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ArticleWhy there needs to be a holistic approach to EV battery supply
EVs are often portrayed as a mainstay of the fight against climate change, but when the supply of battery materials and processing of used batteries are taken into consideration, they are much less green than they look. Automotive Logistics investigates the idea of a holistic approach to EV batteries, ...
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News
Protocols for protecting the restart of production in Mexico
There are logistics lessons to be learned from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Mexican automotive sector and Penske Logistics has quickly developed protocols for protecting the supply base and its employees…
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News
Volatile demand testing distribution of automotive service parts
Discussions at last week’s Livestream Hour on the aftermarket revealed that unstable demand for service parts has been testing those responsible for their manufacture and distribution and a full recovery of the aftermarket parts sector is not expected this year. However, leading service parts companies have been maintaining services for customers
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Article
The supply and demand of power
The UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) was set up in 2013 to support research and development (R&D) projects into low-carbon emission powertrain technologies. It is headquartered at the University of Warwick in Coventry and sits at the heart of a £1 billion programme that is funded 50% by industry and 50% by the UK government. Jon Beasley, director of technology and projects at the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre talks to Daniel Harrison about the technology pushing the sector forward
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Article
Powerful alternatives for the automotive sector
Battery manufacturer AMTE Power acquired AGM Batteries in 2013 to advance its development and provision of battery cell technology for specialist applications in the automotive sector looking for premium performance. Daniel Harrison talks to the company’s director Kevin Brundish
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Video
Watch: Kia maintains investment, launches and stability in Europe
Kia Motors Europe chief operating officer, Emilio Herrera, and director of marketing, Carlos Lahoz, outline how the Korean brand is learning from supply chain and production disruptions, digitalising sales channels and maintaining investment in electrification to chart a route towards recovery in Europe.
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Article
Stronger connections for a competitive future
Capacity constraints have tested the resourcefulness of Haropa ports, which oversees activity at the sea port of Le Havre, and the inland ports of Rouen and Paris, but the company is responding with investment, redevelopment and the application of smart technology
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Article
Reaching for the stars: how Galileo’s satellites could help automotive logistics
Since launching its first test navigation satellite in 2005, the European Space Agency (ESA) has steadily built up the Galileo global positioning network and today operates 22 satellites. With four further launches due in 2020, the Galileo network is set to become the first fully operational high-accuracy global navigation satellite system (GNSS) – heralding a new era of precision navigation and, for the automotive industry, bringing opportunities for improved vehicle logistics.
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Article
Russia: still supporting exports
As its domestic market stagnates, Russia is continuing to seek growth abroad and is subsidising the export of vehicles and parts – at a cost of more than $60m a year. The government is seemingly succeeding in its ambition of turning the country into a fully fledged automotive exporter, as its official target is to establish exports of at least 240,000 vehicles per year by 2025 – ideally up to 400,000 – and recent growth in this segment suggests that these figures could be within reach.
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Article
US rail: tracking in the right direction
Rail transportation offers an efficient, reliable option for the distribution of finished vehicles, and in an age of increased concern over sustainability, it is also relatively environmentally friendly. This helps to explain why it remains a popular mode for moving vehicles, despite drawbacks such as limited flexibility.
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Article
Water woes: how European river transport projects have ground to a halt
In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland the authorities are embarking on big projects aimed at boosting cargo flows along key rivers. Potentially, this could provide more opportunities for the European finished vehicle logistics industry, but for a number of reasons it is not clear that river transport in the region will become more popular.
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Article
Fighting back against fake parts
Counterfeit parts in the automotive industry will soon be worth more than the annual gross domestic product of Canada, Brazil or Italy. According to World Trademark Review, the estimated global economic cost of counterfeiting in the automotive industry could reach $2.3 trillion by 2022. In Europe, it is estimated that €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) is lost annually to counterfeit tyre sales alone, while counterfeit battery sales effectively steal €180m ($198m) from OEMs. Furthermore, the rise of e-commerce is making it ever easier for consumers to knowingly or unknowingly access counterfeit, possibly dangerous vehicle parts.
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Interview
Mena aftermarket: Playing a bigger part
Overall economic growth may be lacklustre, but automotive aftermarket sales are on the increase in the Middle East and North Africa…
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Article
Pairing up for progress: The advance of digital twins
A computer-based tool for process planning, quality checking, monitoring systems and a wide range of other uses, digital twinning is increasingly making its presence felt across the automotive industry. In essence, this is a version of something in real life, such as a piece of machinery, a production line or a supply chain operation, which is recreated on a desktop computer or a tablet. Digital twins are now used across manufacturing and warehouse operations to manage material flow, complete the order-to-delivery process and make efficiency and quality improvements in vehicle production.
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News
Shifting gears: How Skoda automated Vrchlabí
The smallest of Skoda’s production plants, the Vrchlabí site in the Czech Republic has been producing direct shift transmissions for the Volkswagen Group since 2012..
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Article
In the zone at Jebel Ali port
With a multi-tier parking facility holding around 27,000 car equivalent units (CEU), Jebel Ali is the biggest port in the Middle East and the 11th largest worldwide. The port has four terminals connecting to more than 150 other ports through 80 weekly services, and its activity accounts for 26.1% of Dubai’s GDP. In 2018, 82% of Dubai’s automotive trade passed through Jebel Ali, worth $31.6 billion in vehicles, tyres, parts and accessories.
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Article
Suppliers set CEE on firm foundations
In the decades since the end of the Cold War, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been attracting automotive components suppliers by virtue of its cheap labour, low taxes and convenient geographical location. Now, the region is aiming to maintain or even build on its gains in the face of vehicle electrification, rising global competition and other challenges.
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Article
Damage control: How technology can assist vehicle inspection
With approximately 80m new cars being produced globally each year, the automotive industry has a big job to do when it comes to checking the condition of finished vehicles, something that has long relied on human labour…
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Article
Room for manoeuvre with Glovis at Philaport
Glovis America is now operating a new $110m vehicle terminal at the port of Philadelphia on the US east coast, providing much-needed capacity at a time when larger car-carrying vessels are loading and discharging greater volumes
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Article
Galvanising the aftermarket for an electric future
The rise in EVs in Europe will have an impact on the aftermarket and the logistics supporting it, not least in the management of replacement lithium batteries
