Category Archives: milestones

EU – Truck Makers Agree to Be Fossil-Fuel-Free By 2040

This is a bold move considering that ~97% of new European trucks sold are powered with diesel engines. It also underscores a growing movement of citizen voters who hold corporations accountable for negative social effects produced by their goods and services. The incoming President Biden Administration has promised to address environmental issues mocked by loser Trump and has already said it will rejoin l’accord de Paris. This agreement is within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation. AutoInformed thinks that it is only a question of time before a similar deal is put in place in the US. Continue reading

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US, Mexican Volkswagen Plants to Link with Industrial Cloud

The Industrial Cloud is an IT platform, designed to gather and analyze data from all connected Volkswagen Group facilities on a real-time basis to help increase efficiency and productivity. Volkswagen’s three North American plants are the first outside Europe to be networked with the Industrial Cloud. The three Volkswagen locations are expected to be connected by the end of the year. As early as spring 2021, Chattanooga, Puebla and Silao could access standardized software applications that are available for all factories in the Volkswagen Group connected to the Industrial Cloud. Continue reading

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Milestones – 10th Anniversary of First US LEAF Delivery

Produced at plants in the U.S., Japan, and the U.K., the Nissan LEAF is sold in 59 markets around the world. Continue reading

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CARB Regulation Limits Chemical Refrigerants to Lower Levels

The refrigerants, known as hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, are super pollutants because they trap heat in the atmosphere thousands of times more effectively than carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas. These rules can serve as a national model for super pollutant reduction and come at a time when the newly elected Biden Administration is promising to do something about Global Warming after years of Republican resistance or malfeasance. Continue reading

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GM Signs MoU with Nikola to Supply Hydrotec Fuel Cells

Despite decades of fuel cell research, GM appears to be far behind Toyota in the market use of fuel cell commercial vehicles – increasingly looking like a mandatory segment for survivors of the commercial truck wars. Continue reading

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CARB Alters and Adds Stationary Source Emissions Measurements to Improve Local Air Pollution and Health

Once fully implemented, the amendments aim to create a unified reporting mechanism resulting in the most comprehensive emissions inventory programs in the nation. They also established expanded and consistent reporting applicability criteria that determines which facilities need to report their emissions data, CARB said. Continue reading

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GM Doubles Down on EVs in Bid to Win Global Race

“Climate change is real, and we want to be part of the solution by putting everyone in an electric vehicle,” said Barra. “We are transitioning to an all-electric portfolio from a position of strength and we’re focused on growth. We can accelerate our EV plans because we are rapidly building a competitive advantage in batteries, software, vehicle integration, manufacturing and customer experience.”  Barra’s announcement is in line with President Biden as of 20 January 2021. Continue reading

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Nürburgring – Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Beats Porsche

This variant and this lap time are officially listed by Nürburgring GmbH on their homepage. Mercedes-AMG has regained the crown in the class for the moment. The freshened Porsche Panamera Turbo S set a 7m 29.81s earlier this year, bettering the 7m 30.11s lap Schaffert set a couple of years ago. The AMG record run footage shows a mostly clean, albeit with some curb clipping/banging and the Michelin tires screaming during turns. Continue reading

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FAW J7+ Autonomous Truck Passes Chinese Certification

China with its own vast market and a Communist central government that can quickly decree and implement policy – think Covid response or Trump’s defeat in the trade war he started – would seem to have an advantage here. It is lucky for western automakers that Chinese industrial policy allowed them to operate there but only with local partners. How the pie is sliced outside of China when and if the exports become voluminous will be subject to much behind the scenes maneuvering and uncomfortable board meetings Continue reading

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Commerce – Countervailing Duties on Vietnamese Cars,Tires

Among the subsidies preliminarily countervailed is Vietnam’s undervalued currency. This is the first time that Commerce has ever made an affirmative CVD determination regarding a foreign currency with a unitary exchange rate. Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of passenger tires from Vietnam based on these preliminary rates above. Continue reading

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New Mercedes-Benz Strategy Aimed to Help Higher Profits

This follows the Q2 Daimler disaster. The COVID pandemic or the Grim Reaper saw a decline in demand for cars, vans, trucks and buses. Group total sales decreased by -34% to 541,800 cars and commercial vehicles (Q2 2019: 821,700). Revenue slipped significantly by -29% to €30.2 billion (Q2 2019: €42.7 billion). EBIT was minus -€1,682 million (Q2 2019: minus -€1,558 million). Adjusted EBIT was -€708 million (Q2 2019: plus €2,447 million). Continue reading

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Nikola and General Motors Partner! Nikola Badger Truck to be Engineered and Manufactured by GM

“We would rather work with them than against them,” said Nikola Founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton. Once again the latest linkup is an attempt to share the ruinously expensive costs of investment needed to provide 21st century mobility to a business that until a generation ago was essentially an outgrowth of the 19th century blacksmithing business. Continue reading

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COVID-19 – Ford to Donate 100 Million Masks

Masks will support presumptive President Joe Biden’s pending mask wearing mandate. Ford, currently manufacturing 2.5 million medical-grade masks a week for its employees and at-risk communities, is growing the number of mask-making machines by mid- to late-October to increase production and deliver on its goal. Continue reading

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Honda, GM Ink MoU on North American Alliance!

While this is consistent with an industry trend to share ruinous development costs on future CO2-free vehicles, the vast financial resources of both global automotive giants underscore the severity of the problem that automakers face. For some companies mergers will be the only way to survive if they survive at all. Continue reading

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Our Sinking US Economy Sinks $3.3 Trillion Further

It is now almost completely likely that the US  federal debt under the Trump Administration will exceed annual gross domestic product (GDP ) in 2021. The last time this happened  was at the close of World War II, when amassed debt exceeded in value the size of the economy. Continue reading

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