GM Opens Third Shift at Joinville Engine Production Plant

GM has added a third shift at its plant in Joinville, SC, Brazil, to increase production capacity and supply engines for the Montana, the new Light Pickup below the S10 size. The capacity production increase forecast is 30%.

Source: Automotive Business     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The new GM Montana pickup is aimed to complete with the Fiat Toro and Fiat Strada, and grab market share from the leaders. GM also expects to export engines, if the shortage of semiconductors can be solved, which will allow the plant to reach the desired production levels.    PSR

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

DATAPOINT: North America Utility Vehicles, 2022 Production: 432,700 Units

432,700 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Utility Vehicles to be produced in North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) in 2022.

Four-wheel off-road Utility Vehicles with side-by-side seating are designed to be used in a variety of recreational, industrial and military applications. When equipped with dumpers, they are commonly used for landscaping, dumping and transporting light materials. Vehicles can be customized with enclosed cabs, tool racks, dumpers and more for use on college campuses, parks, corporate campuses and airports. Suppliers offer a wide variety of gas, electric and diesel utility vehicles.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

Exports: Canada, up to 90%; Mexico, up to 85% for NA markets, and US, up to 40% worldwide.

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World Needs To Mine 25X More Lithium

Guy Youngs
Guy Youngs

The de-carbonization of the transport industry is heavily dependent on the scaling up of electric vehicle production rapidly and massively, and this rests on scaling up battery mineral mining and refining. This means Lithium.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence counts 40 lithium mines that have been in operation and producing lithium in 2022. But, by 2050, the company sees a need for 234 more lithium mines if there’s no battery recycling underway (which, of course, is completely unrealistic but is a place to start from for such an analysis).

“The long term path for lithium is set, yet the supply chain scaling challenge has just begun,” said Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark. “What this data shows is that we are at just the beginning of a generational challenge, not one that’s going to be solved in the 2020s.”

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50-Ton Battery-Powered Electric Crane Introduced

The 653 E Electro Battery from Sennebogen is a new 50-ton battery-powered electric crane that was developed with Dutch dealer Van den Heuvel. “The new crane combines the benefits of battery technology with the proven advantages of the telescopic crawler crane design,” the company writes. “This means you work completely emission-free and retain maximum flexibility, thanks to the Dual Power Management system.”

With a 210 kWh battery, the crane is expected to be able to operate for up to 14 hours.

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Foton Aumark Shuts Down Operations in Brazil

Ten years after starting operations in Brazil with the import of Trucks and plans to have a local plant, Foton Aumark do Brasil (FAB) is preparing to go to court against the Chinese brand, claiming breach of contract. The company was created by economist Luiz Carlos Mendonça de Barros, former president of BNDES and former director of the Central Bank.

Source: Automotive Business     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The volumes of Foton were always very small and the situation will not affect the market. Plans for plants and volumes were never executed and sales never ramped up. Now it is just litigation between the parties and dealers that should look for compensation after FAB.    PSR

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

DATAPOINT: North America Terminal Tractors

Estimated 2022 Production: 3,800 Units

3,800 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Terminal Tractors to be produced in North America (United States) in 2023.

Terminal Tractors are specialized heavy duty vehicles designed to move loads at container ports and container terminals. Generally, they are slow moving (under 30km/h) and employ a high torque diesel engine and 4×4 wheel drive which enables them to move very heavy trailer loads, sometimes up to 200 or 300 tons

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First Synthetic Fuel Neutral CO2 Starts in Chile

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Construction of the first world carbon-neutral synthetic fuel plant was started in Chile, in December 2022. With a US$55 million investment in the project, Siemens Energy, HIF Global and Porsche will produce Methanol and Gasoline using water, wind and CO2. The plant has a planned capacity of 550 million liters in 2027.

The Haru Oni plant is Installed in the Magallanes, Chilean Patagonia region. It is known for the vast potential for its hydrogen market, with winds of more than 6,000 hours of charge to generate green electricity, three times more than in Europe.

Source: Automotive Business     Read The Article

PSR Analysis. Cost competitiveness is the major factor in the success of this project. E-fuels are an interesting alternative to accelerate the decarbonization of the transportation industry, especially in vehicles with complex electrification, such as ocean-going vessels and airplanes where the energy density and battery weight becomes a difficult factor. PSR

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

Brazilian Law for AG Tractor Cabins Changes

The law requiring the use of cabin tractors for spraying includes changes in applications and timing. Under the new wording, cultivation methods in which the use of the original or adapted closed cabin is unfeasible depending on the spacing between lines, a sprayer trailer pulled in a machine without closed cabin may be used, provided that it meets certain conditions.

New deadlines vary from 120 months for small properties and 60 months for large properties.

 Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Given the long deadlines, the market total volumes should not be impacted, but product lines should have volume changes within the application the product and model level. These should be reflected in next publish of PSR’s OE Link™ Forecast.    PSR

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

Hitech Electric To Produce 100% EV LCVs

Hitech Electric to produce 100% electric LCVs by March, with sales plans of 1,000 vehicles per year. In partnership with Positivo Tecnologia, (and its corporate venture capital (CVC) program) the assembly line will start with 50 units per month and possibly expand to 100 in the short term. The plant will be located in Campo Largo, Parana.

The vehicles will have a powertrain and battery produced by WEG, the Brazilian Electric equipment manufacturer. The batteries will feature non-flammable lithium iron phosphate. Product lineup includes a last mile utility vehicle and a 1.2-ton light truck.  

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