Industry News – Page 2 – DHM Bergendahl Professional

VW understands why investing in Indian R&D is a road to success

In the post-dieselgate era VW re-consider their strategies in several areas. One part is a re-definition of the regionalisation strategy. European-developed products can’t merely be shipped to India, the Indian market needs its special products. Hence, local R&D centres are inevitable.

Jurgen Stackmann, Volkswagen’s global head for sales and marketing in an ET interview:

“India is a reference point, it the toughest market in the world. I think the mindset to really find solutions that are tailored to an aggressively low priced market is in India; you can’t do it in Wolfsburg (the headquarters in Germanay),” Stackmann said. “The whole focus is to get the costing right to have a successful play in India.”

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/if-you-get-india-right-you-will-fix-rest-of-the-world-jurgen-stackmann-volkswagen/54708125

India receives normal rains for first time in 3 years

Good news – India sees normal monsoon rains for the first time in three years.

NEW DELHI: For the first time in three years, the country received normal rainfall in the monsoon season, which ended on Friday with an overall shortfall of 3% — within the normal range of +/-4% but less than what the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast.

/…/

This was a welcome change from the drought years, when the deficit was 12% (2014) and 14% (2015).

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/india-receives-normal-rains-for-first-time-in-3-years/54637667

Modi government very proactive: Roland Folger, Mercedes Benz India head

Article in Economic Times on October 1st about business environment under the Modi government.

Being in India at a time when the central government led by Narendra Modi has been on an overdrive to attract investment from foreign companies and boost local production, Folger says that his interactions with government officials have been pleasant and he’s found them to be proactive.

“It is very important for us to get clarity on a lot of policy decisions and we need to make a lot of decisions fast. So when I see the officials quickly moving files and problems are resolved within the set time-frame, then things are certainly moving in the right direction,” his response to a query by Economictimes.com during a roundtable held at the company’s headquarters in Chakan, Pune.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/modi-government-very-proactive-roland-folger-mercedes-benz-india-head/54629128

Indian Manufacturers fit for Luxury Brands

Jaguar Land Rover focus on an increasing share of Indian suppliers for their local production, following in the footsteps of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. BMW and Mercedes-Benz India-produced vehicles now have 50% – 60% local content.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/jlr-takes-localisation-route-to-cut-costs-116092400734_1.html

ACEA: Commercial vehicle registrations: +14.3% over eight months; +31.8% in August

Brussels, 22 September 2016 – In August 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased substantially (+31.8%) thanks to a strong uplift in the van segment, marking the 20th consecutive month of growth.

Total new commercial vehicles

In August 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased substantially (+31.8%) thanks to a strong uplift in the van segment, marking the 20th consecutive month of growth. Growth was sustained across all major markets, especially in Italy (+105.9%), Germany (+42.6%), Spain (+19.5%), and France (+16.8%). Overall, 150,425 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU.

Over the first eight months of 2016, the EU market expanded by 14.3%, totalling about 1.5 million commercial vehicles. During that period, Italy (+39.4%), Spain (+12.9%), Germany (+12.1%), France (+11.8%) and the UK (+2.7%) all posted growth.

http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/commercial-vehicle-registrations-14.3-over-eight-months-31.8-in-august

ACEA: Policy makers should adopt ‘whole-vehicle’ approach to reducing CO2 from trucks

Hanover, 21 September 2016 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) urges EU policy makers to keep on track with their efforts to reflect the complexity of the truck and bus market.

Martin Lundstedt, ACEA’s Commercial Vehicle Board Chairman and Volvo Group CEO, took the opportunity of the IAA Commercial Vehicle Motor Show today to set out the industry’s recommendations for reducing CO2 emissions more effectively, following the European Commission’s recent ‘Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’.

Since 2010, the European Commission has been developing a computer simulation tool called VECTO. This tool will model CO2 emissions from a wide variety of complete truck and trailer configurations using various heavy-duty vehicle cycles.

By contrast, engine-only limit values for heavy-duty vehicles based upon one existing engine cycle make no sense. Although they may seem at first sight like a much simpler way forward, engine-only targets would not give the results that policy makers, society and customers want, Lundstedt argued. “The market is diverse and complex, trucks and buses are usually tailor-made to customers’ specific orders or are custom-built for a specific mission. VECTO can reflect that complexity, as it takes the variables into account that affect CO2 emissions, such as various usage patterns, vehicle configurations or different payloads. This will be a major game changer.”

http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/policy-makers-should-adopt-whole-vehicle-approach-to-reducing-co2-from-truc

Scania made a giant clock out of 14 trucks and had them run for 24 hours. There were second, minute and hours hands – all perfectly synchronized.

It is an amazing project – but don’t ask for the sense of it. I guess it plays in the same division as Volvo’s epic split with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

See the full story here:

https://www.scania.com/group/en/time-for-a-new-generation/?utm_source=NewsletterDaily&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=September2016

ACEA Statistics: Passenger car registrations: +8.1% over eight months; +10.0% in August

Brussels, 15 September 2016 – In August 2016, the European passenger car market posted strong growth figures (+10.0%), with registrations totalling 819,126 units.

In August 2016, the European passenger car market posted strong growth figures (+10.0%), with registrations totalling 819,126 units. An impressive performance, considering that August normally is one of the weakest months of the year in volume terms due to the summer holidays. These positive August results followed a (-1.4%) decline in July, when a continuous streak of 34 months of consecutive growth came to an end. Among the major markets, Italy (+20.1%) and Spain (+14.6%) recorded the highest percentage gains, followed by Germany (+8.3%), France (+6.7%) and the United Kingdom (+3.3%) – all of which performed better than in August 2015.

Over the first eight months of 2016, new passenger car registrations increased by 8.1% in the EU, reaching 9,787,760 units. All major markets posted growth, contributing to the overall upturn of the European market. The Italian (+17.4%) and Spanish (+11.3%) car markets saw double-digit growth over the period, followed by France (+6.1%), Germany (+5.7%) and the UK (+2.8%).

http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/passenger-car-registrations-8.1-over-eight-months-10.0-in-august

Next Generation Scania: The safest truck ever

Roll over test. Bitburg, Germany Photo: Dan Boman 2015 — Roll over test.
Bitburg, Germany
Photo: Dan Boman 2015

I remember the roll-over protection system testing done some 20 years ago with real drivers in the vehicle – now these tests are made with dummies. Real progress.

Watch the Scania movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmZIS4GjsTs

Full Scania story:

https://www.scania.com/group/en/the-safest-truck-ever/?utm_source=NewsletterDaily&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=September2016

Indian OEMs take on R&D Challenge

Leading Indian OEMs take the lead when it comes to invest in the future. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra R&D spends are now on par with corresponding European manufacturers.

CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 12:

Indian automotive giants Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are matching their global counterparts in putting money in research and development activities.

A quick look at their R&D spend revealed that against an average spend of 1-2 per cent of revenues on R&D by most of the Indian companies (outside of the pharma sector), both Tata Motors and Mahindra are investing about 5 per cent in future development activities, busting the a perception that Indian companies spend less on R&D. Hero MotoCorp has also been ramping up its R& D spend over the past two years.

Germany’s top auto giants Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen spend 5-6 per cent of their revenues on R&D every year.

“R&D expenses of Indian companies have gone up and in some cases equal global peers in terms of percentage of turnover. Reasons for this are many. For one, Indian consumers are more demanding than in the past and their aspirations regarding latest technologies must be catered to.

“Clearly, competition is constantly pushing the envelope in a quest for increased market shares which forces local players to respond,” said Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Partner, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/tata-motors-mm-match-global-counterparts-in-rd-spend/article9100813.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication