News: Passenger Cars, Minivans, and SUVs

2021-09-26

Toyota To Invest 1.5 trillion Yen in Auto Batteries

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that it will invest 1.5 trillion yen in automotive batteries by 2030. Of this amount, 1 trillion yen will be used to increase the production capacity to 200 GWh, 33 times the current level. This is an increase of more than 10% over the previous target.

The company also announced that it will invest 500 billion yen in research and development, with the goal of reducing the cost of batteries per electric vehicle by more than half. As demand for electric vehicles is sure to grow, the battle for leadership among manufacturers will intensify.

Toyota’s investment in batteries was 80 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, and it is calculated to continue to exceed 100 billion yen per year until 2030. The total amount of capital investment is expected to be 1.35 trillion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2022, of which more than 10% will be allocated to batteries.

Source: The Nikkei

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VinFast Partners with Chinese Company To Make EV Batteries

SOUTHEAST ASIA: VIETNAM REPORT

Automaker VinFast is partnering with China’s Gotion High-Tech to research and produce batteries for electric vehicles as part of its vision to become a global brand.

According to a statement released by Vingroup, VinFast’s parent company, the two companies are planning to build Vietnam’s first lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant. LFP is an iron-based battery that does not rely on rare raw materials such as cobalt or nickel. That makes LFP batteries much cheaper, although they have lower energy density than nickel-based chemistries.

According to Vingroup, Gotion is the leading manufacturer of LFP batteries in China, with eight research and development centers worldwide and 10 manufacturing facilities in China. Thai Thi Thanh Hai, vice chairman of Vingroup, said the partnership is key to VinFast’s ability to achieve supply chain autonomy.

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New Russia Electric Transport Plan To Cost US$ 8 Billion

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The Russian government has approved a new plan for electric transport development into 2030 that will be implemented in two stages. At the end of the first stage, the plan calls for production of at least 25,000 electric vehicles and the launching of 9,400 charging stations.

By 2030, 10% of all new vehicles should be electrical, and the number of charging stations should increase to 72,000. In Russia, by 2030 it’s planned to launch production of accumulator battery cells, and to build 1,000 hydrogen fuel stations for vehicles.

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Avtotor Company Left Without Subsidies for BMW Cars

Avtotor is no longer receiving utilization fees for BMW cars, assembled according to the contract with the OEM in Kaliningrad. The German OEM is not ready to announce plans for increasing localization of production in Kaliningrad to return compensations.

It looks like for BMW it’s easier to raise final the price to compensate for a loss of subsidies, than to make local production deeper. Currently, Avtotor assembles X5, X6 and X7 in Kaliningrad. Sedan car assembly was shifted abroad last Spring.

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India EV Segment Gains Traction

Aditya Kondejkar

The EV segment in India is continuing to grow with additional government support. In July of this year, the government partially modified the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) in India Phase II. It has included an additional demand incentive for electric two-wheelers to ₹15,000 per KWh from an earlier uniform subsidy of ₹10,000 per KWh for all EVs, including plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids except buses.  

This decision will increase the subsidy for such vehicles by 50% under the FAME II scheme and be a game-changer in adopting EVs.

Such moves from the government will boost faster adoption of EVs. Furthermore, with this kind of solid support, OEMs will also take a step forward to accelerate the mass adoption of EV.

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2021-09-03

Automechanika Fair Shows CV Parts

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

MOSCOW–MIMS, also called Automechanika, is a trade show dedicated to automotive parts and components, automotive electronics and service/repair.

The fair was conducted this year at the Moscow Expocenter July 23 to 26.

Automechanika is a small local event. However, this year there were about 400 participants from 18 countries. The biggest delegations were from Russia and Turkey. There were companies from UK, India, Spain, Italy, Iran, UAE and other countries.

Among largest foreign participants were AJUSA, AZARD, AVS, ACPS automotive, BREMBO, BSG, CARVILLE, Conex distribution, Fenox, General Motors,  JP GROUP, KANN Group, KRAFT, KRAFTTECH, KRONER, LIQUI MOLY, Mutlu, Parts-Mall, RIVAL / MICHELIN, SANGSIN BRAKE, SKYWAY.

Russian companies were presented by GAZ Group, UGMK and many smaller component makers and trade houses.

Traditionally, this fair relates to the passenger cars segment. However, this year exhibitors showed parts for heavy duty vehicles and even construction/mining machines. PSR

2021-08-22

Hyundai Motor and LG Chem To Build $1.1 Billion EV battery Plant in Indonesia

Hyundai Motor and LG Chem have announced they will build a battery plant for EVs in Indonesia. The investment of $1.1 billion will be shared equally. The plant will mass produce batteries in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest reserves of nickel, and supply them to Hyundai Motor and Kia’s complete vehicle plants around the world. The new plant will be established on a 330,000 square meter site in an industrial park in the Karawang region, about 65 kilometers southeast of central Jakarta. Construction will begin by the end of this year and mass production will begin in 2024.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours, enough to supply batteries for 150,000 EVs. Hyundai and Kia have a plan to launch a total of 23 new EV models in the next five years. In order to expand the range to include sedans, SUVs, and the Genesis luxury brand, stable procurement of batteries, a key component, has been an issue. The company’s first joint venture plant will lead to a long-term shift to EVs.

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Czech Republic Develops Electric UAZ Hunter SUV for 3.5 million Rubles

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The regular powertrain in the SUV has been replaced by an AC motor, and inside the car they’ve installed digital panel.

The Czech start-up MW Motor has created an electric car based on the UAZ Hunter. Today, the company has begun taking orders for the new vehicle. According to “Tesla Magazine”, prices for “green SUV” start from €39,900. Cars are available with left or right steering wheel. Also, Czechs are offering test-drive of SUV in Dobrzahny.

The regular engine has been replaced by an AC motor. SUV retains a 5-speed manual transmission and AWD. The motor output is 160hp. The battery gives from 56 to 90 kWt/hr.

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KAMAZ Has Started Making Parts for Aurus Cars

KAMAZ will become a supplier of key parts for luxury Aurus cars. According to the OEM’s press-service, the company has started production of cylinder blocks, block heads and base plates of NAMI-4123 engines used in Aurus models.

At the moment, however, we are talking about the development of technological processes, so the parts are produced using experimental methods. Serial Aurus cars now uses imported blocks and heads. As soon as KAMAZ ensures high quality of parts, they will be substituted for imported parts.

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COVID-19 Variant Disrupts Supply Chain

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

In Southeast Asia, where the delta variant of the COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, business activities are becoming stagnant. In response to government regulations and the rapid increase in the number of infected people, major Japanese companies such as Toyota and Panasonic have suspended production at some of their plants. In addition to the decline in local sales, the disruption of the supply chain has also affected production in Japan.

Toyota has sequentially shut down all three of its plants in Thailand since July 20. The company has not yet decided when to resume operations because it has been unable to procure parts due to an outbreak of infection at one of its customers’ plants. Honda also shut down one of its plants in Thailand from August 3 to 5.

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