Daimler Trucks will sell almost 500,000 trucks in 2014, despite difficult market conditions.
As the world's leading provider of confidential insider information from 1979 to 2000, Auto Industry Newsletter has now re-emerged by popular request to provide chief executives with the insight necessary to meet today's challenges. Editor: John Mortimer
Wednesday 31 December 2014
Tuesday 30 December 2014
Eaton and the challenge of vertical integration
In the heady world of North American Class 8 trucks, for the likes of
Cummins, Eaton and Meritor, life is a constant battle (in engines,
transmissions and axles) against the forces of vertical integration that are steadily
being imposed by European-controlled OEMs.
Sunday 28 December 2014
Parts maker with an eye to the future
DPE-Automotive Ltd of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, UK, expects turnover to
increase by 30 per cent next year.
Tuesday 23 December 2014
Car and truck applications drive CGI forward
In its year-end
statement SinterCast has pointed to “the start of production of two undisclosed
heavy duty engine programmes”, both of which use compacted graphite iron (CGI) cylinder
blocks.
Hyundai eyes BMW's dynamics technology
Both Hyundai and Kia must have done some serious benchmarking exercises of
European medium and upper-end passenger cars to be able to determine where the
epicentre of ride and handling expertise can be found.
Monday 22 December 2014
Schaeffler sets sights on 2025
Schaeffler will
show its concept car that meets the 2025 CAFE requirements at next month’s
Detroit auto show - NAIAS.
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Saturday 20 December 2014
Honda goes for 8-speed DCT
First application of
an eight-speed double-clutch transmission (DCT) with a torque converter takes
place when Honda introduces the Acura ILX production car in North America.
Nissan halts UK sales to Russia
Nissan, after declaring Russia as one its top European area for sales, ahead of the UK, has frozen orders from the region..
Ford: No plans for two-cylinder engines
Ford Motor Company
has no plans ‘right now’ for two-cylinder engines, according to Barb
Samardzich, chief operations officer of Ford of Europe.
Friday 19 December 2014
Navistar to end engine production?
The decision by
Navistar International Corporation to close its foundry in Brookville Road,
Indianapolis raises the whole question of ‘make or buy’.
Thursday 18 December 2014
Turbocharger failures at Daf Trucks
Daf Trucks in the UK
appears to have suffered a spate of problems with turbochargers fitted to its
12.9-litre MX commercial vehicle diesel engines.
Blue Diamond is set for a revamp
In the same way
that production of castings at 5565 Brookville Road, Indianapolis, Indiana ends
in 2015 (see next news story), so too will Ford Motor Company end its Blue Diamond truck-making joint venture with
Navistar.
. . . As Troy Clarke shutters Indianapolis foundry
Navistar
International’s chief executive officer, Troy Clarke, continues to comb through
the beleaguered company’s business in search of any area where he can cut
costs. And his latest move brings no Christmas cheer for some employees.
Tuesday 16 December 2014
Hyundai extends CGI leadership in Asia
Hyundai Motor
Company, the world’s fifth largest auto manufacturer, has begun series
production of compacted graphite iron (CGI) cylinder heads for the company’s 12.7-litre
heavy duty commercial vehicle engine.
Nissan just loves the Russian market
Nissan sold more cars to Russia than anywhere else in Europe last month,
figures have revealed.
Friday 12 December 2014
Mexican bank to work with automotive sector
The Mexican bank Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext) is to
begin offering automotive suppliers credit at preferential rates.
Thursday 11 December 2014
Ford puts new effort into performance
Ford will deliver over 12 new performance vehicles for global enthusiasts through to 2020, as
the company announces its new global Ford performance team.
Wednesday 10 December 2014
OEM optimises CGI block machining
Florida State
University, University of Michigan and Coherix are
collaborating with a major automotive OEM to optimize the machining parameters
for the new compacted graphite iron (CGI) engine blocks going into their new
trucks.
Friday 5 December 2014
Nifco has plans for third UK plant
Nifco UK, a north-east UK automotive components manufacturing firm, is
planning to expand and double its workforce.
Oerlikon bows torque infill transmission
Oerlikon Graziano’s OGeco torque infill hybrid transmission will be one
of the main attractions at the 2014 CTI exhibition in Berlin from 8 to 11
December.
£40 million boost for Bentley
Bentley Motors has
launched the latest phase in the biggest site development in the company’s
history.
Thursday 4 December 2014
UK set to have a driverless hub by 2017
Milton Keynes in the
UK looks to be on a collision course with Gothenburg in Sweden as the first to
introduce autonomous vehicles.
UK firm plays key role in Ford’s 2.7-litre EcoBoost
UK prototype development CGI castings foundry Grainger & Worrall (G&W)
of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, played a vital role in bringing Ford’s 2.7-litre
EcoBoost gasoline engine to market.
