VW Truck & Bus To Invest US$ 400 Million in 2021-2025

News: Regions

2020-12-21

VW Truck & Bus To Invest US$ 400 Million in 2021-2025

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

VW Truck and Bus has announced a new cycle of investment in Brazil operations of US$ 400 Million, for the period 2021 to 2025. This is higher than the last investment cycle, that was US$ 300 million that ended in 2020. This investment will be allocated in new products, mainly in alternative propulsion systems, such as electric, and improvements in the production facilities.

Source: AutoData       Read The Article

PSR Analysis:  The investment reinforces VW’s Truck and Bus focus in the Brazilian market. Product development for Proconve P8 in January 2023 will use a significant part of the investment; investments also will be made in facilities adjustments for higher volumes of production in the coming years.   PSR

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

Ford Announces US$ 580 Million Investment in Argentina

This investment is dedicated to the new generation of Ford Ranger, produced in Pacheco at the Great Buenos Aires since 1998. 70% of the investment will be for production facilities and 30% in the new product line development.

Source: Valor Economico     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The production in Argentina is mainly for export. The main market for Ranger pickups is Brazil where they will compete with the GM S10 produced in Brazil and the Toyota Hi Lux produced in Argentina.    PSR

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

Brazil Is Key To Emissions Strategies for Oil Companies

Recently, European BP, Shell, Equinor and Total signed the agreement to meet the zero net emissions target by 2050. These companies see the Brazilian market as a key component in meeting this goal while they assemble the projects portfolio with Photovoltaic, Offshore Eolic and biofuel.

Source: AB Solar     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Brazil has a clean matrix and tradition in biofuel tradition since it began using Ethanol in the 70’s and 80’s. Some companies, such as Shell, operate with biofuel in Brazil, producing and distributing Ethanol, and plan to expand this position to meet future emissions targets. PSR

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

Haval Starts Building Motor Plant in Russia

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

Construction of the new Haval plant is based on an investment contract. The new plant, which is scheduled to start production in 2022, Haval is expected to increase localization of its cars.

The plant is located in Tula region, and its production should be enough to produce engines for more than 90% of the Haval cars sold in Russia.

Investment in the project is estimated to be about US$ 55 million (4 billion Rubles). Planned annual production capacity is 80K engines.  

Read The Article

PSR Analysis: This event is an example of the strategy to develop relationships between the Russian government and large international OEMs. Large car makers are allowed to sell their product in Russian market while they bring production capacities (and technologies) into the country.    PSR

Maxim Sakov, Market Consultant – Russia Operations for Power Systems Research

KAMAZ Launches First Dump Truck Sharing Service

The KAMAZ truck sharing service works on the classic vehicle sharing model. The company provides a ready-to-use vehicle; the client just needs to fuel it. Optionally, the client can rent the truck with the driver.

It’s possible to take a truck for a period of one day up to one year. The fleet available for rent includes modern dump trucks KAMAZ-65801 up to 32 ton capacity, which is one of most popular models on the market.

Read More»

Increased Utilization Fees for Vehicles Planned

Russian authorities plan to increase vehicle utilization fees in 2021, according to automotive sources.

Utilization fees could be increased by as much as 25-30% for all types of vehicles, including special machinery, according to industry sources. This measure would be accompanied by a comparable devaluation of the national currency, which would reduce trade barriers.

Utilization fees were implemented in 2012. It was always considered as a compensation of Custom’s tax reduce after Russia’s entry into WTO. It was set in Russian Rubles. Initially, the fees were paid by the importers only. However, they later were expanded to everybody, but then local OEMs started receiving industrial subsidies, compensating for this fee.

Read The Article

PSR Analysis: With reduced tax collection and increased State expenses in 2020, Russian authorities are seeking sources to compensate for income losses. Increasing utilization fees is one way to do this.    PSR

Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant – Russia Operations for Power Systems Research

Kia Motors Targets Growth in Rural Markets

Aditya Kondejkar

Kia Motors is expanding its network and targets to reach 300 touchpoints by the end of the year. Further, the company will now focus on expansion in tier-IV and upcountry markets, which will further penetrate the Indian market.

The company is identifying the nerves of Indian customers. It has rightly understood that one of the critical factors in purchasing a car is consumers’ proximity to the brand. Hence, even before the first product (Seltos) launch in the market, it had a wide-spread network in 160 cities with 265 touchpoints.

Read More»

Daimler India Adopts Aggressive Dealer Strategy

Daimler India, which recently set up 10 new touchpoints, plans to have at least 350 dealerships across India in the next two years as it looks to deepen market penetration.

Read The Article

In September, DICV announced plans to grow its BharatBenz dealer network by 10%, exceeding 250 outlets by the end of 2020. With the opening of these new touchpoints, the company moves a step closer to cutting the distance between dealerships from 160 km to 120 km. The company is expanding strategically. The touchpoints are located on leading national and state highways, improving DICV’s golden quadrilateral coverage.

Along with increasing domestic reach, the company is focusing on the export market. Post announcement of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the company plans to invest in the country. The new investment could be used to increase the localization levels of components to avail the PLI. Furthermore, India has moved to BS-VI norms (equivalent euro 6 norms), it will be relatively easier for the company to cater to domestic as well as an export market with the same engines (with few moderations).   PSR

Aditya Kondejkar is Research Analyst – South Asia Operations – for Power Systems Research

Japan Sees Hydrogen as Main Fuel by 2030

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The government of Japan has set a target of 10 million tons of hydrogen to be used in Japan by 2030, enough to operate more than 30 nuclear power plants. This would be more than 10% of the total electricity capacity in Japan.

It will also hasten the practical application of hydrogen power generation and accelerate the spread of FCVs. The government will provide support through a newly established 2 trillion Yen fund and tax incentives for capital investment.

Read More»

Magni, Bobcat Reach New Heights

Emiliano Marzoli
Emiliano Marzoli

Magni TH, an Italian manufacturer of material handling equipment, has signed an agreement with Bobcat to supply a range of rotating telehandlers (RTH) between 18 and 39 meters. 

The new machines will be produced in Italy, by Magni TH, with the Bobcat branding and stage V engines.  In order to achieve demand Magni has already developed a new facility, allowing the company to produce 3500 rotating telehandlers per year, once at full capacity.  This agreement will allow Magni to grow significantly according to their president and founder, Riccardo Magni.

Read More»