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The way we deliver products from point A to point B is changing. This transformation is creating new partnerships, with implications affecting more than just the transportation industry.
Our team at Power Systems Research provides market intelligence to companies working in and around transportation and mobility functions.
Ford Motor Company, Argo AI, and Walmart are working together to launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. — Walmart’s first multi-city autonomous delivery collaboration in the U.S. The last-mile delivery service will use Ford self-driving test vehicles equipped with the Argo AI Self-Driving System to deliver Walmart orders.
The collaboration brings together a self-driving technology provider with an automotive manufacturer able to integrate that technology with vehicles at scale, plus the world’s largest retailer.
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.
Mexico became the main trading partner of the Brazilian automotive sector in July, beating Argentina in 2023 YTD results. Brazil exports volume to Mexico are favorable because of a 33% growth in the Mexican domestic market. Brazil expanded its exports to the country by 142%, according to Anfavea.
Even with the help of increasing exports to Mexico, Brazilian exports had a significant reduction to 30,300 units, 27.6% below the same period in 2022, which totaled 41,900 units.
The Chilean market has shrunk by 30% this year, from 261,000 to 182,000 units compared to the first seven months of 2022. Purchases of vehicles made in Brazil decreased 61% in the period, from 41,000 to 16,000 units.
In Colombia, the domestic market fell by 60%, from 263,000 to 104,000 units, from January to July compared to the same period last year, and the presence of Brazilian vehicles fell 42%, from 47,000 to 27,000 units.
BorgWarner said it will start producing battery systems for electric vehicles in Piracicaba-SP, Brazil, by Q1 2023 with declared annual capacity of 1,000 electric units.
The plant in Piracicaba formerly belonged to Delphi and was acquired by BorgWarner in 2020. The plant will receive a production line from Akasol, another company acquired by BorgWarner.
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.
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.
PSR Experimental Vehicle Grabs Fifth Place in Shell’s International Competition
The PSR-sponsored experimental vehicle designed, produced and raced by a team of high school students from suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, finished as the top school from the US, and won fifth place overall, during international competition in London recently.
Also in this issue is a report on global truck production. The PSR Q2 2018 Truck Production Index climbed 12.4%.
Here are the Top Stories in this issue of PowerTALK
St. Paul, MN (July 13, 2022)— The Power Systems Research Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) increased from 104 to 116, or11.5%, for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022, from Q1 2022. The year-over-year (Q2 2021 to the Q2 2022) loss for the PSR-TPI was, 130 to 116, or -10.8%.
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.
Global Index.Global medium and heavy vehicle production is expected to decline by 10% this year primarily due to a drop in demand in China and Eastern Europe. However, a slowing global economy will also place pressure on demand moving forward.
All Regions.Medium and heavy commercial vehicle production will be mixed this year due to a variety of issues. In China, truck and bus overcapacity will hinder demand while the Russian-Ukraine war will significantly impact demand and production in Eastern Europe. Global supply chains will remain a problem through at least the end of this year for all regions. There is critical concern about major slowdowns in the North American and European economies as a direct result of higher fuel prices and inflation which does not appear to be going away anytime soon.
Editor’s Note: Caroline Little teaches all levels of French and moderates an engineering co-curricular at St. Thomas Academy, an all-boys school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Here she provides a report on the program and the benefits it provides to participating students.
Power Systems Research has been a lead sponsor of the special Experimental Vehicle Team (EVT) at St. Thomas for many years. This year, the team won its class in the Shell Eco-Marathon international competition in London. This report from Ms. Little discusses the program and the benefits it provides for high school students interested in science, technology, engineering and match (STEM).
By Caroline Little
Every year for the past twenty the Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team (STA EVT) has built a new vehicle from the ground up to give our students the best engineering experience a high-schooler can get. The internationally recognized program started in 1997. My fellow moderator Mark Westlake and I believe in the importance of learning from mistakes. That the most important life lessons come from experience, that science is not always easy and that the answers are not always found in the back of the book.
St. Paul, MN — The Power Systems Research Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) increased from 113 to 127, or 12.4%, for the three-month period ended June 30, 2018, from the Q1 2018. The year-over-year (Q2 2017 to Q2 2018) gain for the PSR-TPI was 124 to 127, or 2.4%.
The Tokyo Motor Show was a major event that attracted 2 million people from the 1980s to the 1990s, but in recent years the number of visitors has decreased and the last exhibition in 2017 drew only 770,000 attendees.
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