Nissan lifts some wraps off UK battery plant
Nissan’s ultra-clean battery plant, which been ‘off limits’ to prying
eyes for so long, has opened its doors for the first time.
Tuesday 2 December 2014
Mercedes-Benz reaches truck milestone
The Mercedes-Benz plant in Aksaray, 230km south-east from the Turkish
capital of Ankara, has built its 200,000th truck.
. . . As Daimler boosts Li-ion battery output
Daimler looks to be taking electric vehicles seriously as it plans to
complete a new building in 2015 to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for hybrid
vehicles.
Friday 28 November 2014
JLR makes a bid to bolster vendor skills
Over 50 Tier 1 and
Tier 2 suppliers attended an event this week staged by JaguarLandRover (JLR),
the UK’s largest automotive employer, to share best practices around skills
development and address recruitment challenges.
Thursday 27 November 2014
A boost for women at Toyota
Toyota is launching
a new foundation to give women support and opportunities to build careers in
manufacturing.
SCR and traps can revitalise old buses - Ricardo
Latest research from Ricardo shows that “some of
the oldest vehicles” can also be the cleanest, if retrofitted with SCR and
regenerating particulate traps.
Torotrak: Deering, out; Hughes, in
Jeremy Deering is to step down as chief executive officer of Torotrak
plc and Steve Hughes, formerly engineering director at JCB Transmissions, has
joined the group as chief operating officer.
Wednesday 26 November 2014
Russians set to buy more subcompacts
Russia
will emerge as a top automotive market in Europe as consumers in the country
are beginning to place emphasis on driving dynamics and are willing to pay more
for advanced driveline technology features.
Tuesday 25 November 2014
F1-inspired bus tech scoops UK innovation award
Torotrak Group’s kinetic energy recovery
system (KERS), originally devised by Flybrid Automotive, has taken first prize
in the prestigious SMMT Award for Automotive Innovation 2014.
Ford F-150: A cost analysis of moving to aluminium
Ford has surely started
a trend in a shift from steel to aluminium for its F-150 pick-up truck. But how
does the cost-benefit stack up for Ford?
Kohler's diesels benefit from Ricardo know-how
The new Kohler KDI 3404 engine has been developed
in partnership with Ricardo and features the revolutionary Ricardo Twin Vortex
Combustion System.
Sunday 23 November 2014
Ford targets Middle East and Africa
Ford Motor Company
underscored its growing ambitions in the Middle East and Africa last week when
it introduced the all-new Mustang on the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest
building.
Saturday 22 November 2014
Question: Is RVT the new CVT?
OEMs, seemingly, are
taking an interest in the reversible variable transmission (RVT) but is it a
better transmission than the toroidal continuously variable transmission (CVT)?
One
man thinks so, but then he would, being the inventor. And inventors, by their
nature, consider their own inventions far superior to those of other people
Tofas JV to invest $1 billion in Turkish plant
Fiat's
Turkish joint venture, Tofas, plans to invest US$1 billion to produce its Linea
replacement, adding different variants to the Tofas plant.
Tofas, a joint-venture (JV) between Turkey's Koc
Holding and Italy's Fiat, is to expand its investment programme and spend a
total of US$1 billion to produce three new cars in Turkey, mainly destined for
export, according to the Zaman newspaper.
Friday 21 November 2014
GM job changes for purchasing, powertrain
General Motors has
announced a series of leadership changes affecting purchasing and powertrain.
GM invests $200m in two Michigan plants
General Motors will
invest US$200 million in its Orion Assembly and Pontiac Metal Centre plants to
prepare for a future vehicle programme – but there will be no new jobs.
Orion
will receive $160 million for tooling and equipment, and Pontiac will receive
$40 million for new dies.
GM boosts diesel use for pick-ups
Is The General’s
dream of seriously stepping up to the pick-up truck diesel engine table to
rival Chrysler and Ford be about to be realised?
Chevrolet introduced at the Los Angeles auto show this week the
Colorado ZR2 concept – a vision of how The General's division could take the all-new midsize
truck’s off-road capability to the next level.
Thursday 20 November 2014
Fuel cell: "engine" of the future?
Audi is calling the
fuel cell “the power source of the future”.
In
this “engine”, in which hydrogen and oxygen are combined to form pure water., the Powertrain of the future? In the fuel cell, Energy is
released in a "cold combustion" process to provide the drive energy for an
electric motor that turns with zero emissions.
Mercedes-Benz boosts international buying
Mercedes-Benz Cars is expanding the international presence of its
procurement organization with extended responsibility for supplier quality.
The aim is to safeguard the company’s Mercedes-Benz
2020 growth strategy from the perspective of procurement.
