Malaysia’s Proton Considers Building EV Plant in Thailand

SOUTHEAST ASIA: MALAYSIA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Malaysian state-owned carmaker Proton is considering building an EV plant in Thailand, according to reports from Thailand government officials. The Thai government has long focused on promoting related industries.

At a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, where he is visiting, the Thai Prime Minister said, “I hope we can confirm clear steps to invite the plant and proceed quickly,” and indicated that he plans to work out the details with the parties involved soon. The amount of investment and production capacity were not disclosed.

Proton was established in 1983 as a national policy to revive Malaysia’s automotive industry. Currently, the company is rushing to switch to EVs after receiving an investment from Geely, a private Chinese automotive giant.

Read More»

COVID Delays Trade Shows

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

MOSCOW–October in Russia has seen increasing restrictions related to the COVID quarantine placed on trade shows. Most shows which normally would be held at this time, have been cancelled or shifted to 2021.

Fairs such as “Busworld” and “Interauto” will not take place this year. However, some events have been included on a so called “exception list,” or official list of trade shows and congresses, planned to be conducted in here from Oct. 20, 2020, to 30 Nov. 30, 2020. Among these events are Mining World and the Heat and Power trade show, held Oct. 27 – 29 in the Crocus Expo Center here.

Read More»

Pandemic Reduces Moscow 2021 Oil and Gas Show

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

MOSCOW–The recently-completed Neftegaz (the International Exhibition for Equipment and Technologies for Oil and Gas Industries) trade show held at the Moscow Expocenter was smaller than in the past. This fair is conducted every two years and is a largest local event in the oil and gas industry. This year’s fair was held April 26-29.

It’s a small trade show, and it was even this year than in past years. The number of participants was down from 550 to about 400 companies representing 18 countries. The largest delegations (besides Russia itself) were presented by Germany and China. Germany has set national expositions on the fair.

Read More»

Smaller Bauma Returns To Munich

Summary. After more than three years, Bauma, one of the largest construction events in the world, reopened its doors for seven days in Munich Oct. 24. Power Systems Research (PSR) had a five-person team at the event, discussing trends with industry representatives, from new products and services to topics around the future evolution of sustainable technologies.

The show was smaller than the last time it was held, in 2019. Close to 3,200 exhibitors from 60 countries (2019: 3,684 exhibitors from 63 countries) participated and more than 495,000 visitors from over 200 countries (2019: 627,603 visitors from more than 200 countries) came to Munich for the event.

Bauma is the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment. International visitors made up about 50% of the attendance. That’s a change from 2019 when about two-thirds of visitors came from Germany.

Read More»

EPA Introduces Phase Three GHG Emission Standards

NORTH AMERICA REPORT
Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

In early May, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a virtual public hearing regarding the Phase 3 greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy duty trucks.  There are various comments and opinions from the stakeholders that attended the hearing.  Along with introducing the Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) rules to begin for MY 2028 trucks, the EPA also revised the Phase 2 GHG standards for the MY 2027 truck standards. 

This link from CCJ (Commercial Carrier Journal) is a good overview of the conference.

CCJ: ‘Destined to fail’: Trucking sounds off to EPA on new Phase 3 greenhouse-gas regs

The Environmental Protection Agency this week held virtual public hearings related to its Phase 3 greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, unveiled last month. Among the dozens who testified during the hearings, trucking industry stakeholders were part of a small minority advocating for EPA to take a step back and reconsider the proposed standards that would take effect beginning with model-year 2027 trucks.

Read More»

Indonesia Aims at Lead in Integrated EV Production

INDONESIA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Investment related to EVs is gaining momentum in Indonesia. While the government is aiming to upgrade the industry by mainly using nickel as a battery material, Hyundai Motor of South Korea and Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taiwan have announced their plans to produce EVs and automotive batteries. If the concentration of industries advances, the country will compete with Thailand, which is also making efforts to attract related industries, for the leading role in EV production in Southeast Asia.

At the Indonesia International Auto Show, which started in the suburbs of Jakarta on Dec 11, Hyundai Motor’s compact EV “Kona” attracted much attention. The company will begin production in 2022 at its plant in West Java province, which will soon be operational.

Read More»

Indonesia Plans To Become Major Player in Car Industry

SOUTHEAST ASIA: INDONESIA REPORT

Amid the global shift to EVs, Indonesia is vying to become the new leader in this segment.

Indonesia has already surpassed Thailand in passenger car production and has begun full-scale EV production ahead of Thailand. Thailand has begun to defend its position as the auto manufacturing hub of Southeast Asia by offering preferential policies for EVs, including subsidies for both domestic production and sales.

Indonesia’s greatest strength is its abundance of nickel, which is used in car batteries. It is said to have the largest nickel reserves in the world, and investment in this resource is growing rapidly. In April, the Indonesian government announced that it was considering investing in a nickel production venture involving Ford of the United States and that VW of Germany was also considering participation.

Read More»

Ridesharing Giant Gojek Converting Vehicles To EVs

SOUTHEAST ASIA: VIETNAM REPORT

Indonesian ridesharing giant Gojek plans to convert all its motorcycles to EVs by 2030. The adoption of EV motorcycles is now in full swing in Indonesia, the largest motorcycle market in Southeast Asia with annual sales of more than 5 million units.

Gojek, the country’s leading ridesharing and delivery company, is said to have over 2 million registered riders, including both motorcycles and cars. The full conversion to EV bikes is expected to contribute significantly to the Indonesian government’s goal of 9 million EV bikes by 2030.

Read More»

Japan Sees Hydrogen as Main Fuel by 2030

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The government of Japan has set a target of 10 million tons of hydrogen to be used in Japan by 2030, enough to operate more than 30 nuclear power plants. This would be more than 10% of the total electricity capacity in Japan.

It will also hasten the practical application of hydrogen power generation and accelerate the spread of FCVs. The government will provide support through a newly established 2 trillion Yen fund and tax incentives for capital investment.

Read More»