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Honda’s Swindon plant awaits its destiny – logistics park, homes, a mixture of makes use of? |
Easter has come round once more – historically a time to try to keep in mind the place we left the mower and barbecue on the finish of final summer season however, as you’ll have heard, we already had our two days of summer season early this yr and week. So, what tickled just-auto readers’ fancy this week?
Lancia CEO, Luca Napolitano, has introduced the reorganisation of the Lancia model with instant impact. “We had been on the lookout for a workforce of pros to construct the way forward for the Lancia model, leveraging on an enormous potential of ardour, dedication and imaginative and prescient,” mentioned Napolitano. Paolo Loiotile has been appointed accountable for Lancia merchandise. Yann Chabert has been appointed accountable for advertising and marketing & communication. Erica Valeria Ferraioli has been appointed accountable for pricing of Lancia & Alfa Romeo, instantly reporting to Napolitano and to Jean-Philippe Imparato, Alfa Romeo CEO. Roberta Zerbi has been appointed accountable for Lancia & Alfa Romeo Europe, reporting hierarchically to Maxime Picat, Enlarged Europe COO and functionally to Napolitano and Imparato.
Automobile markets able to soar. The proclamation in a headline this week will appear incongruous to many coming simply after the European producers’ commerce physique, ACEA, has reported that European automotive gross sales fell 20% in February. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 ravaged gross sales months of March and April 2020 will quickly come into play and can carry some headline grabbing figures when year-on-year comparisons are made. Aided by a triple digit proportion year-on-year rise in China’s mild car gross sales, international gross sales rebounded by some 16.2% within the month simply handed. February marked China’s eleventh consecutive year-on-year enhance with gross sales surging by a outstanding, however not wholly surprising, 429% because of comparability with final yr’s market nadir.
Honda of the UK Manufacturing has entered right into a contract on the market of its Swindon website. Initially bought by the Japanese automotive producer in 1985 (for a predelivery operation and later engine plant), the location will likely be bought to Panattoni, Europe’s largest developer of latest construct industrial and logistics amenities. In 2019, Honda Motor introduced a restructuring of its international car manufacturing operations, which included the cessation of manufacturing on the UK plant in July 2021, on the finish of the present mannequin cycle of the Civic Hatchback. Following the closure announcement, Honda dedicated to leaving the location in a accountable approach, with a sustainable legacy for Swindon. Jason Smith, director at Honda of the UK Manufacturing, mentioned: “We’re happy to have recognized a succesful new proprietor of the location. From our engagement with Panattoni and preliminary discussions with Swindon Borough Council, we’re assured that the brand new proprietor can carry the event ahead in a commercially well timed style and generate thrilling prospects for Swindon and the broader group.” Following the top of manufacturing on 30 July 2021, Honda will instantly begin decommissioning of the Swindon website. The location is anticipated to be legally handed over in Spring 2022, and as soon as the required consents have been obtained, Panattoni will begin regeneration and redevelopment shortly thereafter.
It’s going to be fascinating to see what Panattoni does with it. Cowley (the previous Morris bit west of the Oxford bypass) is now a enterprise park, Canley (Normal-Triumph) is a retail park, Banner Lane (Massey Ferguson) is housing, Stoke (Humber/PSA) is a mixture of housing and enterprise (together with Stellantis’ UK HQ), Longbridge (MG Rover) continues its transformation into housing, lodge, tertiary schooling and retail, Browns Lane (Jaguar) is a mixture of housing and trade and Ryton (Rootes/PSA) is now a large enterprise park known as ProLogis on the A45 east of Coventry. Two former Vauxhall websites in Luton are being redone for blended use (previous manufacturing unit) and enterprise park (former head workplace), respectively. Swindon’s proximity to the London-Wales M4 motorway suggests to me it will find yourself one thing like Ryton. We’ll see.
As Manfred Bischoff steps down after 14 years as chairman of Daimler AG’s supervisory board, his successor Bernd Pischetsrieder will inevitably face recent challenges as he steers the corporate by the 2020s. So what can we anticipate in relation to what issues most of all – the vehicles that should each constantly reinvent the Mercedes-Benz identify and produce within the money to fund their even larger tech replacements?
Controversial April Fools joke: Volkswagen of America on Tuesday reposted on its media website a press launch ‘by accident’ posted a month early on Monday asserting a brand new identify for its US operations, Voltswagen of America, emphasising the automaker’s electrical car efforts, however a spokesman for the mum or dad firm in Germany on Tuesday evening confirmed suspicions the transfer was a joke. Guys, April Fools Day is 1 April.
A report in a Korean newspaper this week mentioned Toyota and Tesla are near asserting that they’ll work collectively on an electrical compact SUV car platform. The Chosun Ilbo mentioned the 2 firms have been in discussions over the partnership association for a while and at the moment are ‘approaching the ultimate stage’. The report suggests {that a} collaboration between the 2 would carry collectively their respective strengths – Toyota with the fundamental car engineering, Tesla with the electronics and OTA software program – for a low value compact SUV electrical car. Value financial savings in growing such a car would profit Tesla in its ambition to launch decrease priced electrical automobiles in mass market segments.
That acquired our analysts considering: Toyota could also be getting ready to launch a small electrical SUV utilizing know-how offered by Tesla, in keeping with rumours circulating throughout various shops. If true, this might show to be a extremely disruptive drive within the auto trade, combining Toyota’s manufacturing power as the most important automaker by quantity, and Tesla’s market main place in electrical automobiles.
ABB and Amazon Internet Companies (AWS) have introduced a collaboration to collectively develop a cloud-based digital answer for the real-time fleet administration of EVs. They says the answer will optimize the environment friendly use of EVs and pace up the electrification of transport fleets, serving to operators worldwide keep 100% enterprise continuity as they transition to completely electrical. The collaboration will mix ABB’s expertise in power administration, charging know-how and e-mobility options with AWS’s portfolio of cloud applied sciences and software program experience. The brand new platform, which is deliberate for roll out within the second half of 2021, will supply a tailor-made consumer expertise in a single view platform.
Our analysts once more and this one is creating some buzz: The electrification of passenger automobiles is now a certainty and China leads the way in which as the one largest EV market. The present discipline of opponents is made up of the 4 massive state-owned automakers together with a handful of personal teams. Right here, we check out their present electrification methods together with the EVs presently being fielded by every firm.
Have a pleasant Easter and straightforward on the chocolate.
Graeme Roberts, Deputy Editor, just-auto.com
