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PSR Participates in SAE Brazil Mobility Forum
For the fifth consecutive year, Power Systems Research (PSR) will participate in the 20th SAE Mobility Forum in Curitiba-PR. This year’s event will be held Sept. 12and 13 at FIEP (Paraná State Industries Federation) auditorium.
This Forum brings together the most important companies in the Medium Heavy Vehicles and Off Highway Vehicles in Brazil. Originally, the event was called “Diesel Forum,” but with the new technologies of propulsion in the key segments covered by the forum, it changed its name…
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Mexico Beats Argentina for Brazilian Vehicle Exports
Fabio Ferraresi 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.
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29% of 2023 Trucks Fit with Euro 6 Engines
Data released by Anfavea about July Sales and Production show only 29% of the trucks sold in 2023, and produced during the year, met the PROCONVE P8 / Euro VI emissions regulation.
From January to July 2023, 53,900 trucks were produced, 36.2% below the 84,500 units produced in same period last year. This amount is also lower than that produced in the same period in 2021, when 89,500 trucks were produced on the Brazilian OEM assembly lines.
Truck production is still at a slow pace as the market continues to generate low demand for the new PROCONVE P8 technology.
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Firms Develop Hydrogen-Powered Generator
FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Akihiro Komuro Komatsu, Hitachi, and Denyo announced the commercialization of a gen-set that uses a mixture of hydrogen and light oil as fuel. It is possible to mix up to 50% hydrogen, which does not emit CO2 when burned, and CO2 emissions can be reduced by 50%.
The first unit will be installed at Komatsu’s Oyama Plant, with full operation scheduled for the end of September. Hitachi will serve as the point of contact for the system, which will be marketed to a wide range of external customers.
The system can mix up to 50% hydrogen with diesel engines that use diesel oil. The power output is 250 kW. Komatsu and Hitachi provided the fuel injection control technology and the function to safely stop the engine in case of abnormal combustion, respectively, and Denyo assembled them into the generator.
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Continued Growth Seen for Powersports Market
Michael Aistrup The growing popularity of powersports is expected to provide many new opportunities ln this rapidly growing market. Some of the trends fueling this long-term growth potential are:
Growing/changing market for utility-terrain vehicles (UTVs).
- Technological advancements through improved durability and adaptability to UTV’s, ensure greater enjoyment for UTV riders.
- Industry-leading companies will continue to focus on increased product range and rigorous R&D initiatives to strengthen their market standing.
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U.S. Economic Downturn this Year or Next?
Jim Downey SUMMARY. As we are halfway through 2023, there is more uncertainty with the economy than earlier in the year. The general consensus is there will be a recession coming soon in the United States, and now it is just a matter of whether this will happen later in 2023 or the first of part of 2024.
The latter may be more assumed recently. The stock market has not fallen, and the US economy has not entered a recession this year, 2023. Some of the factors that have prevented this are market investors being enthusiastic over AI (Artificial Intelligence) potential, the Federal Reserve’s pause in interest rate increases, and the slowdown of inflation. So seemingly the pause button has been hit on recession scenarios.
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VW Unveils Four EV Breakthroughs
Guy Youngs VW’s US Innovation Hub just announced four breakthroughs in electric mobility and sustainable transport. First, the team used artificial intelligence on University of Tennessee’s high-performance computer cluster to develop a modular structure in the shape of tiny pyramids; the structure can be 3D-printed from liquid resins and can hold 30K times its own 0.15 lb weight (68g), so this frame would be up to 60% lighter than the steel frame.
Second, they have developed a method of using paper as a recyclable alternative to plastic parts and foils for EV interiors.
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New Machinery Requirements
Christopher Bamforth New Machinery requirements have been published for Europe and will replace the existing Machinery Directive Jan. 20, 2027. OEMs will have to be compliant with the new requirements on that day since there is no transition period.
With a heavy focus on safety, the environment and machine learning, the main takeaways are that these are EU regulations. This means that manufacturers will not have to wait for each member state’s upgrade of the regulation into law. This may streamline the process although it could mean big changes for some member states that previously had fewer requirements.
And there’s another important consideration. Since we have entered the digital age, all certifications and instructions can be in digital format. One exception is the non-professional machinery’s safety measures which must be included in paper format.
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Q2 2023 Economic Update Is Mostly Positive
GLOBAL REPORT
Guy Youngs SUMMARY. There are several factors that could contribute to modest growth in the second half of this year as we await final numbers for the quarter. This should lead to total production globally growing at +2.6% in 2023 (vs 2022). Given this 2023 growth, the outlook for the years into 2028 remains positive.
Apart from Russia and Ukraine, the main country to show a decline is South Korea, while Japan is barely positive. However, the segment picture shows some differences.
- Fuel prices have eased recently, but they remain a serious concern.
- Supply chains remain constrained.
- The war in Ukraine shows no sign of a speedy conclusion, despite recent successes by Ukraine.
- Ukrainian exports of wheat, other grains and fertilizer continue but are still low compared to pre-war levels.
- Inflation continues to be a concern and central banks are raising their interest rates. This will pose a risk to economic growth in all regions. Inflation and price increases are putting OEMs in a tricky situation.
- Risk of recession appears in several countries including the USA and Germany.
- Covid is still lingering with global deaths now at over 6.9 million, but the death rate has slowed considerably.
- Latent demand for machinery keeps bursting out into the open.
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