Friday 14 November 2014
VW lays Crafter foundation stone
The foundation stone
has been laid for Volkswagen’s new plant in Września, near Poznań where the
next generation Volkswagen Crafter will be built, with production set to begin in the second half of 2016.
EcoMotors SOP now set for 2015
EcoMotors
Inc. of Allen Park, Michigan, now expects production of its ground-breaking
opposed-piston diesel engine to begin in 2015, according to company sources.
Wednesday 12 November 2014
BMW third-quarter sales grow 4.5 per cent
BMW Group revenues increased in the third quarter by 4.5 per cent on the back of higher sales
volume to €19.6 billion compared with one year earlier (2013: €18.751 billion).
Volkswagen sets emissions goal for 2018
Volkswagen AG has set the goal of
becoming the world's most sustainable carmaker by the year 2018.
Tuesday 11 November 2014
Ford can make 700,000 F-150 pick-up trucks a year
The first production
2015 Ford F-150 pickup with its aluminium body rolled off the line today at
Ford Motor Company’s Rouge Center, Dearborn, Michigan, truck plant after years
of preparation.
The
F-150 will be built at two plants – Dearborn and Kansas City givin a total
output capacity of 700,000 a year.
Monday 10 November 2014
BMW i8 is first with GKN’s eAxle
GKN has produced the
industry’s first two-speed eAxle which has entered production on the BMW i8
plug-in hybrid.
Renault kicks off production in Algeria
Renault Algérie
Production (RAP) has launched its new car manufacturing plant in Oued Tlelat in
the Oran region of Algeria.
Saturday 8 November 2014
The Prof. who teamed JLR with Tata
Professor Lord Kumar
Bhattacharyya, who has created a business out of education and industrial
R&D, was the “kingpin” in the deal to persuade Indian carmaker Tata to
purchase JaguarLandRover from Ford, according to a magazine just published.
Friday 7 November 2014
Fields swaps over top men in Ford Europe/global
Ford Motor Company has switched the jobs of two senior men as it seeks
to deliver the company’s One Ford plan for profitable growth.
Ricardo makes bid to support Chinese University
Ricardo has teamed up with Harbin Engineering University, one
of China’s leading higher education and research institutions, in a bid to
provide engineering support.
Thursday 6 November 2014
Warwick University bolstered by £32 million
The University of Warwick, its relationship with
Jaguar LandRover (JLR) and its commitment to the UK automotive industry appears
to be going from strength to strength.
A further £32 million of State funding has
been declared for two new projects to research manufacturing technology for
electric motors and develop cleaner internal combustion engines, during the
official opening today of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) headquarters at
the University of Warwick.
Jaguar to launch AWD F-Type in LA
Jaguar has introduced an all-wheel-drive (AWD) F-Type as one of a number
of performance enhancements to the award-winning Jaguar range that will grow
from six to 14 derivatives in 2015.
The full range will debut at the Los Angeles Auto
Show on 19 November.
Wednesday 5 November 2014
Daimler blooms as US truck sales rise
Daimler Trucks’ US subsidiary booked its highest level of incoming
orders in October, as customers ordered a total of 31,304 Class 6 – 8
NAFTA and export vehicles of the Freightliner, Western Star, and Thomas Built Buses name plates.
According to the data collected by the Americas
Commercial Transportation Research (ACT) organization, Daimler Trucks North
America (DTNA) achieved a new monthly order record for a single manufacturer in
the North American truck business.
Tuesday 4 November 2014
Nissan refines Infiniti Q30 prototypes
A team from the North-East car firm Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK has
travelled to Japan to refine prototypes of the Infiniti Q30 hatchback.
Production trials start next February ahead of the
launch of car making in August, according to the Northern Echo.
Monday 3 November 2014
Daimler opens China R&D centre
Daimler Greater
China has opened its new Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Centre in
China and extended its local RD network.
In
future 500 highly qualified engineer and designers will be working at the new
R&D site.
An illusion: hybrids' gain over 'frugal diesels”
The advantage of hybrid vehicles over frugal diesels can be an illusion,
if the judging criteria are based solely on fuel economy, according to
Emissions Analytics – a leading provider of real-world emissions measurement.
Emissions Analytics has tested over 30 hybrids in
the UK and US, and analysed thousands of data points to understand how such
vehicles really perform in the real world, and compared them to vehicles with conventional
internal combustion engines (ICE) only.
Friday 31 October 2014
Mystery still surrounds F1 Caterham
Mystery appears to
continue to surround the future of F1 racing team Caterham. As the month of
October closes, employees appear not to have been paid, and those with
mortgages have been forced to seek alternative employment
Employees
who have tried to respond to company emails informing them of cancellation of
flights to the US and Brazil have been thwarted – no replies have been forthcoming
and they have been left in the dark. Some 200 employees have been affected by
the lock-out.
