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Category Archives: milestones
Environmental About Face – General Motors Ditching Internal Combustion Engines by 2035. Carbon Neutral by 2040?
More than half of GM’s capital spending and product development team will be devoted to electric and electric-autonomous vehicle programs. And in the coming years, GM plans to offer an EV for every customer, from crossovers and SUVs to trucks and sedans. This neatly coincides with President Biden’s executive orders dealing with climate change and converting federal fleets to EVs. The success of the initiative will depend on the voters, err buyers, who will ultimately decide. Continue reading
Ford to Manufacture Mustang Mach-E in China
Ford will also localize production of the Mustang Mach-E’s GT performance edition in China, a first by a global automaker to locally manufacture high-performance editions. The GT high performance edition will adopt a front and rear dual-motor layout, joining the 3-second club with its impressive 0-100km/h acceleration capabilities. Continue reading
GM to Sell Navistar Hydrotec Fuel Cell Power Cubes for EVs
The GM move is the latest in what is shaping up to be a headlong rush by commercial truck makers to drop dirty diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles in favor of fuel cell powered truck and heavy equipment. Proposed regulations – globally – are providing the incentive to change product lines to more sustainable ones. It’s the price of survival. The Japanese – thus far – appear to be leading the way. Continue reading
We the People Welcome Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – The New Administration of Hope and Self-Evident Truths
The idea was bigger and more powerful than the British Army and Navy. It remains a bigger and better idea when used against other forces of oppression. The idea trumps white supremacists or treasonous self-proclaimed militias or QAnon believers or a president who would be king. Continue reading
Honda’s New Mobility Business – Cruise to Send First Self-Driving Vehicles to Japan for Testing
This, admittedly small but symbolic milestones, is a direct result of the development and commercial agreements signed in October 2018. Continue reading
Stellantis – a Mega Merger of Auto Companies Names Execs
Today Stellantis officially announced its Executive Team along with the 9 dedicated committees* covering enterprise-wide performance and strategy for running the merged FCA and PSA companies. It is the latest merger in the capital-destroying automotive industry that seeks to pursue … Continue reading
Posted in economy, financial results, milestones, news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, carlos tavares, fca, Ken Zino, PSA
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Latest Ford Restructuring – Brazil Manufacturing to Cease
Production will cease immediately at Camaçari and Taubaté in Brazil, with some parts production continuing for a few months to support inventories for aftermarket sales. The Troller plant in Horizonte, Brazil, will continue to operate until the fourth quarter of 2021. As a result, the company will end sales of EcoSport, Ka and T4 once inventories are sold. Manufacturing operations in Argentina and Uruguay and the sales companies in other South America markets are not affected. Continue reading
BrightDrop? New GM Business Will Electrify, Improve Goods and Services Delivery
BrightDrop introduces GM’s Ultium platform to the commercial vehicle segment and has Level 2 and DC fast charging capabilities. FedEx Express will be the first customer of BrightDrop. An EP1 pilot program has been completed in partnership with FedEx Express. During the pilot, FedEx Express couriers were able to handle 25% more packages effectively and safely per day with the EP1s. FedEx couriers said that the EP1s were easy to maneuver and reduced physical strain. Continue reading
Posted in milestones, mobility company, news analysis, transportation
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, BrightDrop, FedEx, Ken Zino
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Miss Shilling’s Orifice Fixed Merlin Engines on Spitfires
In one of those odd and startling connections, we are in a war now against Covid that will require the collective sacrifice and patriotism that was on display during the British battle and subsequently – in another parallel – our struggles under the Roosevelt Administration that followed a demonstrably incompetent Republican one. Continue reading
Droning On: FAA Belatedly Issues Unmanned Aircraft Regs. Bits of Aircraft Rules Pilots Obey Now Will Eventually Apply
These rules come at a time when drones are the fastest-growing segment in the entire transportation sector – with currently more than 1.7 million drone registrations and 203,000 FAA “certificated” (not even close to what private pilots must know on the FAA written test) remote pilots. Continue reading
COVID Changes – Porsche Starts Online Car Sales in Europe
The dealers in the nine countries offer most of their new and used cars on the platform. These include standard variants of the Porsche models as well as rare derivatives. There are also plans to further expand the platform, claims Porsche, who is dependent on dealers for distribution unlike Tesla. Continue reading
Posted in marketing, milestones, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, online selling, Porsche online
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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
Posted in alternative fuels, electric vehicles, energy, environment, milestones, news analysis, transportation
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, Henrik Henriksson, Ken Zino, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
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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
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
Volkswagen Group Starts Small Scale EV Battery Recycling
Salzgitter only recycles batteries that can no longer be used for other purposes. Before the battery is recycled, an analysis determines whether the battery is still powerful enough to be given a second life in mobile energy storage systems such as the flexible rapid charging station or the mobile charging robot. Larger volumes of battery returns are not expected until the late 2020s at the earliest. Continue reading →