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Mercedes-Benz Focuses on Autonomous Driving Trucks
Daimler has realigned the focus of Mercedes-Benz on autonomous driving. Instead of self-driving cars, trucks are now at the top of its priority list.
Dalibor Sablic The German car maker initially planned to concentrate on autonomous cars, explained Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius in a conversation with journalists at the canceled Geneva Motor Show. The group believes that self-driving trucks are initially the more attractive area, says the Daimler boss, according to the news platform news.com.au.
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PG&E Blackouts Lead to Best Fourth Quarter for Mid-Range Power in Five Years
SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q4 2019 rose 3.5% from Q3 2019, driven primarily by growth in the middle power ranges. The 21-50kW range experienced the fastest growth at 7.5%, followed by 10-20kW at 3.7% and 101-300kW at 3.5%.
When looking at this growth by application, we see that standbys were the only application to experience meaningful growth this quarter, ending with a strong 7.5% increase. Unlike previous quarters, this increased demand came from more than residential consumers. Institutional and industrial consumers increased their demand by 2.5% and 3.75%, respectively. This is the strongest fourth quarter showing for these consumer types in the last five years.
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Winter is Coming…(and Consumers are Ready). Q3 2019 Report
SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q3 2019 rose 7% from Q2 2019, due to a continued strong demand for standby power systems. Standby systems in both the residential and commercial sectors drove the 7% growth (the highest QoQ growth of the year so far), with the 10-20kW range increasing sales by nearly 12% and the 21-50kW, 51-100, and 101-300kW ranges growing 5-7%.
On a Year-on-Year basis, overall unit sales for Q3 2019 were up 2.9% compared to sales levels in Q3 2018.
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2019 North American Personal Watercraft (PWC) Production
88,200
In 2018, production was 89,509 units, up 3,035 units or 3.5% from 2017.
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: With combined plant totals of 53.3%, Yamaha leads in production of PWC in North America. In second position is Bombardier (BRP) with 39.5%; third is Kawasaki with 7%. Canadian-based BRP builds its Sea-Doo branded PWCs in Mexico. Tennessee Watercraft produces the jet drive boats for Yamaha.
Exports: Collectively up to 30% worldwide
Trends: In 2018, production of PWC in NA increased 3.5% over 2017. Year over Year, production is expected to remain flat, with a slight decrease of 1.3%, in 2019. Sales of these recreational vehicles depend on disposable income and leisure time. Industry revenue dropped during the recession and is still low; over the next five years continued disposable income growth will bring revenue back to its prerecession level. Expect the production of Personal Watercraft to gain up to 5% by 2025. PSR
Carol Turner is Senior Analyst, Global Operations, at Power Systems Research
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Global Economic Fundamentals Strong, But Uncertainties Linger
This report is excerpted from the Q3 2019 Update Bulletin prepared for clients of Power Systems Research, Oct. 1, 2019.
SUMMARY. If you were to look at the latest global macro-economic fundamentals, you would see a strong and healthy economy and a rosy picture. On the other hand, if you follow the latest updates on key industries and their players worldwide, optimism is not that strong.
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Manitou Prepares for Slowdown after Record H1 2019
PSR Analysis: Manitou group reported a particularly strong H1 2019 with 24% growth over H1 2018. Michel Denis, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Over the first half of the year, business was very strong in our markets, as well as in almost all geographical areas,” he said.
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Brazilian Motorcycle Production Continues To Grow
In July 2019, 92,000 motorcycles were produced in Brazil, up sharply from the 68,000 units produced in June 2019. January to July production was 629,000, 6.3% above the 592,000 units produced in the same period of 2018.
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FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Increased Uncertainty Causes Export-Investment Slump To Continue
In the August edition of the Economic Trend Report (Green Book), the Korean Ministry of Planning and Finance defined the recent Korean economy this way: “production has increased moderately but exports and investments continue to be sluggish”.
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SOUTHEAST ASIA: THAILAND, INDONESIA REPORT
Thailand May Become New Car Sales Leader in 2019
New car sales from January to June in six major countries in Southeast Asia were 1.7 million, unchanged from the same period of the previous year.
Thailand and Indonesia are the two major markets. Thailand, where consumption is strong, increased by 7% year-on-year, while Indonesia, which faces a decline in resource prices, decreased by 13%. Thailand could be ranked first this year for the first time in six years.
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Recession May Come Before CASE Is Realized
President and Founder, Japan Electrification Research Institute, Ltd.SUMMARY. The global auto industry is bubbling with changes and dramatic new ideas, but the current declining financial performances of Japanese auto OEMs may force them to drop out of the race temporarily before they can take advantage of the growing demand for autonomous vehicles.
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