Mazda heading for record profits?
Mazda Motor Corporation
appears on course for another record year after reporting an exceptional first
half.
The
carmaker posted sales revenue of ¥1.45 trillion (€10.5 billion) between April
and September, up 16 per cent compared to the same period in the previous
fiscal year.
Mercedes-AMG teams with MV Agusta
Motorcycles must be the “in thing”. Within days of Ricardo buying UK private enterprise motorcycle specialist Vepro Ltd, Mercedes-AMG has teamed with MV
Agusta.
Daimler AG’s sports-car and performance brand has announced
it has signed a long-term agreement on a long-term partnership with MV Agusta,
including area of marketing and sales.
Thursday 30 October 2014
UK engine output to rise by one-third
Revenue
generated by engine manufacturing in the UK is expected to increase by up to
£2.5 billion in two years, increasing turnover by nearly a third (31%).
“Flawless” standards for JLR’s Ingenium engines
As readers know, JaguarLandRover’s (JLR) Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC) will be home
to the ‘Ingenium’ engine family, which will power a new generation of JLR
products designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK. The company says
flawless standards will be adopted in the plant that is "future proof".
Production begins with the 2-litre diesel engine in
the Jaguar XE. JLR is transforming its business and brands through a programme
of sustainable, strategic investments, it claims.
Wednesday 29 October 2014
Disco Sport set for Brazil in 2016
JaguarLandRover (JLR) will build the Discovery Sport at its new local
manufacturing facility in Brazil. Job 1 will be in 2016.
JLR is making a total investment of R$750million in
the new facility in Itatiaia in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Discovery sport
will be one of several models built on site.
Nothing is secret
Nothing is secret. Eventually,
everything has to spill out for the world to see. Even 144 years later, secrets
can still emerge from darkness into bright sunlight. Truth has no hiding place.
Ricardo revs up its motorcycle business
Ricardo plc is forming a new motorcycle-focused
business following the acquisition of Leicester-based UK consultancy Vepro Ltd
in a bid to make it a global activity.
The formation of the new motorcycles business aims to build on the strengths
of the company’s extensive existing in-house motorcycle engineering team, based
at the company’s Schwäbisch Gmünd Technical Centre in southern Germany.
Tuesday 28 October 2014
Kuga gets powerful 2-litre diesel
The latest Ford Kuga is now available with a 2-litre TDCi Duratorq
four-cylinder diesel engine giving 180PS and 400Nm of torque.
According to Ford, the Kuga now has a significant
range of upgrades that include the sports utility vehicle’s most powerful
diesel powertrain to date.
Monday 27 October 2014
Most vehicles in 2050 will need to be electric
By 2050, most vehicles
will need to be electrically propelled, with a battery to store energy or an
on-board hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity, if emission targets set by
governments are to be met.
That
is the conclusion of a team responsible for penning Towards
Sustainable Road Transport published by Elsevier.
Sunday 26 October 2014
Ex Rover bosses to receive £1m hand-out
The demise of MG
Rover refuses to go away. Five former MG Rover bosses
are in line for around £1 million each from the proceeds of the collapsed MG
Rover car factory – years after 6,500 redundant workers were deprived of a
single penny, according to newspapers reports.
The
following is a report taken from the UK's Birmingham
Mail of 25 October 2014.
Friday 24 October 2014
New materials win awards for Daimler
Mercedes-Benz, part of Daimler AG, has won two awards for the
development of new materials in two different applications: pistons and struts.
Mercedes-Benz is claiming between 2 and 4 per cent
improved fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
from its passenger-car diesel engines resulting from "new" pistons. These are, according to Mercedes-Benz, the
first engines worldwide to be equipped with "innovative" steel pistons in
conjunction with a lightweight aluminium cylinder block.
Production of Mazda2 begins in Mexico
Mazda Motor
Corporation today announced that production of the all-new Mazda2
has begun at Mazda de Mexico Vehicle Operation (MMVO), the company's new plant
in Mexico.
Additionally,
MMVO's engine machining plant, under construction since last year, has been
completed and the plant began operating on October 21, 2014.
Wednesday 22 October 2014
JLR to make 130,000 cars a year in China by 2016
By 2016, JaguarLandRover (JLR) expects its new facility in China to be building
three JLR models with total production capacity of 130,000 units a year.
Those vehicles will be manufactured in
highly-automated press shops - including cutting-edge aluminium and steel
technologies - along with a steel body shop comprising 306 ABB robots, an
energy-efficient paint shop and an ergonomically-friendly final assembly line.
Daimler sells stake in Tesla Motors
Daimler has reorganized its cooperation with Tesla Motors Inc.;
terminated the share-price hedge it initiated in 2013 and sold its four per
cent stake in Tesla.
