News

Almaz-Antey Group To Develop Car Powered by Hydrogen Cells

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

This OEM is developing a passenger car dubbed E-NEVA which will use hydrogen as a fuel.

Almaz-Antey is a group of 60 enterprises, specializing in air defense weapons. With this current effort, OEM is making civilian products based on the developments from the military industry. In August, the concern introduced a self-propelled electric chassis that could be used  to create passenger cars on the basic chassis. The chassis includes two electric motors and a set of batteries of 90 kWt/hrs, providing up to 400 km on a single charge.

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Russian Car Sales in September Drop 22.6%

Sales on new passenger cars and LCVs in September 2021 declined 22.6%, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB). In total, automotive salons and dealers have sold 119,4 000 cars, which is 34,9 vehicles less than in 2020 September.

According to AEB head Tomas Schterzel, “negative trend is going on” (in August the sales dropped 17%), although the totals for the first nine months of 2021 are showing 15.1% growth versus the same period in 2020. The shortage of vehicles on the market is connected to decreased production and the deficit of semiconductors. The energy crisis in China and UK, growing prices of raw materials and other problems will support negative trend in the market during the near term.

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PSR Analysis: The problem here is not only in components deficit, but primarily in the car prices going up and the consumer’s incomes going down. So, the negative trend will develop further. PSR

Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant – Russia Operationsfor Power Systems Research

KAMAZ Increases Nine-Month Production 21%

KAMAZ has significantly increased production for the first nine months of 2021 versus the same period last year. Through September, the OEM produced 30,979 vehicles, up  21% from the same period in 2020, reports the company.

In September, KAMAZ made 4,067 vehicles (versus 3,676 vehicles in September 2020.

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PSR Analysis: KAMAZ has found ways to resolve the problem with components (mostly by offering simpler models), working with pent-up demand and increasing its market share.

Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant – Russia Operations, for Power Systems Research

Personal Mobility Segment Lacks Sparkle, Stocks, Demand Drop

Aditya Kondejkar

Passenger vehicles sales dropped 41% to around 160k units in September as the shortage of semi-conductors disrupted production at most of the OEMs. OEMs are facing supply shortages rather than demand problems. We are seeing robust customer demand as increasing preferences towards personal mobility increase.

2-wheel sales declined 17% to 1.5 million units in September. The Motorcycle segment is heavily impacted as sales is dropped 23% in September. Owing to high vehicle acquisition costs and high fuel prices, inquiries regarding new vehicles have dropped significantly compared with last years’ level.

“Indian automobile industry continues to face new challenges, said Kenichi Ayukawa, President, SIAM. “While on one hand, we are seeing a revival in vehicle demand, on the other hand, shortage of semi-conductor chips is causing a major concern for the industry. Many members have curtailed their production plans.”

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PSR Analysis: So, we believe the on road segments have witnessed a V-shaped recovery since the second wave of COVID-19 and won’t see a regular festive season spike for this year.   PSR

Aditya Kondejkar is Research Analyst – South Asia Operations, for Power Systems Research

China Faces Limits on Power and Production

Jack Hao
Jack Hao

The global energy structure has accelerated the adjustment to green energy, and the investment in traditional energy is insufficient. Under the influence of COVID-19, energy supply and demand are disrupted, exacerbating the contradiction between supply and demand, resulting in global power shortage.

China recovered from the epidemic earlier than many other countries and is now almost the only major manufacturer, so industrial power consumption has increased significantly. Power rationing is mainly to alleviate the power shortage and achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction. China is dominated by thermal power generation, and there is a serious shortage of clean energy. There are still big problems in the energy structure.

Source:  Weixunso     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: In 2021, China’s electricity demand will grow by more than 10%, which greatly exceeds the previously estimated demand growth of 6% to 7%. At present, the substantial growth of power demand has put great pressure on power supplies. Coal accounts for about 70% of China’s electricity consumption, but the output of coal is far lower than the demand for electricity.

