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DATAPOINT: 2020 Production of NA Off-Highway Trucks Forecast at 1,200 Units
The 1,200 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Off-Highway Trucks to be produced in North America (Canada and the U.S.) in 2020.
This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
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Taiwan Audi Teams with Noodoe To Create Pure Electric Living Space
To continue to promote the deployment of electric vehicles in Taiwan, Taiwan Audi officially entered the pure electric vehicle market at the end of 2019 and launched the “E-tron Future” reservation project.

Erik Martin To meet the pure electric future, Taiwan Audi has joined hands with strategic partner Noodoe to accelerate the deployment of Taiwan’s charging network. Evaluating home charging station installation and a cloud-based charging operating system paired with Taiwan Audi’s charging solution aims to realize a pure electric mobile life.
From north to south, Taiwan spans only about 500 kilometers. At the same time, the main population centers are concentrated in the seven largest metropolitan areas. These cities–while clearly defined–are connected by a comprehensive road network that provides excellent advantages in the development of electric vehicles.
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Russian Government To Pay 60% of Expenses for Switching Vehicles to NG
The Russian government subsidies now will cover 60% of individuals’ and small business’ expenses for switching vehicles from gasoline to NG fuel. That’s up from 30%.

Maxim Sakov The minister of Power Industry has offered to increase subsidies for switching vehicles belonging to individuals and small business two times – from 30% to 60%. Another 30% will be paid by Gazprom at the expenses of its marketing program. Therefore, vehicle owners should pay only 10% of the cost to switch.
The government will assign US$ 0.7 billion (50 billion Rubles) for development of the NG fuel industry during the period 2020-2024. This includes an annual assignment of 3.5 billion rubles for gas fuel stations and 0.7 billion rubles for fleet modification.
There are 484 gas stations in Russia (May 2020), 329 of them belong to Gazprom. In 2019, the fuel sales on gas stations increased 30%. Read The Article
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Japan: Toyota, Nissan and Honda Research e-Fuel as New Fuel
Toyota, Nissan, and Honda each are preparing for stricter environmental regulations in 2030 by focusing on research and development of e-fuel, a synthetic liquid fuel made from carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2).

Akihito Komuro e-Fuel is a liquid hydrocarbon chain fuel made from the catalytic synthesis of H2 and CO2 from the electrolysis of water.
Generated from renewable energy sources, they are “carbon neutral,” which means they emit and absorb the same amount of CO2. The e-fuel can be mixed with gasoline or diesel fuel.
The three Japanese companies each have begun researching efficient synthesis and use methods and business models. The reason for researching e-fuel is that, in addition to complying with regulations, the degree of penetration of e-fuel will have a significant impact on the ratio of EV and HEV sales.
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National Grid Joins Switch-on Mode Team

Qin Fen In July, MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology summoned a meeting with local governments, industry associations and automotive companies on battery switch-on implementation. People attending offered thoughts on implementing battery switch-on operations, sharing recommendations for policy and discussing challenges of proposed actions.
Source: D1 EV Read The Article
PSR Analysis: Electric vehicle development is facing several different technology road…
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Brazil CE Sales To Grow 15% Despite COVID

Fabio Ferraresi Construction Equipment Internal Sales in Brazil from January thru May grew 35% over the same period of 2019. The Brazilian Machinery Builders´ Association (ABIMAQ) expects 2020 sales to hit 20,000 machines, 15% more than in 2019.
Source: Valor Econônico Read The Article
PSR Analysis: The Construction segment was the less affected by the pandemic than some other segments. The interest reduction directed investment to real state, especially housing, and some measures, such as the new regulation for sanitation, recently approved by the parliament, will boost the Construction business in 2020 and more significantly in the coming years. PSR
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DataPoint. NA Tillers 2020 Forecast: 261,100 Units
The 261,100 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of tillers to be produced in North America (Mexico and the U.S.) in 2020.
This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
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Powersports Industry Leading Economic Comeback
The Powersports industry–featuring ATVs, motorcycles and watercraft–appears to be leading the way on the road to economic recovery. According to Motorcycle & Powersports News magazine, this increased demand for powersports is helping values bounce back from historic lows.

Michael Aistrup According to Scott Yarbrough, senior analyst for motorcycle and powersports at Black Book: “After the first month of the COVID-19, shutdowns put a freeze on powersports values during the beginning of the spring selling season, and the second month saw dramatic declines.
This month values are up across the board, some by the largest amounts we have ever seen in a monthly update. A combination of surprisingly strong demand, coupled with drops in availability of units, has led to this resurgence in values,”
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On-Highway Batteries Serve as Emergency Backup Power
Audi and the utility EnBW are pioneering an energy storage facility built on retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This partnership is being billed as the solution to a major problem in each industry.

Tyler Wiegert For automobile manufacturers, the question of how to recycle retired batteries has been pressing for some time. Utilities have been struggling with the perverse problem that excess generation from renewable sources has been slowing adoption, as surges from those sources can disrupt the stability of power grids.
EV batteries have a functional life of 3-10 years after they are retired from vehicle use, making them a ready tool for use by utilities.
Portland General Electric Company (PGE) also is seeking to create a more resilient grid for the utilization of renewable energy sources. They are launching a pilot program to incentivize the installation of home battery systems to act as a virtual power plant.
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MotorIndia Sponsors Commercial Vehicle Webinar
MotorIndia Magazine, one of India’s leading publications devoted to commercial vehicles, recently held an important panel discussion on the state of the country’s CV industry.

Jinal Shah The live webinar panel discussion June 3, 2020, was moderated by Jinal Shah, Regional Director-South Asia, for Power Systems Research.
Shah began with a market prediction of a 45-50% drop in CV sales in 2020 over 2019 figures, necessarily taking the industry back by a decade in terms…