Daimler adds that cooperation between the partners
on the automotive projects is unaffected and, while development work for the
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is completed, “the partnership with Tesla
remains in place”.
The Queen to open JLR’s Ingenium plant
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
has confirmed that Her Majesty the Queen will officially open the company’s
new, state-of-the-art Engine Manufacturing Centre on Thursday October 30th 2014.
HM The Queen will be accompanied during the visit by His Royal Highness The
Duke of Edinburgh.
Tuesday 21 October 2014
Daimler mulls plans for next Sprinter van
Daimler AG will
invest a combined €450 million to produce the next generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
in two plants at Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde, but the German vehicle maker will build more vans in the
US to increase its competitiveness.
Part
of the new investment will be used to modernize the body shop, paint shop, and
assembly line at Düsseldorf.
Toyota tops 9 million in Europe
Toyota vehicle production in Europe has passed nine million units. Local
production has flourished so that two out of every three Toyota vehicles sold
in Europe is built in the region
Toyota has six vehicle plants and three powertrain
factories in Europe.
Monday 20 October 2014
Is JLR paving the way for a US plant?
Is JaguarLandRover (JLR)
mulling an ambitious plan to build a 200,000 cars-a-year assembly plant in the
US? According to the London, UK-based Sunday
Times it is.
The
news comes as the company officially opens a new 130,000 vehicles-a-year plant
in China and later this month is set to open its much-heralded i54 engine manufacturing
facility in Wolverhampton, UK.
New diesels from Dagenham in 2015
Ford’s Dagenham Engine Plant, UK, which supplies half of the company’s
global diesel demand, seems to be assured of its future thanks to an additional £190 million
to produce the new Panther advanced technology 2-litre diesel engine for cars and
commercial vehicles.
This investment includes £8.9 million from UK
Government's Regional Growth Fund. Ford is creating 318 new jobs connected with
this investment.
Friday 17 October 2014
FCA: now the real journey begins
Trading has begun in
the shares of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles which are listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the stock ticker symbol “FCAU”.
The shares opened on 14 October at a price of $9. The
price rose briefly before ending the day at $8.92. Considering the Dow Jones
industrial average dropped 222 points late in the day, this was no mean achievement. The stock also trades on
an exchange in Milan, Italy.
Thursday 16 October 2014
BYD E-taxis spread to Brussels
BYD Auto has delivered
34 e6 taxis to the city of Brussels. BYD auto claims to be “the fastest growing
car maker in China”.
The company’s proposal was accepted following a proposal seeking
parties to operate 50 electric taxicabs. The use of these “environmentally-friendly”
taxicabs is seen as an important “first step in bringing emission-free
transport to Brussels’s roads”, replacing gasoline- and diesel-powered taxis
with electric vehicles (EVs).
Wednesday 15 October 2014
Honda unveils F1 power unit
Honda has revealed a first look of the power unit currently in
development for the 2015 Formula One (F1) World Championship.
Yasuhisa Arai, senior managing officer
of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., who is heading the F1 Project, said: "Working
toward Honda's F1 participation starting in the 2015 season, development of the
power unit is entering its prime phase at our R&D facility in Sakura
(Tochigi, Japan).”
Mercedes medium truck diesels set for the US
According to
well-placed sources, Mercedes-Benz is planning to build medium-duty truck diesel
engines in the US from 2018, given sufficient take-up of the new engines in the
US and Canada.
The
new engines, dubbed DD5 and DD8, could be manufactured at the Detroit Diesel
plant in Detroit, Michigan if there is demand to justify the investment.
Nissan readies UK plant for Infiniti Q30
Work is on target to
introduce a new vehicle at the UK, Sunderland plant of Nissan where production
of the Infiniti Q30 will begin next year.
Nissan
is extending the plant by 25,000 square metres to accommodate a new body shop
and a new assembly line.
Tuesday 14 October 2014
Daimler launches China's GLA SUV in 2015
The Mercedes-Benz
GLA-Class compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) will go into production in China
next year as the company’s first locally produced compact car model.
The
vehicle will be produced at the Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. – BBAC’s – brand-new
compact car site, the cornerstone of which was laid in September 2012.
Saturday 11 October 2014
Real-time emission tests bring results
PEMS – portable emissions
measurement systems – developed by Horiba Automotive has been used in trials in
Brighton, UK in conjunction with Ricardo plc, to assess ‘real world’ emissions
from three buses, including a diesel-electric hybrid.
PEMS
was developed in response to new requirements for exhaust emissions measurement
from vehicles being driven on public roads.
Friday 10 October 2014
Volkswagen group tops 7 million
Volkswagen Group delivered 7.40 million vehicles from January to September - an increase of 5.3 per cent.
Group board member for sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg today,"Even though markets remain challenging, we nevertheless have the chance to reach the ten million deliveries mark this year – four years earlier than originally planned."
