Highway and Medium/Heavy Truck Engine and Equipment in 2020.
