India EV Segment Gains Traction

Aditya Kondejkar

The EV segment in India is continuing to grow with additional government support. In July of this year, the government partially modified the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) in India Phase II. It has included an additional demand incentive for electric two-wheelers to ₹15,000 per KWh from an earlier uniform subsidy of ₹10,000 per KWh for all EVs, including plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids except buses.  

This decision will increase the subsidy for such vehicles by 50% under the FAME II scheme and be a game-changer in adopting EVs.

Such moves from the government will boost faster adoption of EVs. Furthermore, with this kind of solid support, OEMs will also take a step forward to accelerate the mass adoption of EV.

Read The Article

Read More»

Hydrogen Fuel Cell MH Commercial Vehicle Update

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

With regards to zero-emission medium and heavy vehicles, we have heard during the past few years that battery electric commercial trucks will ultimately replace the diesel-powered internal combustion engine for commercial trucks.  At some point in the future this might be true for short and regional haul freight carriers but what about the long-haul heavy truck segment? 

Currently, the lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety and the extreme weights associated with the batteries will be a significant deterrent to mass adoption of long-haul battery electric trucks.  However, hydrogen fuel cell trucks for long-haul applications appear to be a viable option in this segment.  Even though fuel cell trucks currently have a greater range and lighter weight than battery electric trucks, they have the same problem as electric trucks due to a lack of a power infrastructure.

Read More»

Generator Sales Continue Strong in Q4 2018

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in North America continued to grow in Q4 2018, with dealers reporting an overall unit sales increase of 6.7% over Q3 2018, largely due to a continued strong demand level for standby units by private consumers.

Read More»

OEMs Target India’s Premium MC Segment

INDIA REPORT
Aditya Kondejkar

The dominance of Royal Enfield in the mid-segment of the premium motorcycle market (300cc-500cc) could be facing challenges from upcoming products. The Triumph Speed 400, a result of a joint development effort between Triumph and Bajaj Auto, and the Harley-Davidson X440, developed through a collaboration between Hero MotoCorp and Harley Davidson, are set to compete in this market segment.

In response, Royal Enfield plans to introduce three new models in the 350-450cc range within the next year.

The Indian motorcycle market has witnessed a favorable trend towards high-end bikes. The phenomenon of premiumization has gained momentum due to increasing income levels, a growing young population, shifting preferences, and a surge in product launches.

Read More»

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 of progress. While touching upon a clutch of challenges plaguing the CV industry, he claimed the scenario as ‘VUCA’ (short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) in nature – a new normal that we have to accustom to.

“The world is no different. The global CV industry will also see lower demand and output in the short to medium term, which makes it all the more imperative for the domestic industry to become more competitive and grab as much as opportunities,” he said.

At the same time, Shah said, change and uncertainties have always been part of the CV landscape, yet the time frame available for stakeholders to adapt and thrive has shortened recently. “Times like that of COVID-19 have exposed numerous susceptibilities across the value chain that warrants a 360-degree overhaul,” he said.

Other leading industry executives participating in the panel were Anuj Kathuria, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland; Jayant Davar, Founder, Co-Chairman and MD, Sandhar Technologies; Sushil Rathi, COO (Transport and Procurement), Mahindra Logistics, and Siddharth Bhandari, Chairman of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) – Bengal Region, and CEO, Bhandari Automobiles.

In his closing remarks, Shah said all stakeholders should become a change catalyst themselves, and should not wait for the external demand drivers to turn positive. Becoming competitive and collaborative is
paramount, he said, thereby focusing more on solutions
for the challenges.

“Our businesses have to move from build-to-print models to innovation and R&D-driven enterprises,” he said. “Since the traditional demand drivers are not promising, we need to do a lot internally as an industry to move beyond the uncertainties to make a winning strategy.”

This is neither the first nor the last crisis for this industry, he said, but a crisis of this kind cannot be wasted without gaining good experiences
and key learning. “We have to stop playing individually, but join others to perform a symphony to make the difference,” he added.

Watch the full panel discussion in MOTORINDIA’s YouTubechannel – www.youtube.com/motorindiamagazine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csXrR0NqKTk PSR

2019 North American Commercial Vehicle Show (NACV)

Power Systems Research had a booth presence at the 2019 North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) show that took place at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, Oct. 28-31, 2019.

The NACV featured a “Technology Showcase” where many of the leading OEMs and supply chain companies put their latest market introductions on display.  There were over 500 exhibitors at the show – assembled in both Exhibition Hall A and Exhibition Hall B of the World Congress Center. 

Read More»

Gen-Set Sales Start Slow in Q1 2017

SUMMARY: Considering sales across all power ranges, gen-set sales were off to a slower start in Q1 2017, down 5.5% compared to Q4 2016 levels.  This decrease follows Q4 2016 where overall dealer reported sales were flat relative to Q3 2016 levels.

Read More»

The Future of Commercial Vehicles. Perspectives for Brazil

Published in Automotive Business, August, 26, 2020

1. INTRODUCTION

The use of diesel in Commercial Vehicles and its alternatives has been studied and discussed globally over the past two decades. We have updated future trends annually based on the new platforms in our data and new models in development allowing us a 10-year horizon. In August 2019 we published an article on the subject for Automotive Business Brazil, which is now updating.

Carlos Briganti
Carlos Briganti

In the 2019 article we said that fossil diesel propulsion for commercial vehicles would be exposed to several alternatives and therefore the 20s decade would be a decade of significant changes, justifying yearly monitoring of the subject.

This whole range of studies was then impacted by COVID-19, a new event at the beginning of this decade that is another factor of change in this complex subject.

Read More»

Q3 2017 Power Systems Research Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) drops 9.5%

St. Paul, MN (October 12, 2017)— The Power Systems Research global Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) deceased from 116 to 105, or -9.5%, for the three-month period ended September 30, 2017, from Q2 2017. However, the year-over-year (Q3 2016 to Q3 2017) gain for the PSR-TPI was 101 to 105, or 3.9%.

Overall, the global commercial truck industry is stronger than it has been in a number of years and is expected to continue to be strong moving into 2018.  While there are still concerns about regional economies such as South America and Greater China, the global economies continue to improve.

Read More»