Thursday 9 October 2014
Mercedes "chooses" F1 Lotus for 2015
Lotus F1 Team and Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains have a long-term supply agreement that will see Lotus F1 Team use the Mercedes-Benz Power Unit from the start of the 2015 season until the end of the current Power Unit generation.
Lotus F1 Team will be supplied with Mercedes-Benz Power Units by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) based in Brixworth, UK. The Power Unit will use Fluid Technology Solutions developed by PETRONAS, the technology partner of Mercedes-Benz.
Lotus F1 Team will be supplied with Mercedes-Benz Power Units by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) based in Brixworth, UK. The Power Unit will use Fluid Technology Solutions developed by PETRONAS, the technology partner of Mercedes-Benz.
GKN unveils first 'disconnect' AWD
GKN has developed the world’s first 'disconnect' All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system for A-, B- and C-segment vehicle platforms. The company claims the system improves fuel economy during steady state cruising by up to four per cent.
The innovative 'disconnect' function enables vehicles to combine the enhanced traction, dynamics and stability of all-wheel drive with improved on-highway fuel efficiency.
The innovative 'disconnect' function enables vehicles to combine the enhanced traction, dynamics and stability of all-wheel drive with improved on-highway fuel efficiency.
Wednesday 8 October 2014
Chrysler Hellcat: grey iron block
Chrysler's V8 gasoline engine that powers the 2-door Dodge Challeger SRT and the 4-door Charger carries a grey iron cylinder block.
The vee block engine is based on the 6.4-litre naturally aspirated Hemi engine but the stroke has been shortened from 3.72in (94.6mm) to 3.57in (90.9mm). This gives a swept volume of 6.141 litres.
The vee block engine is based on the 6.4-litre naturally aspirated Hemi engine but the stroke has been shortened from 3.72in (94.6mm) to 3.57in (90.9mm). This gives a swept volume of 6.141 litres.
Tuesday 7 October 2014
Volkswagen to boost its robot numbers
Volkswagen is about to place an order for a large number of industrial robots offering a lucrative prize to the successful robot vendor. Increasingly, these robots will be used for assembly work and one robot builder may not be able to cope with all of VW's needs.
The move is likely to be repeated several times over the coming 15 years as 32,000 people are expected to leave the German vehicle builder.
The move is likely to be repeated several times over the coming 15 years as 32,000 people are expected to leave the German vehicle builder.
Mercedes-Benz: best quarter sales
Mercedes-Benz has returned the best month's sales in the company's history, and the first month with sales over 160,000 units.
In the third quarter Mercedes-Benz has reported sales up 11.9 per cent at 412,018 units, thanks to sales in September of 162,746 units, a rise of 13.8 per cent.
In the third quarter Mercedes-Benz has reported sales up 11.9 per cent at 412,018 units, thanks to sales in September of 162,746 units, a rise of 13.8 per cent.
Monday 6 October 2014
Where now for Volvo and Dongfeng?
Observers are watching with interest, now that Volvo's 45 per cent stakeholding in Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles Co. Ltd. is official, to what extent the Swedish company will be able to influence senior executives in the Chinese truck maker, which has been in business since 1969.
The more so since Cummins Inc. of the US and Dongfeng have a 50-50 joint venture company, Dongfeng Cummins Engine Co. Ltd. Also Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems is expanding in China by taking a 51 per cent stake in Dongfeng Electronic & Technology Co. Ltd to make parts for commercial braking systems.
The more so since Cummins Inc. of the US and Dongfeng have a 50-50 joint venture company, Dongfeng Cummins Engine Co. Ltd. Also Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems is expanding in China by taking a 51 per cent stake in Dongfeng Electronic & Technology Co. Ltd to make parts for commercial braking systems.
Saturday 4 October 2014
Hyundai unveils Euro three-cylinder
Hyundai Motor Europe has
confirmed the 2015 New Generation i20 engine line-up will be enhanced with a new
downsized 1-litre turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine.
The new Kappa 1-litre T-GDI
is the first of a new generation of small turbocharged petrol engines, offering
enhanced performance.
Friday 3 October 2014
Production of new Smarts gets under way
Production is now under way of the next generation Smart fortwo and the Smart forfour in readiness for the vehicles going on sale in November.
The two new vehicles are built on a new four-wheel-drive architecture that has involved teams from Daimler and Renault which have been working together for the last four years.
The Smart fortwo is being built at Smart's plant in Hambach whereas the forfour and the Renault Twingo are being assembled at the French company's plant in Novo Mesto in Slovenia.
Meanwhile, production of the jointly developed 2-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine has begun at a joint Daimler-Nissan plant, namely the Infiniti Decherd Plant in Decherd, Tennessee.
