This truck has a very unusual design. The database of
Rospatent has shown drawings of a cabless truck with an electric motor. The patent
owner is KAMAZ. The truck has a very unusual appearance because it doesn’t have
a cabin – it’s a box on wheels with low clearance, and it features round head
and rear lights, and a vent grid. No details are available about the motor,
except that it’s electric.
Maxim Sakov
The truck looks somewhat like the Volvo Vera truck.
Last year, KAMAZ started testing a driverless truck developed for coal transportation in one of Kuzbass mines. It is equipped with cruise-control and a system for bypassing obstacles and making lane changes.
PSR Analysis: The future is next door. Of course, it’s a long way from the patent to the working vehicle, but the trend is clear. KAMAZ has concentrated technologies for creation of a driverless electric truck and has patented them. PSR
Opel is back in Russia, and the company appears to be
betting the Russian market can provide a significant opportunity for business
diversification.
Maxim Sakov
In 2019, company sales declined as the business was
reorganized, and Opel cut its model portfolio.
According to reports, 96% of Opel sales are concentrated in
Europe. This fact has determined a focus point for sales increase. In 2022,
Opel expects to be in 20 new export markets. After 20 years of financial
losses, the very first year within the Peugeot SA structure was quite
profitable for Opel (plus 859 million Euro for 2018).
Meanwhile, the Russian PSA plant in Kaluga has begun final preparations for production of Zafira Life and Vivaro minivans.
PSR Analysis: It appears that Opel has decided to start with minivans in the Russian market, and it is targeting the LCV niche where the chances for success are better than in passenger cars. While individual consumer demand is declining for LCVs, the companies making the vehicles locally can receive State and municipal orders for vehicles.
Last year, the State placed big orders for ambulances and school buses, sharing the orders between the GAZ Group and other local OEMs. At the same time, new models of passenger cars produced abroad, like Opel Crossland X, did not post good sales in the Russian market. PSR
Maxim Sakov is a Market Consultant in Russia for Power Systems Research
PSR Analysis: The Indian Automotive Industry was largely left disappointed with the budget after no direct steps were taken to arrest the decline in automotive sales. Although keeping long term benefits in mind, the budget did introduce measures to boost the rural economy, which in turn will directly benefit the commercial vehicle industry which is an important driver for the economy.
Despite the poor performance of auto sales in Latin America countries
such as Mexico and Argentina, Colombia keep growing sales of cars as Brazil,
with 2.7% growth with 263,700 units in 2019. Colombia also leads in EV/HEV
sales gains. The forecast for 2020 is that sales will continue growing at the
same rate.
PSR Analysis: Pent up demand for vehicles coupled with a strong economy is expected to keep the car market in Colombia growing. The currency devaluation in 2019 affected the market, since a significant portion of vehicles are imported or assembled in Colombia under the CKD model. It is an important time for exports from Brazil, that went through currency devaluation as well and for local producers such as GM Colmotores and Hino. PSR
CASE IH celebrates positive results in 2019 with 649 sugar cane harvesters sold in Brazil in 2019 being 50% made by CASE. Case points the share growth to the improvements made at the model A8000 that can make up to 15% on operational cost savings and robustness for those machines that operates over 4,000 hours per year.
PSR Analysis: Agricultural business remains strong. Despite lower sales of small tractors dedicated to small business due to lower credit, heavy production equipment sales remain strong because of record production of grains and other agricultural products. PSR
SUMMARY. The North American economy
remained stable in 2019 and pure economic conditions as well as fundamentals in
the region were favorable. Most industries performed very well, and the
short-term outlook remains stable to flat for most market segments. However, we
see many new developments that could suggest a shift in the trend.
Yosyf Sheremeta
Consumer
confidence declined slightly in December, following a moderate increase in November. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence
Index stood at 126.5 in December, 1.4 points higher than in September 2019.
Per Lynn Franco, Senior Director of
Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: “While consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved,
their expectations declined, driven primarily by a softening in their
short-term outlook regarding jobs and financial prospects. While the economy
hasn’t shown signs of further weakening, there is little to suggest that
growth, and in particular consumer spending, will gain momentum in early 2020.”
Natasa Mulahalilovic is PSR MarineLink Product Manager
Emiliano Marzoli is Senior Business Development Manager – Europe
Dalibor Sablic is Senior Business Development Manager – Europe
SUMMARY: The general mood at Boot 2020 this year was very positive. Most builders said they had a very successful nautical 2018/2019 year, and most said they are looking forward to a good year in 2020. The show drew 240,000 visitors who had an opportunity to meet 1,900 exhibitors from 71 countries.
The Sailing boats segment is coming back on track, motorboats of all sizes are doing well, the super yachts segment remains strong, and inflatable boats and tenders have gained in popularity. The optimistic view for 2020 is based on good year-end results, continuous investments in new technologies, materials, equipment, design and exciting new boat concepts.
Natasa Mulahalilovic
Modern designs, completely new looks, use of light and solid material, work on multi-functionality and openness of the boats is visible everywhere and in all segments. Boats are open more than ever, providing more space and light, and bringing riders closer to the water.
The environmental awareness is growing, and a new generation of boaters is looking for cleaner solutions, not just comfort. That’s why the sailing segment is gaining ground, electric boats are appealing to the general curiosity, and small and medium motorboats are more attractive than in last 10 years when the trend was towards bigger motor yachts and super yachts.
17 Halls of Boats, Boats and More Boats
Duesseldorf, Germany–The Power Systems Research (PSR) team spent several days exploring the 17 halls at this year’s Boot 2020 Show, reviewing products and talking with pleasure boat builders, traders and other industry professionals about the latest achievements, innovations and trends.
The 51st edition of Boot 2020, Europe’s largest boat show, wrapped up January 26, after drawing attendance of 240,000 for the nine-day event. People came mainly from Europe, but they came from all over the world, as well.
PSR Analysis: Isuzu has agreed to form a business alliance with Sweden’s Volvo in the Truck field and to acquire Volvo’s UD Trucks subsidiary. The amount of the acquisition depends on the negotiations, but Isuzu sees UD Trucks as a business size of 250 billion yen.
Carlos Briganti, managing director of South American
operations for Power Systems Research, will discuss, trends and production volumes
for the national market of commercial and off-road vehicles at a seminar on
Commercial Vehicle Perspectives sponsored by Autodata Dec. 3, 2019.
SUMMARY:Gen-set sales in Q3 2019 rose 7% from Q2 2019, due to a continued strong demand for standby power systems. Standby systems in both the residential and commercial sectors drove this growth (the highest QoQ growth of the year so far), with the 10-20kW range increasing sales by nearly 12% and the 21-50kW, 51-100, and 101-300kW ranges growing 5-7%.
