Europe – Page 12
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Unipart signs aftersales deal with VW
Unipart Logistics has won a new five-year contract with Volkswagen Group to run its UK aftermarket supply chain.More than 450 workers at Volkswagen's Tamworth logistics hub were transferred to Unipart Logistics after it signed a deal with the carmaker.The operation will service more than 900 retailers and trade partners across ...
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Mazda opens new engine plant in Russia
Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe recently attended the opening ceremony of a new engine plantat Mazda Sollers Manufacturing Rus in Vladivostok, which was launched officially on September 10. The plant is designed to manufacture 50,000 Sky Activ-G engines per year in accordance with the Euro-5 emission standard. Investors plan to ...
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PSA trials driverless tractor for inbound at Sochaux
Groupe PSA is trialling an autonomous tow tractor at its Sochaux car plant in eastern France. The aim, of what the company describes as a world first in the manufacturing sector, is to improve operational flexibility in getting parts to the assembly line.Following successful trials conducted in May, a connected ...
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Smart logistics underpins Audi e-tron assembly
Audi officially premiered its e-tron electric SUV at a summit event in San Francisco this week but production has been underway for a couple of weeks already at its plant in Brussels, Belgium, which is making the e-tron for global markets. Patrick Danau (left), managing director of Audi ...
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Volvo seeks US tariff relief for China-built SUV
Following its decision to shift production of its XC60 back to Europe from China, Volvo Cars has revealed it sought exemption from US tariffs of 25% on imports of its SUV, which were exclusively made in China and exported to the US.So far this year the carmaker, which is owned ...
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PSA pushes ahead with multi-brand parts strategy
PSA is pressing ahead with a multi-brand aftermarket offering that includes selling rivals’ spare parts, as part of the group’s corporate Push to Pass growth strategy. The French OEM said the aim was to fulfill all customers’ aftersales expectations worldwide, regardless of their purchasing power or the ...
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BLG to operate Polish terminal with STS Logistic
German finished vehicle logistics provider BLG has sold half of its share in the vehicle terminal it operates in Dabrowa Górnicza, Poland – Auto Terminal Slask – to STS Logistic, which provides vehicle transport services in the country and the wider central and eastern region. STS Logistic already operates its ...
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Legacy of a moderniser: Sergio Marchionne
Already known for turning around the Fiat Group in under two years, Sergio Marchionne was instrumental in Fiat forming an alliance with US carmaker Chrysler when it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. The Italian carmaker took a 20% controlling stake in Chrysler in June that year and Marchionne ...
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Don't hope for a trade war truce
Escalating trade wars look set to be the new risk frontier in the automotive supply chain. With countries and trading blocs starting to retaliate against US moves to raise tariffs, open trade borders are closing in quickly. On July 6, 2018, the US began imposing a 25% tax on $34 ...
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Gaz feels the sting of US sanctions
Russian OEM Gaz Group is facing supply chain disruption due to several European component suppliers ceasing trade with the company following US sanctions on companies owned or controlled by Oleg Deripaska. According to Russian news source Vedomosti, one of the effects is the supply of electric buses to Moscow as ...
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Thyssenkrupp plans €60m logistics facility in Rotenburg
Thyssenkrupp Materials Services is building a €60m ($69.5m) logistics centre in the German town of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, for its subsidiary Thyssenkrupp Schulte, to store materials including aluminium and steel.The company makes steel tubes and pipes, non-ferrous metals and specialty materials, as well as providing materials and supply chain ...
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Deal or no deal – LSPs should prepare for Brexit now
Logistics providers reading the headlines about Brexit may well feel uncertain about how their business needs to transform. A range of potential outcomes, from a soft Brexit to no deal, makes it difficult to know what the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU will look like. Although much is ...
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Bridgestone buys ETB to extend British retail reach
Bridgestone has taken over UK tyre distributor ETB and will add 32 branches in the south of the UK to its distribution and service network. ETB (Exhaust Tyres Batteries) also trades under the name of Britannia Tyres.“The tyre sector is constantly evolving and, by partnering with ETB, we can ensure ...
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Russians drop US dollar for components purchases
Russian Trade and Industry minister Denis Manturov (pictured) has revealed that many Russian automotive manufacturers are increasingly using national currencies, rather than the US dollar, to pay for imported components. The move has been prompted by recent US sanctions on Russia.Several companies have so far announced the policy, trade with ...
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WLTP: lower emissions, greater challenges
Emissions targets for OEMs are tighter and the method for testing efficiency is more stringent than ever before. As of the start of this month (September), all new vehicles must adhere to New Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) standards, which provide ‘real world’ fuel consumption figures and, therefore, ...
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Trump rejects tariff offer in trans-Atlantic car trade
Donald Trump has rejected an EU offer to eliminate tariffs on cars, saying the proposal is not good enough.Trump said that ending duties on US car imports into the EU would do little to help the automotive industry in the US because Europeans would still not buy American-made cars. “Their ...
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Gearbox shortage halts Peugeot assembly
Production of the Peugeot 308 was halted for a second day at the French carmaker's Sochaux plant in eastern France last week due to a shortage of gearboxes.Taking potential orders into account, the best solution was to temporarily halt the compact car’s assembly at the plant, a company spokesperson said.[mpu_ad]Though ...
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NVD adopts Inform system for moves in Ireland
National Vehicle Distribution (NVD) is using a system developed by German IT specialist Inform to manage finished vehicle distribution and yard management in Ireland.The SynchroTess system can track the approximately 400,000 vehicles NVD handles every year through each stage of storage, preparation and delivery.Michael Howlin, head of IT at the ...
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Harring becomes Bridgestone’s logistics chief in EMEA
Ulf Harring (pictured) has joined global tyre maker Bridgestone as chief operating officer (COO) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).He will be responsible for logistics, supply chain management and procurement, along with manufacturing, quality, IT, environment, and health and safety matters. He took up his new role on ...
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Ford cancels Focus imports to US from China
Ford has scrapped plans to export the Focus Active model from China to the US because of tariffs of 25% being imposed by the US government. Exports from China were due to begin next year following plans first announced in 2017, when the carmaker decided to supply the car from ...