Interestingly, this new engine will appear, according to sources, in Infinity Q50 vehicles as well as the Mercedes C-Class, which may open a few eyes!
The two new vehicles are built on a new four-wheel-drive architecture that has involved teams from Daimler and Renault which have been working together for the last four years.
The Smart fortwo is being built at Smart's plant in Hambach whereas the forfour and the Renault Twingo are being assembled at the French company's plant in Novo Mesto in Slovenia.
Meanwhile, production of the jointly developed 2-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine has begun at a joint Daimler-Nissan plant, namely the Infiniti Decherd Plant in Decherd, Tennessee.
Interestingly, this new engine will appear, according to sources, in Infinity Q50 vehicles as well as the Mercedes C-Class, which may open a few eyes!
Thursday 2 October 2014
Ducati V2 powers VW's XL Sport
Volkswagen's engineers have melded a Ducati V2 1.199-litre 90-degree twin of 200PS (147kW) with a carbon fibre body to produce the show-stopping XL Sport.
The Ducati Superleggera twin-cylinder engine can rotate up to 11,000rev/min and has the legendary desmodromic valves as well as titanium connecting rods. The engine drives through as seven-speed double-clutch (DSG) gear box. The engine also makes extensive use of magnesium.
As for the body shell of the XL Sport, VW engineers have adopted resin transfer moulding (RTM), a technology first developed in the UK in the1960s by Lotus, for the carbon fibre composite material (CFRP).
The aerodynamic profile of the XL Sport is sufficient to require no more than a drag coefficient of 0.258.
China set for 30 million cars by 2015
China is forecast to
make 30 million cars by 2015 and account for 30 per cent of the world market.
This
is the view of Liu Jincheng of SinterCast Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd who notes that
in 2013, car production and sales amounted to 22,116,800 and 21,984,100
vehicles respectively. The figures show an increase of 14.8 per cent and 13.9
per cent respectively compared to the previous year and account for 25 per cent of the world share.
Wednesday 1 October 2014
Audi TT uses EA888 family engine
The new Audi TT Sportback five-door concept car that will appear at the Paris Motor Show is powered by a 2-litre TFSI engine developing 400PS and 450Nm of torque.
Audi notes that the crankcase consists of "a new high-strength casting alloy" and the crankshaft has enforced iaultrahigh-strength steel.
The redeveloped turbocharger has been configured to provide a boost pressure of 1.8 bar.
The gasoline engine has been teamed with a seven-speed S-Tronic gearbox.
Audi claims that as a member of the EA888 family, the engine in the four-wheel-drive Quattro concept car uses a comprehensive "package of high-end technologies".
In order to generate the high power, Audi notes that the engine has undergone extensive modifications. The camshaft adjustment on the intake and exhaust sides and the Audi valvelft system, which varies the stroke of the exhaust valve in two stages, ensures good filling of the combustion chambers.
Audi notes that the crankcase consists of "a new high-strength casting alloy" and the crankshaft has enforced iaultrahigh-strength steel.
The redeveloped turbocharger has been configured to provide a boost pressure of 1.8 bar.
The gasoline engine has been teamed with a seven-speed S-Tronic gearbox.
Palmer heads up Aston Martin
Andy Palmer is the
new chief executive officer of Aston Martin. He has spent the last 24 years
with Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK where latterly he has been chief planning
officer and executive vice president.
Palmer,
51, assumes operational responsibility for all aspects of Aston Martin business
and thus one of his prime interests no doubt will be to turn the company round
and put it on a long-term profitable footing.
Tuesday 30 September 2014
ABB robots power Mini output at VDL Nedcar
Just as ABB robots provide
the backbone of automation at BMW’s Plant Oxford in the UK, which has just started
to build the Mini 5-door Hatch, so it is at VDL Nedcar in Born, Holland where
ABB robots form the backbone of automation in the body-in-white shop.
According
to sources, VDL Nedcar has nearly 1,000 robots on site, with most of them
provided by the Swedish robot maker ABB. However, some robots have been shipped
in by German automation specialist KUKA of Augsburg.
Go-ahead given for Millbrook extension
Planning consent has
been given by Bedfordfordshire Council for nearly 25,000 square metres of
offices, and research and development space at the Millbrook Proving Ground at
Lidlington, Bedforshire.
This
is in addition to consent for three new building offering 6,000 square metres
of space as the business seeks to establish a technology park on the site.
Monday 29 September 2014
Navistar chooses Tremec ‘box for ProStar
In an unusual move,
Navistar International is to offer the Tremec light-weight 10-speed manual
transmission teamed with the 13-litre MaxxForce diesel in its International
ProStar model.
Navistar
will also offer Tremec transmissions as
an option in ProStar units powered by the Cummins ISX15 engine.
