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All seat articles
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FeatureVW sets up new components division to drive efficiency
Volkswagen has established a new division – Volkswagen Group Components – tasked with reducing costs by €2 billion ($2.27 billion) while improving efficiency and taking on board the increasing importance of electric vehicles. Thomas Schmall (right), chairman of VW’s new Group Components division, with Stefan Sommer, VW Group board member ...
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FeatureSeat joins Alastria blockchain network
Spanish carmaker Seat has joined the Alastria consortium to work on the development of blockchain-based products.Blockchain technology uses a distributed ledger platform, aimed at providing transparency for businesses, including supply chain monitoring.Seat is the first carmaker to join the network, which now involves 70 major businesses and institutions, including banks, ...
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FeatureSovac starts assembling SKD kits for Audi in Algeria
Audi has begun assembling vehicles at the Relizane plant run by its long-time Algerian partner, Sovac, from semi-knockdown (SKD) kits prepared at the OEM’s Ingolstadt plant in Germany.“[All models] are built at the main plant in Ingolstadt and transported to Barcelona, where they are knocked down into individual assembly groups ...
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FeatureVW Autoeuropa plant forced to ship via Leixões
Strikes at the Portuguese port of Setúbal that are expected to continue into January have forced Volkswagen to switch exports of its T-Roc SUV, made at the Autoeuropa plant in Palmela, to the northern port of Leixões.According to the ports administration of Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo (APDL), the ...
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FeatureSeat renews rail deal at Martorell
Spanish carmaker Seat has signed a new, three-year contract with Autometro to transport vehicles by rail from its Martorell plant to the port of Barcelona for export.Operating since 2008, the service run by Catalonia’s regional railway FGC transports an average of 105,000 vehicles a year.Under the renewed contract, several technical ...
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FeatureVW starts making Seat Tarraco at Wolfsburg
Spanish carmaker Seat, part of the VW Group, has begun producing its Tarraco SUV on assembly lines at VW’s Wolfsburg factory – the first time in 20 years a non-VW vehicle has been built at the plant in northern Germany.Designed and developed in Barcelona, the Tarraco is built on the ...
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FeatureVW Group highlights gains from making Audi A1 in Spain
Volkswagen Group has said it expects substantial logistics benefits to follow, now that it is producing the new-look Audi A1 in Seat’s Martorell factory in Spain.“[It] joins Seat vehicles in most distribution transport flows, which enables us to achieve cost and lead time synergies, both for Seat and Audi,” Seat ...
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FeatureUnipart 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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FeatureSeat debuts duo trailer
Spanish OEM Seat and transport provider Grupo Sesé have begun to pilot a double trailer truck combination to see if it can reduce the cost of delivering inbound components by a quarter.The double trailer approach could help reduce the number of large trucks on the road by 50%, which implies ...
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FeatureAutomotive Logistics Awards – Europe winners announced
The winners of the first ever Automotive Logistics Awards – Europe were revealed in Bonn, Germany, this week. During the event on June 12 – held on the eve of this year’s Automotive Logistics Europe conference – former Opel, Fiat and BMW vehicle designer Chris Bangle handed out a total ...
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FeatureTrusting the market will stay afloat
European vehicle-handling ports saw growth in vehicle vehicle volumes in 2017, however geo-political worries – not least Brexit – is causing concerns. Ports continue to invest but there are worries over future volumes and capacity levels.
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FeatureSkoda restores vehicle assembly in Ukraine
Skoda is reintroducing volume assembly in Ukraine, making it the first foreign carmaker to produce cars in significant numbers there since 2014.The VW-owned company has boosted production at the joint-venture facility it set up with Atoll Holding Group subsidiary Eurocar back in 2001 at Solomonovo, just 2km from the borders ...
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FeatureFord partners with fashion chain Next on UK car sales
Ford’s UK operation has signed a partnership with fashion retailer Next to increase the range of sales outlets for its vehicles.The carmaker will open a five-car showroom at a refurbished Next store in the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester. Test drives will be available and new cars can be handed ...
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FeatureThird-party logistics: Future fields of opportunity?
As with most things in life, change is a constant in automotive logistics, but in finished vehicle distribution that doesn’t seem to hold as true. As one observer wryly comments about vehicle logistics: “The way of doing things is cemented because that’s how it’s always been done.”Being asset heavy, fewer ...
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FeatureTwists and turns in the road ahead
The European new vehicle market has showed strength in recent years, following a long decline after the global financial and subsequent Eurozone crises; sales have mostly recovered to pre-crisis levels and continued to rise in most major EU markets throughout 2017, with the exception of the UK.The outlook for the ...
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FeatureSeat: Delivering improvement
After reinventing much of its vehicle logistics following a severe reduction in output in the wake of the financial crisis, Volkswagen Group’s Spain-based Seat has since seen strong growth in production, exports and sales. That has put even more pressure on space and capacity at its main assembly location in ...
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FeatureSeat builds tallest warehouse in Spain to support Martorell assembly
Spanish carmaker Seat has revealed it is building an automated logistics centre at its Martorell factory outside Barcelona that will include the tallest warehouse in Spain. The facility is expected to be completed by the last quarter of next year.The logistics centre will cover a total area of 5,700 sq.m ...
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FeatureSeat looks to digital supply chain and connected cars with Telefónica deal
Spanish telecommunications provider Telefónica is to become an IT supplier to carmaker Seat, following an agreement signed in the first week of November designed to develop connected car technology, as well as digitalise the supply chain and manufacturing process.Among the aims of the agreement is the application of 5G connectivity ...
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FeatureGeneral strike in Catalonia hits assembly at plants around Barcelona
This week’s general strike in the Spanish region of Catalonia has disrupted vehicle production in the region and distribution networks across the modes.Strike action began on Tuesday (October 3rd) in protest at the police violence that hit the region’s independence referendum on October 1st. Hundreds of people were injured as ...
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FeatureSeating analysis: Not sitting pretty for long
The modern vehicle seat is a sophisticated item and suppliers require very specific supply chain strategies of their own to stay competitive. Automotive Logistics provides an overview of this fast-changing sector OEMs often require seats to be delivered on a just-in-time and just-in-sequence basisThe automotive seating and interiors business ...