Can EVs save Ssangyong bankrupt? The manufacturer of the SUV and pickup is still under litigation pending approval of a plan to revive new owner Edison Motors. In January, the Korean electric bus maker paid the equivalent of $ 255 million for most of the shares. There are still hoops for a temporary parent firm that you can jump over; in particular, a solid plan that convinces the SsangYong service administration. If that happens, South Korea’s oldest carmaker will soon embark on a new era by creating multiple electric passenger vehicles and LCVs. However, at the moment the proposed savior and those in debt seem far from firm agreement. The firm recently told Korean media that 430 lenders will request a new round of rates, and Edison’s sale may not necessarily happen. The case intends the potential owner to repay only 1.75 percent of the bankrupt company’s debt of KRW547 billion, turning the rest into equity. Although the total is still small, there are clear signs that consumer confidence is returning to the brand of Korean SUVs and pickups. SsangYong Motor reported a 70 percent jump in monthly worldwide shipments to 4,540 vehicles in February, albeit from a low base a year ago. In particular, Rexton Sports (+ 325% to 2565) was a great factor, but so was the normalization of production and sales. This is mainly the result of an acquisition agreement with the recipient. Edison has not yet commented on the publicly proposed restructuring plan, which SsangYong’s management published in detail in 2021. We considered potential next-generation modelswith the rider the plan is not laid in stone.
Japanese automakers are late to shape their BEV strategies, but now in the race, this week wrote one of our analysts. Suzuki Motor has signed a memorandumDuma of Understanding (MOU) with Gujarat, India to invest approximately £ 1.04 billion (JPY 150 billion) in local production of electric vehicles (BEV) and BEV batteries. The investment was part of a series of investments of 32 billion pounds, announced by Japan at the Indo-Japanese Economic Forum, which was recently held in New Delhi. Suzuki’s investments are focused on three areas, including EV (£ 310 million), battery (£ 731 million) and a car recycling plant (£ 5 million). The investment is an encouraging development and will further strengthen Suzuki’s competitive position, although it is already a leader in India. Japanese automakers are late to shape their BEV strategies, but are clearly now in the race and preparing for a future market that will be very competitive. However, global automakers have invested billions in electrification, and Suzuki remains relatively low in terms of investment and commitment. Last year, Suzuki announced its strategy to launch a full-scale BEV development by 2025, and to that end it has also contacted Toyota. Indian investment is in line with the group’s strategy and key to maintaining Suzuki’s market dominance, where it has a 52.4% share through the Maruti Suzuki joint venture. Investments in EV could lead to a new fortune for Maruti Suzuki in India, which is slightly losing its stake to other automakers, most notably Hyundai and Tata Motors. The EV market in India is still developing and only a few players are offering mass market EV products. India recorded sales of 13,543 BEVs in 2021, which are expected to grow by 39% CAGR over the next decade, according to parent company Just Auto GlobalData.
While with Suzuki, we recently took a look at the automaker A complete hybrid of your own work for Europe. So far, the complete hybrids have been supplied by Toyota-based OEM plants in Japan and the UK.
French metallurgical giant ArcelorMittal has announced investment of 300 million euroswith support [read subsidy or tax break] the French government to set up a new production unit for electrical steel at a plant in Mardica in northern France. It says the investment will create 100 direct jobs and will specialize in the production of electrical steel for electric vehicle engines and complement the existing electric steel plant in Saint-Chely d’Apscher in the south. All of the group’s electrical steels will be manufactured in France, and the company said it will strengthen the country’s electric mobility sector. The new production unit, which will be located at the existing ArcelorMittal site in Mardica near Dunkirk, will produce electrical steel used in electric motors in general (including industrial machines), and in particular for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Malaysia has long encouraged the assembly of local cars, so it is not surprising to learn that Volvo Cars Geely has announced plans to start production of its XC40 Recharge with battery a full electric SUV out there later this year. The company has long been assembling cars in Malaysia, where rules and conditions prevent full imports. A local subsidiary of Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia will assemble a model from fully assembled kits (CKD) at its plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. At a local event to launch the new BEV model, the company said it would also export the model from Malaysia to other Southeast Asian markets. The importer and distributor said they plan to release one new locally assembled electric vehicle (EV) model a year, starting in 2022, with the goal of producing a fully electric range by 2030. Volvo Car Malaysia CEO Charles Fromp said his company is ready to implement the automaker’s global plan for a fully electric line by 2030, starting with the launch of the XC40 Recharge BEV.
Ironically, the news came when Volvo Car warned struggling to fulfill the production forecast this year as the semiconductor shortage again forces factories to shut down. The carmaker told Bloomberg that the failure is expected to continue until the second quarter due to problems with the purchase of a specific type of microprocessor. Volvo is now expecting only “marginal” growth in supplies this year after previously saying that sales will grow, according to the news agency. Volvo added that its problems were not related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Lightning allegedly does not strike in the same place, but the same cannot be said of earthquakes in Japan. In the same area, almost at the same time of year, a recent earthquake in Fukushima with a magnitude of 9 in 2011. This is what happened at the nuclear power plant, the cleaning of which continues to this day. Toyota Motor announced this last weekend cessation of production at most of its car assembly plants in Japan for three days this week after an earthquake that registered a magnitude of 7.4 and crashed on the northeast coast, causing powerful shock waves that were felt even in Tokyo, temporarily cutting off electricity to millions of homes and businesses and even derailing trains. Fortunately, this time neither a devastating tsunami nor reports of damage to nuclear facilities. Toyota has temporarily suspended operations on 17 of the 28 domestic production lines, including Hino and Daihatsu, which has affected the production of about 25,000 cars.
It’s just in: car production in the UK in February decreased by 41.3%., with 61,657 units produced, according to the latest figures published by the Engine Manufacturers and Dealers Association (SMMT). The SMMT said the decline was primarily due to a persistent shortage of semiconductors in the world, which led to the suspension of production at some plants, and the loss of production after the closure of Honda’s plant in Swindon last summer. In February, which became the weakest for British carmakers since 2009, production fell in both domestic and foreign markets, falling 35.8% and 41.8% respectively.
Back here in the UK, the government announced today new EV charging point strategy which he claims will improve access for drivers without on-street parking, and provide faster charging for long journeys. The Ministry of Transport has allocated 1.6 billion pounds to expand the UK’s charging network and said that by 2030, when the sale of most ICE cars will be banned, about 300,000 public chargers will be available. Charging station operators will need to meet stringent standards that allow drivers to easily pay and find nearby chargers.
And this, I am sure, was not accidental SMMT review of the 10.8 billion-pound decade of electric vehicles for electric vehicles and gig plants in the UK since 2011, with “billions more” invested around the world to put new technologies on sale. “Given that this figure is taken into account exclusively for public announcements by vehicle and battery manufacturers and does not include wider investment in supply chains, Britain’s overall commitment to electrifying cars will be even higher,” the lobby group said. In the first decade in the UK, which began with an investment of £ 420 million in Nissan Sunderland for Leaf, the UK’s first mass-produced battery electric vehicle, 10 carmakers invested in the development, development and creation of electric vehicles for the domestic and export markets. The UK also produces electric vans, buses and trucks as well-known manufacturers and new entrants have invested in the production.
Have a good weekend.
Graham Roberts, deputy editor of Just Auto