Friday 26 September 2014
Chrysler uses benchmarking to lift truck output
Chrysler’s Warren
Truck Assembly Plant has used benchmarking to boost throughput of pick- up vehicles at
the plant.
With sales of the Ram 1500 on a 52-month sales streak, Chrysler
Group’s Warren Truck Assembly Plant, has used benchmarking and other techniques
to increase production.
MAN and Scana to co-develop truck gearbox
MAN and Scania,
heavy truck makers under the Volkswagen AG umbrella, link arms to develop a new
transmission for their joint use, but how will ZF react?
The
first fruits of their joint endeavours are likely to appear in 2016 and it is
understood that vehicles carrying prototype components are already under evaluation.
Thursday 25 September 2014
AVL pushes water-cooled electric turbos
Water-cooled
electric superchargers, developed as a hybrid system for commercial vehicle
applications, and designed to reduce NOx and CO2 emissions, are proposed at the 19th
Supercharging Conference in Dresden this week.
Delegates to the conference have heard a
technical paper on electric supercharging from AVL.
MAN 15-litre CGI diesel cuts weight
As German truck maker MAN establishes closer ties with fellow VW stablemate Scania through shareholding and heavy truck transmission technology, it also appears to have moved the goalposts with its newly-developed 15.2-litre, six-cylinder in-line D3876, the latest of
the company’s Euro 6 range of engines.
With torque figures of 2500 to 3000Nm and power
outputs of 520 and 560bhp for long distance and towing vehicles, or 640bhp for
heavy goods vehicles, the D3876 is the company’s top model and offers a
160kg weight-saving over a Euro 5 unit.
Jaguar's XE diesel: its most efficient yet
Jaguar claims the USP of its new Ingenium diesel engine makes the
rear-wheel drive XE the most fuel-efficient Jaguar yet, with CO2 emissions from just 99g/km.
The
Ingenium range is produced at the new £500 million, 100,000 square metres UK Engine
Manufacturing Centre in the West Midlands.
Wednesday 24 September 2014
Audi/VW engines share power, torque
On the same day Audi
announced its revised TT Roadster and TTS Roadster, Volkswagen unveiled its new
Golf Alltrack – a crossover between estate and SUV (sport utility vehicle).
Both will debut at the Paris Motor Show next month.
One
striking feature of their specifications is in the choice of powertrain.
Tuesday 23 September 2014
Mini launches 5-Door Hatch
Six months after introducing the new Mini 3-Door Hatch to the UK, BMW
has launched the Mini 5-Door Hatch.
This second body variant, made at Plant Oxford,
features a characteristically sporty profile with a wheelbase is 72mm longer than
the 3-Door Hatch. The extra length has been used to create more cabin space. The 3-Door Hatch is made at the Born plant in The Netherlands of VDL NedCar. Production began on 17 July of this year.
VW launches “the perfect” pick-up
Volkswagen claims its
new Tristar beefy pick-up is the “transporter of the
future”.
The company suggests it is “The best for your
business, whatever it may be,” which is stretching a point, and may certainly
draw a wry smile from Ford which claims to be the best at producing pick-up
trucks.
Monday 22 September 2014
BMW lifts 2-litre diesel power/torque
BMW claims a new 2-litre
engine has joined its 2 Series Coupé line-up
BMW
claims its 2 Series Coupé has again raised the bar in efficiency and dynamics
with the introduction of its new four-cylinder diesel.
Sunday 21 September 2014
And Daimler’s Vito makes it three
An interesting
situation will materialise when three Renault-powered vans line up in Europe’s
marketplace.
Renault’s
1.6-litre diesel already powers both the Renault Trafic and the Opel/Vauxhall
Vivaro in front-wheel drive configuration.
Saturday 20 September 2014
Daimler invests €3 billion in German car plants
Mercedes-Benz is realigning global passenger car lines, imposing top job
changes and investing in its German passenger car plants.
“We want to continue to grow and will significantly
increase our production capacities in the coming years. At the same time we
want to permanently and sustainably strengthen our competitiveness with a
high-performance organization,” declared Markus Schäfer, member of the
divisional board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, production and supply chain management.
Fuso heavy trucks for Indonesia
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), part of global leader
Daimler Trucks, has launched its new Fuso “FJ” and “FI” truck range.
The introduction of the Fuso FJ 2523
and 2528 heavy-duty trucks will expand the brand’s product line-up in a segment
previously not served by Fuso in Indonesia.
Electric Fuso Canter now with customers
Eight Fuso Canter E-Cell 6-tonne GVW trucks have been put into “real-life
testing” with customers in Portugal for a year
Mitsubishi Fuso, Daimler’s partner in Japan, claims to be a
pioneer of "green" drive systems for the commercial vehicle sector.
The subsidiary in Japan is Daimler Trucks' centre of competence for hybrid technology.
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