October 2024 Edition of Automotive World Magazine

In this issue:

Data

• Worldwide light vehicle sales outlook has been revised downwards
• Mercedes-Benz production projections extend to 2028

Strategy

• Daimler Truck initiates leadership change with a new CEO as it transforms
• GM and Hyundai adopt a collaborative support approach
• Volvo Group invests in an AI-based trucking startup
• Stellantis confirms it is searching for a successor to CEO Tavares
• Updating Renault/Nissan share buybacks as they seek balance
• Mercedes-Benz concludes its partnership with BYD for Denza
• Honda speeds up its transformation efforts in China

Brands

• Faraday’s new FX brand looks to China for support
• Navistar rebrands itself as ‘International Motors’ in a bid for recovery

Markets

• Understanding the Chinese challenge—insights from passenger vehicles
• Thailand’s economic struggles lead to a halved EV sales forecast for 2024
• Europe seeks assistance as electric vehicle sales decline
• Norway reaches a “historic” milestone where BEVs surpass gasoline cars
• Stellantis and Leapmotor establish a joint venture to offer affordable EVs in Europe

Legislation

• Renault’s CEO states that the European automotive sector is unprepared for 2025 CO2 regulations
• The US enhances measures to protect against “threats from foreign vehicles”
• Crucial decisions pending regarding EU tariffs on Chinese EVs

E-Mobility

• European OEMs grapple with the challenges of electrification
• Volvo moderates its commitment to 100% EVs by 2030, incorporating hybrids
• Cupra—and Europe at large—shifts focus from electric to electrified vehicles
• Volvo Trucks enhances the range of its FH Electric model
• Quantumscape targets solid-state technology for retail EVs before 2030
• GM postpones lithium mine investments until post-US elections
• Japanese automakers launch a $7 billion initiative for battery production
• Kia’s PBV program promotes a new type of van
• The economics surrounding BEV ownership emerges as a competitive market area
• BMW employs AI to improve EV battery technology
• Mitsubishi Fuso enters the EV battery recycling sector
• Europe’s battery industry faces challenges due to global overcapacity
• Sweden opts not to extricate Northvolt from financial difficulties
• Could job creation in EV sectors help sustain the IRA under Trump?
• The US allocates $3 billion for projects to localize the battery supply chain

Autonomous

• California lawmakers show division over regulations for autonomous trucks
• ACEA promotes a roadmap for autonomous vehicles (AVs) emphasizing global unity
• Trust and transparency are key components of the AV roadmap
• Mercedes-Benz enhances its automated driving capabilities to 95 km/h

Software-defined vehicle

• Cerence expands its AI voice assistant technology to trucks and two-wheelers

Hydrogen

• BMW and Toyota gear up for a future dominated by fuel cell vehicles (FCVs)
• Ballard faces challenges in its long-term hydrogen strategy
• Hyundai collaborates with Skoda to build a hydrogen ecosystem
• GM broadens its hydrogen initiatives with a new fuel cell facility in Detroit

Manufacturing

• Factory closures: is a conflict brewing over Volkswagen’s future?
• Volkswagen seeks investor support to rescue Audi’s Brussels facility
• Recent investments indicate Stellantis’ multi-energy plans in the US
• Stellantis announces a four-week halt in production at its Fiat 500e plant
• Volkswagen accelerates labor negotiations amid threats of strikes
• Brazil’s automotive sector grows increasingly reliant on China
• Cross-border politics adversely impact Mexico’s auto industry
• JLR updates its factories to produce ICE, PHEV, and BEV models
• Stellantis encounters labor unrest in Italy as production weakens
• Nissan experiences production reductions due to poor financial performance

Safety

• BMW recalls vehicles due to ongoing battery defect issues
• Stellantis recalls 1.2 million cars due to ABS malfunctions

Materials

• Setting aside politics, Rusal spearheads the movement towards green aluminum