Brazil Off-Highway, Industrial Segments Expect 4% Growth in 2022

SOUTH AMERICA REPORT

According to Abimaq, the total machine segment, that includes Construction Equipment, Agricultural Equipment, Power Gen-Sets, Industrial Equipment and others, grew 20% in 2021 and should grow more than 4% in 2022. When breaking down by subsegment, ABIMAQ see the segments impacted by infrastructure growing around 15% and the segments impacted by Agriculture growing pushed by the harvest growth.

Source: M&T / Abimaq     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The just released projections are in line with the fourth quarter projections we did for 2022. Our Agricultural Equipment forecast is more conservative than that released by ABIMAQ due to risk factors we see impacting this segment. Indeed, we are already seeing negative news at the harvest due to weather conditions as we are reporting in this PowerTALK Edition.  PSR

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

PowerTALK™, March 2022

This issue of PowerTALK News contains several articles about the situation in Russia, including news about plant shut downs and operational adjustments by OEMs. Several EV articles, too.

Inside:

  • Medium and Heavy EV Testing
  • DataPoint: NA Dumpers/Tenders
  • Europe: Middle East Energy Show Resumes
  • South America
    • Brazil Cuts Production Taxes
    • VW Plans EV Charger Program
    • Sao Paulo EV Bus Program
  • China: 90% EV Penetration Expected
  • Japan: Sony, Honda To Develop EV SUV
  • India: Paggio Developing EV Scooter for India
  • Russia:
    • Half of Auto Plants Shut Down
    • KAMAZ Adjusts To Daimler Exit
    • CAT Plans To Stop Russia Production
    • Foreign Automakers Face Ultimatum

Foreign Automakers Face Ultimatum

RUSSIA REPORT

March 10, 2022–Foreign companies which have paused their business operations in Russia must resume their work, or face bankruptcy of their Russian division.

Foreign companies made huge investments to localization production in Russia, and they don’t want to leave the Russian market, but they face unprecedent pressure by their own regulators. In this situation the government has developed three scenarios for foreign concerns’ subsidiaries which have production plants in Russia.

Read More»

Maruti Suzuki To Build EV-Battery Plant

INDIA REPORT 
Aditya Kondejkar

The development work has already been started on a project codenamed YY8 planned for 2024-2025.

Source: Economic Times.    Read The Article

Major auto players in India like Tata Motors, MG Motors and Hyundai have already announced their investment plans in the electric vehicles sector, there wasn’t any formal announcement from Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker. But now, the penny has dropped.

Suzuki Motor, parent of Maruti Suzuki, says it has signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat State government, and plans to invest Rs 10,440 crore in there to build an EV and battery factory. The MoU was signed at the India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi.

Read More»

Drought Forces Power Cuts at Sichuan Factories

CHINA REPORT
Qin Fen
Qin Fen

Sichuan’s worst drought in more than a half century spurred the Chinese province to extend industrial power cuts and activate its highest emergency response, adding to manufacturers’ woes as they shut down factories in the region.

Source: Bloomberg   Read The Article                            

Xinhua News Agency   Read The Article         

Shanghai Daily   Read The Article                                   

China.org.cn       Read The Article

Read More»

Power Systems Research Truck Production Index drops 13.7%

Global Truck Production REPORT

St. Paul, MN (October 24, 2022)— The Power Systems Research Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) dropped from 110 to 101, or 8.2%, for the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, from Q2 2022. The year-over-year (Q3 2021 to Q3 2022) loss for the PSR-TPI was, 117 to 101, or 13.7%.

The PSR-TPI measures truck production globally and across six regions: North America, China, Europe, South America, Japan & Korea and Emerging Markets.

This data comes from OE Link™, the proprietary database maintained by Power Systems Research.

All Regions. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle production will be mixed this year due to a variety of issues.  In China, truck overcapacity continues to hinder demand while the Russian-Ukraine war is significantly impacting demand and production in Eastern Europe.  The global supply chain will remain a problem through at least the end of this year for all regions.  There is serious concern about a major slowdown in the North American and European economies as a direct result of higher fuel and energy prices and overall inflation which doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

Global Index. Global medium and heavy vehicle production is expected to decline by 13% this year primarily due to a significant drop in heavy truck demand in China.  A slowing global economy along with continued supply chain disruptions will continue to place pressure on demand moving forward.

