Royal Enfield has started its first assembly line in South America to produce motorcycles. The plant is located in Manaus-AM, Brazil and is the fourth in the world to operate under the CKD system.
Volvo has received authorization from the Ministry of Transportation to begin testing its heavy electric trucks in Brazil. The vehicles will be part of a study and will be able to operate in urban areas, metropolitan regions, and short to medium-distance intercity transportation, aiming to evaluate their performance and impact on pavement in this type of operation.
The transport companies ReiterLog and Ritmo Logística will be the first to operate the Volvo electric trucks. Preliminary results from the study, led by Senatran (National Traffic Department), with technical coordination from Inprotran (National Institute of Traffic and Safety Projects), in partnership with Volvo, Prometeon, UNB, and UFRGS, indicate benefits of operating zero-emission CO2 vehicles, such as high energy efficiency, absence of noise, low vibration levels, and increased driver comfort.
Autotor’s Kaliningrad plant plans to suspend assembly of BMW cars from the middle of June to the beginning of July because of a components shortage. This is told by CEO of the plant Ruslan Sadykov.
Stephen Teichert, head of BMW Russia, claims Autotor production capacity has been reduced by about 70%; however, in July the OEM plans to increase production to pre-COVID-19 level. Read The Article
PSR Analysis: The Autotor plant in Russia assembles passenger cars kits for BMW, Hyundai and Kia, and trucks for Hyundai, Daewoo, and Ford. Currently, the problems are claimed only for BMW components. The supply chain problems have been caused by COVID-19 lockdowns. PSR
Maxim Sakov Is Market Consultant, Russia, for Power Systems Research
Sales of electric version of GAZelle Next LCV have begun in Germany. Stuttgart company EFA-S is modifying Russian vehicles. The assembly started this year.
The German company purchases LCVs in Russia without transmission, engine and fuel system. Then in Stuttgart they install an electric motor and battery.
Currently, four versions of the electric vehicle are available – a side truck, a wagon, a 2-cabin wagon and a mini-bus. All LCVs are powered by a 110 kWt electric motor and can reach a speed of 88 km/hour.
The Fund of Industrial Development has approved a loan of US$ 27 million (2 Bln rubles) under the “Priority Projects” program, which will allow Ural to build axles at a new production facility. The new site will allow OEM to double production of heavy load trucks and to create about 4,000 jobs.
Currently, these axles are being purchased in China. Ural is going to make this product for its own use, and for sale to other truck makers. Production under the program is expected to begin in 2023.
As of Feb. 6, 2024, Shell permanently closed its seven light duty hydrogen fuel stations in California citing “hydrogen supply complications and other external market factors” for this decision. According to the below MOTORTREND article, this leaves 17 stations operational (although several are offline at the time of this writing) in the Bay Area, and just one in the Sacramento area.
Shell had already told industry outlet Hydrogen Insight that it would stop building any of the 48 new California stations it had planned—a significant number for the state—and that the company “made the decision to permanently close its light duty station network in California in early 2024.”
Taking advantage of new battery options and big government subsidies, Tesla has slashed its Model 3 prices in China. The company’s Chinese website is now advertising a base price for the popular battery-electric sedan of 249,900 yuan, or roughly $36,800.
While this is big news for the company in its efforts to remain dominant in the Chinese market, U.S. consumers won’t be affected…at least, not yet
In 2022, the penetration rate of new energy units in the commercial vehicle market exceeded 10%, and the penetration rate of heavy-duty trucks was close to 5%. The new energy subsidy policy was scheduled to be withdrawn at the end of 2023, but data for the January to October period is basically the same as the previous year. The share of new energy units for the commercial vehicle segment is far lower than the market share of 30.4% for new energy passenger vehicles.
With the accelerated adjustment of China’s transportation structure, it is expected that by 2025, the national railway and water freight volume will increase by 10% and 12%, respectively, compared to 2020, while the road freight volume will relatively decrease. In this context, bulk and ultra long-distance road transportation will gradually exit the market, and the advantages of short and point-to-point road trunk transportation with radii of around 500 kilometers and 300 kilometers will be further highlighted.
The heavy truck industry fell in the first half of 2022 by more than 63% from the previous year. According to the latest statistics from the China Automobile Association, for January to June this year, the overall sales volume of the domestic heavy truck market was about 380,000 units, a decrease of 63.6% compared with the same period last year.
In June, the sales volume of China’s heavy truck industry was only 55,000 units, a year-over-year decrease of 65%. The main reasons for the decline in heavy truck sales this year are the upgrading of emission standard from “China V” to “China VI” last year, which caused a pre-buy in the market, and the impact of the epidemic this year, which depressed the logistics and transportation market, further curbing demand for new trucks.
The heavy truck industry is a cyclical industry, and its development cycle fluctuates due to changes in environmental protection policies and the overall economy. Following a 14 month decline in sales, the primary concern in the heavy truck industry is this: When will there be a turnaround?
Q. What is the current state of electric vehicle technology globally as well as the U.S.?
A. From a medium and heavy truck perspective, electric trucks are still in the early stages of testing, and it will still be a few years before we know if the current technology will be effective. Transit or city buses are much further along in the process since these are largely not for profit vehicles and have more dedicated routes that allow for more consistent recharge.
China is probably the furthest along with electric bus adoption with almost half of all medium and heavy buses produced being electric. While electrified bus adoption in North America and Europe is not nearly as strong as China, demand is increasing. In North America, natural gas buses (CNG and Propane) are currently the alternative fuel of choice. However, government mandates will likely force bus electrification over the next decade or so.
Monthly news and analysis from PSR’s experts
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