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Indonesia Aims at Lead in Integrated EV Production
INDONESIA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro Investment related to EVs is gaining momentum in Indonesia. While the government is aiming to upgrade the industry by mainly using nickel as a battery material, Hyundai Motor of South Korea and Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taiwan have announced their plans to produce EVs and automotive batteries. If the concentration of industries advances, the country will compete with Thailand, which is also making efforts to attract related industries, for the leading role in EV production in Southeast Asia.
At the Indonesia International Auto Show, which started in the suburbs of Jakarta on Dec 11, Hyundai Motor’s compact EV “Kona” attracted much attention. The company will begin production in 2022 at its plant in West Java province, which will soon be operational.
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Toyota Joins BYD To Build Affordable $30,000 Electric Car
JAPAN REPORT
Toyota reportedly has partnered with China’s BYD to develop an affordable electric car to launch next year. The Japanese automaker has widely been recognized as a laggard in the transition to electric vehicles. Years of betting on hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid vehicles has put Toyota behind on battery-electric vehicles.
Reuters reports Toyota is planning to release a “small and affordable electric sedan” in China next year:
The electric vehicle is reportedly going to be powered by BYD’s blade battery cells with LFP chemistry. LFP chemistry has improved enough in recent years that it is moving from mainly being used in electric buses to now electric cars. BYD’s blade battery has attracted a lot of attention – even from Tesla, according to reports coming out of China. A Toyota source talking to Reuters said that it is what is enabling the automaker to produce its first affordable all-electric car:
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UAZ Patriot SUV Collects US$ 3.8 Million in Pre-orders in USA
Maxim Sakov The North-American premiere of the UAZ Patriot SUV took place recently at the Los Angeles international Autosalon. The exclusive importer of the vehicle is Bremach Inc., a California company. The Russian car has its own name, Bremach 4×4. The name Taos, announced earlier, was rejected to avoid the conflict with Volkswagen, which has had a product with this name since 2020.
The Patriot was introduced in two versions–standard and off-road extreme. Both models are equipped with 2.7 gasoline engine ZMZ Pro of 149 hp and a six-gear automatic transmission Punch Powerglide 6L50, connected all-wheel drive. Standard version costs US$ 26,405 in USA.
According to Bremach, in the first 24 hours after the introduction, they received deposits totaling US$ 3.8 million. How many cars were ordered, was not disclosed, but the minimum deposit is US$ 100.
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New Cars in Russia Cost More Than in USA and Europe
The prices for cars in Russia now exceed the prices abroad. The high prices are caused by high custom taxes, certification for Glonass satellite systems and exchange rates of national currency. After many global OEMs built assembly plants in Russia, prices for cars were equal to cars in other markets, and after fall of the Ruble exchange rate in 2014, cars became even cheaper. However, in 2021 prices have grown significantly because of a shortage of semiconductors.
For example, the minimum price of…
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VinFast Launches Two EVs, Announces US HQ and Manufacturing Plant
Akihiro Komuro VinFast has selected Los Angeles as its US headquarters and recently shared plans to begin manufacturing in the U.S. in 2024. VinFast is the automotive manufacturing subsidiary of VinGroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate that develops everything from real estate to technology and healthcare. The VinFast subsidiary was founded in 2017.
VinFast is working to deliver its flagship EV, the VF e34, later this year in Vietnam. When that happens, it will be the first-ever EV sold in the entire Vietnamese market.
Last month, we reported that VinFast was ambitiously entering markets overseas, beginning with the US, Canada, and Europe at the same time.
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Hyundai Motor Launches ‘Wage Half Price Plant’
For the first time in 23 years, a finished car plant has started operations in South Korea. The operator is Gwangju Global Motors (GGM). This unfamiliar company was established under the leadership of the city of Gwangju in southwestern South Korea, with Hyundai Motor taking a stake, to specialize in contract manufacturing of small cars. The city of Gwangju, which aims to attract industry and create jobs, and Hyundai Motor, which wanted a plant where production can be outsourced at a low cost, coincided in their intentions.
The site area of 455,000 square meters is lined with three buildings: a pressed car body factory, a painting factory, and an assembly factory. Inside the assembly plant, which measures 340 meters by 140 meters, eight colorful car bodies flow smoothly down a three-dimensional production line.
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AutoVAZ Stops Production at Tolyatti Plant
AutoVAZ stopped assembly of cars on all three production lines at its Tolyatti plant Nov. 12, because of parts shortages, according to the plant’s trade union representative.
The plant produces Lada Largus, Lada X-Ray, Renault Sandero, Logan, Lada Niva Legend, Lada Kalina, and Lada Granta.
AutoVAZ systematically stops its conveyors because of component shortages. To compensate, the OEM tries to implement 6 day work weeks, but these also were cancelled because of parts shortages.
AutoVAZ also stopped production for a corporate vacation July 26 – Aug. 15.
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Chip Shortages Cause Worst Festive Season in Decade for Auto Industry
Aditya Kondejkar 2021’s festive period from Navratri to Diwali (October) marked the worst performance for India automakers in nearly a decade. Usually, sales of PVs peak during the period, however, the demand was much lower this year.
Further, two-wheeler and tractor sales dropped by about 10%. The major reason for this drop is supply-side challenges on semiconductors and lack of demand in entry-level segments for both PVs and two-wheelers.
In the commercial vehicles space, the situation was somewhat better with an increase in demand for interstate movement of goods.
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Argentina Car Sales Drop 24%, But Production Grows
Fabio Ferraresi Sales in October 2021 are 24.1% lower than the same period of 2020 in Argentina, at about 25,000 units. This is also 1.6% lower than September 2021. On the other hand, production has grown 42.8% in October 2021 over October 2020 with 41,000 units produced, driven by strong exports.
Source: Automotive Business Read The Article
PSR Analysis: Brazil's shortage of cars is due to a shortage of semiconductors and supply chain issues caused by the demand increase for…
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Auto Production Down Sharply in Asia
SOUTHEAST ASIA REPORT: VIETNAM, THAILAND, MALAYSIA
Akihiro Komuro At the end of September, an auto parts manufacturer operating a plant near the southern Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh is struggling with a sharp drop in orders. The parts produced at this plant are delivered to Toyota group companies.
On Sept. 10, Toyota revised downward its production plan for the same month and October, adding about 70,000 units to the originally planned production cut of about 360,000 units in September, and cutting production by about 330,000 units in October.
The company also announced that it would revise its full-year production plan from 9.3 million units to 9 million units. Parts suppliers in Vietnam were affected by this. It was around the same time that Toyota announced its production cutbacks that the manufacturer mentioned above was told by its business partner that it wanted to significantly reduce orders for October.
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