News: Passenger Cars, Minivans, and SUVs

2021-03-20

Semiconductor Shortage Restricts Growth of Indian Auto Industry

Aditya Kondejkar

As the industry is coming out from the COVID impact, its growth is hurt by a shortage of semiconductors. Many OEMs have revised the production plans downward due to this shortage. We anticipate the shortage of semiconductors will exist for the next 4-5 months. Though it will hamper monthly production, it will have only a moderate impact on the total year’s production. But If the chip shortage lasts, production cuts could reduce the inventory of vehicles for sale in India and overseas markets.

The issue started in the Q2 2020. Due to COVID-19, auto OEMs worldwide drastically reduced their production and component orders. Concurrently, chipmakers were improving the supply chain, which had been disrupted by COVID-19. They witnessed a spurt in orders from electronics companies for items such as phones, laptops, gaming console makers and witnessed a spike in sales volume during the pandemic caused by changing work and school patterns.

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Corolla Cross Produced in Brazil To Be Exported to 22 Countries

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

The new medium Toyota SUV produced in Indaiatuba-SP started production in March. Sales in Brazil were expected to start by March 25, but exports have already started. Currently, the Corolla sedan is exported to only five countries, but the new SUV will be sent to 22 countries across Latin America. However, exporting overseas seems unlikely due to logistics cost restrictions.

Source: Automotive Business     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The indexes of vehicles per capita in Latin America are still behind other regions and developed countries which provides an opportunity to grow sales. The SUV continues to grow in popularity in this region and the combination seems to be the right bet for a production hub in Brazil, leveraging on the higher volumes to assure competitiveness and a wining cycle for the new product.   PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director, Business Development-South America, for Power Systems Research

2021-02-26

PowerTALK™ News, February 2021

Chris Fisher, senior commercial vehicle analyst at Power Systems Research, provides a forecast in the February 2021 issue of PowerTALK™ News for MHV. 

Here are more articles in this issue:

  • North America: Electric Motorcycles
  • DataPoint: Global Snowmobiles
  • Europe: Volvo Penta Plans Zero Emissions
  • South America: Brazil Vehicle Exports Up 22%
  • Taiwan: Innovation Powers Gorgoro Network
  • Japan: Honda Launches Electric Bike
  • South Korea: Hyundai Offers Custom EVs
  • Indonesia: New Tesla Investment?
  • India: Union 2021 Budget Misses Mark
  • Russia: KAMAZ Plans EV Buses

Union Budget 2021 Misses Mark for Autos

Aditya Kondejkar

The Union Budget 2021 is very important since it comes during an unprecedented pandemic. The most significant pain points of the economy are the lack of demand and liquidity. The shrinking market’s impact and the weak demand is evident after the Economic Survey said that the country would experience a current account surplus for the first time in 17 years.

The automotive industry is the key stakeholder of the country’s economy. It suffered extensive sluggishness in the past 10-12 quarters after introducing GST, the new safety norms, insurance regulations, axle, and emission norms. These led to a hefty increase in purchase costs. The industry was waiting for direct announcements to reduce purchase cost and improve customer sentiment

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Tesla Proposes Investment in Indonesia to Promote EV Industry

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The Indonesian government announced on Feb. 5 that it had received an investment proposal from Tesla. The country is the world’s largest producer of nickel, which is essential for the production of batteries for EVs. In order to promote the EV and battery related industries, Indonesia had invited Tesla to invest in the country.

Details of the talks between Indonesia and Tesla cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality agreements, but it is said that they have mainly discussed battery and energy storage solutions. The Indonesian vice-minister said, “If Tesla only wants to buy raw materials, we are not interested. The proposal is more than the procurement of raw materials and extends to energy storage systems such as MegaPack, PowerPack and Powerwall,” he said.

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Hyundai To Custom Design EVs for each Customer

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is launching a new business to produce EVs to order, according to customer preferences. It is designed to be used for corporate purposes such as delivery and car sharing, and the body design and loading capacity can be flexibly changed to suit the intended use.

The company will take advantage of the characteristics of EVs, which have a higher degree of freedom in design than gasoline vehicles. The company will also introduce a business model that does not involve mass production to accelerate the growth of its EV business.

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Honda Launches Electric Bike for Business

Honda announced the “GYRO e:” and “GYRO CANOPY e:” as planned commercial models of electric three-wheeled scooters for business use that use replaceable batteries. The new models will be marketed as the Honda e: Business Bike series together with the BENLY e: business electric two-wheeled scooter, which has been sold to corporate customers since April 2020.

The GYRO series will be used in many business applications such as deliveries. The GYRO series is a three-wheeled model with one wheel in the front and two in the rear to increase stability, and there is also a “CANOPY” model with a roof and wipers that can handle a little rain.

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2021-01-25

UAZ To Sell its Patriot SUV in USA Under the Brand Name “Bremach Taos”

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

UAZ plans to sell is Patriot SUV under the Bremach Taos brand in the US. It will be sold by a branch of Italian Company Bremach, which specializes in AWD special cars. Patriot is being upgraded to meet the standards required on US public roads.

Assembly is planned to be performed in California. The base cost of the SUV is expected to be about US$ 26,000. US modifications of the car will include an automatic transmission and 4-cylinder of 2.7 liter and 150hp. It will have 5-year general warranty and 10-year warranty on engine.

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