Read More»

New Vehicle Sales Increase 33% in September

SOUTHEAST ASIA: 6 MAJOR COUNTRIES REPORT

New vehicle sales in the six major Southeast Asian countries totaled 317,765 units in September, up 33% from the same month last year. The figures were compiled from new vehicle sales statistics released by automobile industry associations and other organizations in each country. This is the 12th consecutive month that sales have exceeded those of the same month last year; the economic recovery from COVID-19 continues, with sales up 8% compared to September 2019, even before the spread of the infection.

Indonesia, the largest new vehicle market in the region, saw a 19% y/y increase to 99,986 units. This was the highest single-month sales volume in 2022. The tax exemption for some models ended at the end of September, and there appears to have been a rush demand for new vehicles.

Read More»

PowerTALK™, November 2022

IN THIS ISSUE

Bauma 2022 was held in Munich this year during October, and Power Systems Research sent a team of analysts to the show to meet with exhibitors and attendees to discuss industry changes and to study new products. Read their complete report. Also in this issue is the expanded Alternative Power sources report prepared by Guy Youngs.

  • Alternative Power
    • JCB Unveils Mobile Hydrogen Refueller
    • Massive Hydrogen Fuel Truck To Help Decarbonize Mining Industry
    • 50-Ton Battery-Powered Electric Crane Introduced
    • World Needs To Mine 25× More Lithium By 2050
    • US Increases EV Battery Recycling Capacity
    • Penn State Offers Smaller, Faster Charging Batteries
    • Liebherr Leads Bauma Innovation Award Winners
  • Miners Cut CO2 Emissions by Switching To EVs
  • DataPoint: Utility Vehicles
  • Global Report: Powersports Market Expected To Exceed US$ 50 Billion
  • North America: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck News
  • Brazil/South America:
    • Foton Aumark Shuts Down Operations in Brazil
    • São Paulo Partners with ENEL To Replace Diesel Buses To BEV
  • Randon Acquires US Trailer Maker Hercules
  • Show Report: Bauma-Munich 2022
  • Japan: Semiconductor Development Companies Set Up
  • South Korea: Korean Electric Motorcycle Maker Builds Factory in Vietnam
  • SE Asia: New Vehicle Sales Increase 33% in September
  • India: Cheering Festive Season for Auto Industry

Penn State Offers Smaller, Faster Charging Batteries

Researchers at Penn State say they have found a way to make batteries for electric cars that can be smaller and faster charging.

“The need for smaller, faster-charging batteries is greater than ever,” said Chao-Yang Wang, the lead author of the research study that was published in the October 12 issue of the journal Nature. “Our fast-charging technology works for most energy dense batteries and will open a new possibility to downsize electric vehicle batteries from 150 to 50 kWh without causing drivers to feel range anxiety,” said Wang.

Batteries operate most efficiently when they are hot, but not too hot. Keeping batteries consistently at just the right temperature has been a major challenge for battery engineers. Historically, they have relied on external, bulky heating and cooling systems to regulate battery temperature, but they respond slowly and waste a lot of energy. The team decided to regulate the temperature from inside the battery. The researchers developed a new battery structure that adds an ultrathin nickel foil as the fourth component besides the anode, electrolyte, and cathode. The nickel foil self-regulates the battery’s temperature and reactivity which allows for 10 minute fast charging on just about any EV battery.

Read More»

Electric Light-Duty Trucks Must Meet 5% METI Goal by FY2030

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) now requires shippers that transport a large volume of freight to set a target of using 5% electric light-duty trucks by FY2030, which includes EVs and fuel cell vehicles (CVs), but not hybrids.

They will also be required to submit periodic reports on their progress toward this target. If the efforts are significantly inadequate, the committee can make recommendations to shippers and publicly announce the names of the companies involved.

Of the 800 major manufacturers, retailers, and other companies with large annual transportation volumes, those that are also involved in their own transportation or those that request exclusive transportation from a specific company are eligible for the program.

Source: The Nikkei

PSR Analysis: The fact that hybrids are not included in this goal effectively means that the next-generation development of light-duty trucks has been narrowed down to BEVs or FCVs. However, FCVs still lack hydrogen stations, and the construction cost of hydrogen stations is higher than that of EV charging stations, so the shift to EVs will be promoted first. Light-duty trucks are numerous and can be said to be the artery of domestic logistics. With about seven years to go until 2030, the number of vehicles that will be replaced by EVs will increase every year. PSR

Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia, for Power Systems Research