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China-led Proton Is Revitalized
Akihiro Komuro Sales of Malaysia’s national carmaker Proton are booming, with its market share in the country reaching 27.3 % in February, hot on the heels of another national carmaker, Produa’s 38.8 %. This is not a single month irregularity; for the full year 2020, the rate is 20.5%. For the full year 2020, the share is 20.5%, almost doubling in just two years from a record low of 10.8% in 2018. This is the first time in seven years that the market share has recovered to the 20% level.
The turning point of the turnaround offensive was a capital/business alliance with a Chinese manufacturer: in September 2017, the company accepted a 49.9% stake from Geely Automobile’s parent company and began importing the right-hand drive version of the X70 SUV, which it produces and sells in China, at the end of 2018. As soon as this became a hit, the company switched to domestic assembly in Malaysia at the end of 2019, and introduced an additional small SUV, the X50, in September 2020.
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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 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…
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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 MotorcyclesDataPoint: Global SnowmobilesEurope: Volvo Penta Plans Zero EmissionsSouth America: Brazil Vehicle Exports Up 22%Taiwan: Innovation Powers Gorgoro NetworkJapan: Honda Launches Electric BikeSouth Korea: Hyundai Offers Custom EVsIndonesia: New Tesla Investment?India:…
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Haval Recalls All F7 and F7x Cars
Maxim Sakov Haval Motor Manufacturing has recalled 16,075 cars F7/F7x, sold from May 2019 until January 2021. This affects about all the cars in the market.
A fuel system problem in some cars in low temperatures has caused several cars to catch fire in cold weather.
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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 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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UAZ To Sell its Patriot SUV in USA Under the Brand Name “Bremach Taos”
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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