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Brazil Motorcycle In-Service Population Grows

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

During the pandemic, the number of motorcycles in Brazil grew with the demand for delivery and e-commerce and boosted other business, from clothes for motorcyclists to spare parts.

Source: M&T     Read  The Article

PSR Analysis: The effect is seen not only because of the incremental sales and consequent in-service population increase, but because of the profile of utilization that changed. Motorcycles in Brazil are used for last mile delivery and delivery in urban centers, because of the low cost of acquisition and the low cost of operation, flexibility, and agility in traffic. The pandemic accelerated some changes in e-commerce and food delivery and created some demands above the standards already in place. It’s time for many to analyze and grab opportunities that sudden changes bring.   PSR

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

Volkswagen Truck and Bus and CBMM To Develop Niobium Battery for EV

Volkswagen Truck and Bus, part of the Traton Group, and CBMM, a Brazilian giant of niobium mining, announced an agreement to develop batteries with Niobium for Electric Vehicles. It promises to recharge a Truck Battery in less than 10 minutes and provide a traveling higher range. Volkswagen will start tests in 2022 to develop a functional vehicle with Niobium batteries by the end of 2022.

Source: Revista Oeste     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Primarily used to improve the strength of high grade steels, Niobium is also used for super conductors and has been tested by CBMM and Toshiba in batteries for three years with positive results. The solution applied for MHV may put Brazil in a strong position in MHV EV segment, since 97% of the Niobium reserves in the world are in Brazil.

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

Komatsu To Expand Autonomous Truck Operation in Brazil

In line with global trends of automatization, Komatsu is expanding its autonomous Truck operation in Brazil. It already has six trucks operating in the mining complex of Carajás (PA) and other four trucks will be introduced this year. Komatsu says the autonomous driving technology brings 40% savings on tires and brakes, 13% on overall maintenance and 15% on productivity, considering the elimination of stops for driver changing and rest.

Source: M&T    Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Carajás is the biggest mining complex in the world. It makes sense that the leading edge of the technology is being used here. These trucks are a reality, and they will progressively replace trucks driven by people in the next few years in mining complexes such as Carajas and other big ones in Brazil and South America. PSR

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

Volvo Builds Loader with Fossil-Free Steel

Christopher Bamforth
Christopher Bamforth

Volvo Group and SSAB have unveiled an autonomous loader made of fossil-free steel, claimed to be the world’s first vehicle made from that material. Manufactured at Volvo Construction Equipment’s facility in Braås, Sweden, this is said to be “just the start” as a few more will be produced in 2022 with mass production set to follow.

This machine is a load carrier for use in mining and quarrying and is built using a new fossil-free steel from SSAB. Volvo’s CEO Martin Lundstedt has already said that this new machine is a first step in incorporating this new steel in all of their products and components to help reach their goal of being completely carbon neutral by 2040.

Along with the electrification of its vehicles and machines, Volvo adds that it is determined to reduce the carbon footprint of its entire supply chain and this latest innovation is one step forward on this path.

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Strong Growth Will Continue into 2022-23

Yosyf Sheremeta
Yosyf Sheremeta

The third quarter of 2021 brought steady economic activities and strong economic recovery in North America.  Despite this strong economic recovery, many existing and new challenges developed.  Pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, logistics backlogs, shortages within semiconductor products and new virus re-problems, labor market issues (shortages across service industry as well as skilled labor)- have contributed to slower growth in Q3 2021 than previously expected. 

With the help of government support and targeted fiscal policies, the US economy is showing a strong comeback in 2021.  Furthermore, it is on a positive trajectory to continue to grow in the next few years.  There are many reasons for us to be optimistic about this trend.  Our positive outlook is based on the reviews of key economic indicators, including GDP, unemployment, and inflation.  In our previous forecasts, we discussed recovery trends for the post-pandemic period, and we called for a return of demand for most markets in 2021, especially during H2 2021.  

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