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SOUTH KOREA REPORT: Doosan Infracore Collaborates with Game Developers
Doosan Infracore says it has signed an MOU with Unity Technologies Korea for mutual cooperation in the development of a construction process simulator.
Akihiro Komuro This is the first joint project with a game engine developer in the construction equipment industry, which is rare in the global construction equipment industry.
The game engine is regarded as very useful in various industries such as shipbuilding, logistics and construction. Doosan Infracore and Unity will work together to develop a simulator. It realizes various physical elements on a construction site where excavators and other equipment operate in a virtual environment. The simulator will be very useful in accurately predicting complex variables that may occur on a real construction site.
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VIETNAM REPORT: VinFast Enters Luxury Segment With New SUV
Vietnamese automaker VinFast has launched a luxury SUV, the VinFast President, to take on global brands like Lexus and Mercedes. To cost VND4.6 billion ($198,200), the seven-seater looks similar to VinFast’s first SUV, the Lux SA2.0, but with more advanced technologies and frills like massage and heated seats.
Akihiro Komuro Its 420HP V8 engine can go from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.8 seconds and offers a top speed of nearly 300 kph. VinFast will produce only 500 units and sell them exclusively in Vietnam. The first 100 customers will get a 17% discount on the price.
In its segment, the VinFast President costs 45% less than the Lexus LX 570 and 33% less than the BMW X7. Industry insiders say it lacks some premium features often seen in luxury cars such as captain’s chairs, TV screens and a high-end sound system. The vehicle signifies the ambition of VinFast, a unit of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, Vingroup, to enter all segments of the auto market after bringing out its first vehicle in July last year.
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Belaz Wins Tender To Sell 96 Mining Trucks To India
The world’s leading mining trucks OEM – Belaz – has won the opportunity to supply 96 mining trucks to India, taking the prize from US and Japanese manufacturers.
Maxim Sakov They are heavy 220-ton mining trucks. The supply will take two years. Twelve trucks will be shipped to India this year, and the rest will be sent in 2021. The total contract value exceeds US$ 300 million. Belaz also is completing a previous large contract with India for 77 trucks.
PSR Analysis: Historically, Belarussian…
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Production of First Russian EV Passenger Car Postponed
Zetta company has had to shift mass production of its Russian car “City Modul 1” until after 2020 because the Fund of Industry Development refused to provide credit of 99.9 million Rubles (about € 1.1 million).
Maxim Sakov According to the Fund opinion, the company has insufficient budget to start the production, even with the requested credit. “The company needs an investor, who will believe in market potential of the product, and will co-finance the project together with the fund. The fund is ready to consider application one more time as soon as such investor will be found,” the Fund said
“City Modul 1” would become first serial Russian electric car. Zetta plans to make the car on its own production site in Tolyatti; production capacity is 15,000 units per year.
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Western Auto OEMs Seek Privileges for LNG Trucks
Move is opposed by Russian KAMAZ which plans to make similar machines.
Maxim Sakov Market players have proposed canceling import taxes and utilization fees for commercial vehicles fueled by LNG until 2025. The target of the measure is the development of LNG-transport until the appearance of domestic analogs of such machinery.
The suggestion comes from foreign makers of LNG on-highway tractors and supported by Gazprom. Now, no imported vehicles are exempted from these taxes.
The import tax for on-highway tractors is 5% of their cost, and the utilization fee is 10 to 12K Euro. LNG tractor is more expensive than its diesel analog by about 35K Euro.
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Regulatory Changes Could Boost India Auto Industry
India’s auto industry has slid back to the level of nearly a decade ago due to multiple regulatory changes, a slowing economy, liquidity issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aditya Kondejkar The auto industry has shown signs of recovery over the last couple of months; however, an additional demand push is required to generate sustainable growth. The government is evaluating a series of possible measures such as a revision in the goods and services tax (GST) rate and a production-linked incentive and scrapage policy.
GST Revision: The GST council is evaluating an industry 10% GST cut across categories of vehicles.
This GST revision will defiantly neutralize the impact of the price hike due to BS-VI upgradation. Further, this GST revision will give a strong thrust to auto sales during the coming festive seasons.
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TAIWAN REPORT: First Self-Driving Bus on Three-Month Trial in Tainan
A month ago, the first self-driving bus operations begun its three-month trial in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan. It is the first revenue-generating service of autonomous rapid transit (ART) project supported by the central and local governments. The goal is to launch commercial operation across the country in 2021.
Erik Martin “Autonomous technology will lead a revolutionary change to the city’s transportation systems,” said Huang Wei-Cher, Mayor of Tainan. “The smart transportation initiative will help us improve overall road safety, operational efficiency, and rural area transportation services.”
The service will cover two business districts. One service will run on weekends only, on a 2.5km route between Nanke Railway Station and National Museum of Prehistory, while the other will be on weekdays in the 6.4km route along Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, where a smart vehicle testing site is located.
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DATAPOINT: US Combines, 2020 NA Production Forecast–6,300 units
The 6,300 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number Combines to be produced in the U.S. in 2020.
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.
Market Share: John Deere leads in the production of Combines in the U.S. with 59% of the total units manufactured. In second position is Case with 29%. Third, is Class with 6%.
Exports: Collectively, up to 30% worldwide.
Trends: In 2019, production of combines in North America decreased 7%. Production in 2020 is forecasted to remain flat with a nominal drop of 1%. Despite COVID-19, combine manufacturers expect to see an increase in sales due to the introduction of new equipment.
A few years ago, farmers were reluctant to buy or trade in pricey equipment because of low commodity prices. For instance, in 2017, production and purchases of new combines rebounded as portrayed in production figures. The gain can be attributed to an increase in commodity prices such as corn and soybeans that peaked in 2013/2014.
According to industry reports such as AEM, export sales to Canada decreased 19% in 2019. Expect production to remain flat with a possible gain of 5% by 2025. PSR
Carol Turner is Senior Analyst, Global Operations, at Power Systems Research
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Electric Boats Gain Industry Share
There seems little doubt that electric powered boats will grow as the fast-improving technology trickles down from the automotive industry, which is driving battery technology, to the marine engine industry.
Michael Aistrup Today the electric boat has become a $4.5 billion global marine industry segment, and a report by IDTechEx shows that the market for hybrid and pure electric boats will rise significantly to over $20 billion worldwide by 2027.
Brushless permanent magnet electric motors and advances in lithium ion battery technology have allowed leaps to be made in the rush to marine electric. Lithium-ion batteries are half as heavy as lead-acid batteries and last three times as long, and advances in their effectiveness and stability have been significant.
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Tesla Poised To Start the Engine…as Competitors Close In
Even though Tesla’s “Battery Day” was held Sept. 22, 2020, it didn’t produce the wildly exciting results that Elon Musk had promised would “blow your mind.”
Tyler Wiegert During its event, Tesla unveiled plans to develop a “million mile” battery that could last an electric car’s entire lifetime on the road. It also outlined plans to dramatically reduce the cost of its battery cells and packs to $100 per kilowatt-hour, at which point experts believe electric cars will become comparable in price to combustion engine vehicles.
Bill Gates-backed QuantumScape, the first US battery company to go public in a decade, announced that it has overcome two major hurdles to create an all-metal lithium battery, which, if true, would allow electric vehicles to go up to 50% further on a single charge. Those hurdles were metallic lithium’s propensity to explode when it comes into contact with liquid and its needle structure that has historically punctured plastic separators between electrodes and caused shorts.
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