News

National Grid Joins Switch-on Mode Team

Qin Fen
Qin Fen

In July, MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology summoned a meeting with local governments, industry associations and automotive companies on battery switch-on implementation.  People attending offered thoughts on implementing battery switch-on operations, sharing recommendations for policy and discussing challenges of proposed actions.

Source: D1 EV     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Electric vehicle development is facing several different technology road maps.  While the automotive industry prefers plug-in and charging, grid companies are more inclined to favor the battery switch-on mode based on grid reliability. 

Such debate is good for advancing electrification in the auto industry, it is vital to have all participants’ input before promoting electric vehicles on a larger scale. PSR

Qin Fen is Business Development Manager – China, for Power Systems Research

Brazil CE Sales To Grow 15% Despite COVID

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Construction Equipment Internal Sales in Brazil from January thru May grew 35% over the same period of 2019. The Brazilian Machinery Builders´ Association (ABIMAQ)  expects 2020 sales to hit 20,000 machines, 15% more than in 2019.

Source: Valor Econônico      Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The Construction segment was the less affected by the pandemic than some other segments. The interest reduction directed investment to real state, especially housing, and some measures, such as the new regulation for sanitation, recently approved by the parliament, will boost the Construction business in 2020 and more significantly in the coming years. PSR

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Europe Stage V Emissions Standard Officially Delayed

Regulation (EU) 2020/1040 to amend Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 on Stage V emissions for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) was published July 17 in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Emiliano Marzoli
Emiliano Marzoli

This final step of the legislative process confirms that the 12-month extension of certain transitional provisions is officially EU law and is applicable retroactively from July 1, 2020.

This amendment to the Stage V Regulation extends by 12 months the June 30, 2020, and December31, 2020, deadlines for the production and placing on the market of NRMM and tractors fitted with transition engines <56kW and ≥130kW.

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DataPoint. NA Tillers 2020 Forecast: 261,100 Units

The 261,100 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of tillers to be produced in North America (Mexico and the U.S.) in 2020.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

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Powersports Industry Leading Economic Comeback

The Powersports industry–featuring ATVs, motorcycles and watercraft–appears to be leading the way on the road to economic recovery. According to Motorcycle & Powersports News magazine, this increased demand for powersports is helping values bounce back from historic lows.

Michael Aistrup
Michael Aistrup

According to Scott Yarbrough, senior analyst for motorcycle and powersports at Black Book: “After the first month of the COVID-19, shutdowns put a freeze on powersports values during the beginning of the spring selling season, and the second month saw dramatic declines.

This month values are up across the board, some by the largest amounts we have ever seen in a monthly update. A combination of surprisingly strong demand, coupled with drops in availability of units, has led to this resurgence in values,”

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Trucking News: Ask the Expert

The Current Status of Electric Commercial Vehicles

During the past decade, PSR has followed the progress of alternative fuels and technologies such as gas and diesel hybrid, natural gas, and electric along with other renewable fuels.  To date, alternative fuels have been relegated to more niche segments and have not penetrated the larger end of the market.

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

Segments such as transit and school buses along with short distance segments like refuse have been the primary adopters of natural gas since they tend to be close to their terminals for refueling and recharging.  The bus market along with pickup and delivery trucks are the target segments for electric vehicles in the near term.

Late last year, Amazon placed an order for 100,000 light commercial “Prime” vans from Rivian that will likely be the beta test for the viability of light electric commercial vehicles.  These vehicles are expected to begin deliveries next year.

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On-Highway Batteries Serve as Emergency Backup Power

Audi and the utility EnBW are pioneering an energy storage facility built on retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This partnership is being billed as the solution to a major problem in each industry.

Tyler Wiegert
Tyler Wiegert

For automobile manufacturers, the question of how to recycle retired batteries has been pressing for some time. Utilities have been struggling with the perverse problem that excess generation from renewable sources has been slowing adoption, as surges from those sources can disrupt the stability of power grids.

EV batteries have a functional life of 3-10 years after they are retired from vehicle use, making them a ready tool for use by utilities.

Portland General Electric Company (PGE) also is seeking to create a more resilient grid for the utilization of renewable energy sources. They are launching a pilot program to incentivize the installation of home battery systems to act as a virtual power plant.

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Daimler Pursues Fuel Cells on Multiple Fronts

In a statement released June 30, Daimler announced it will be investing “a very substantial sum” in achieving a CO2-neutral future for the transportation sector. Hydrogen fuel cell production facilities are currently in development, with an eye toward mass production of fuel cells and their component parts.

Tyler Wiegert
Tyler Wiegert

Some of the hurdles Daimler is working to overcome are the needs for highly-filtered air and stable ambient temperature and humidity. The materials and components used in fuel cell production do not allow for an easy transfer in process from conventional engine manufacturing.

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MotorIndia Sponsors Commercial Vehicle Webinar

MotorIndia Magazine, one of India’s leading publications devoted to commercial vehicles, recently held an important panel discussion on the state of the country’s CV industry.

Jinal Shah

The live webinar panel discussion June 3, 2020, was moderated by Jinal Shah, Regional Director-South Asia, for Power Systems Research.

Shah began with a market prediction of a 45-50% drop in CV sales in 2020 over 2019 figures, necessarily taking the industry back by a decade in terms of progress. While touching upon a clutch of challenges plaguing the CV industry, he claimed the scenario as ‘VUCA’ (short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) in nature – a new normal that we have to accustom to.

“The world is no different. The global CV industry will also see lower demand and output in the short to medium term, which makes it all the more imperative for the domestic industry to become more competitive and grab as much as opportunities,” he said.

At the same time, Shah said, change and uncertainties have always been part of the CV landscape, yet the time frame available for stakeholders to adapt and thrive has shortened recently. “Times like that of COVID-19 have exposed numerous susceptibilities across the value chain that warrants a 360-degree overhaul,” he said.

Other leading industry executives participating in the panel were Anuj Kathuria, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland; Jayant Davar, Founder, Co-Chairman and MD, Sandhar Technologies; Sushil Rathi, COO (Transport and Procurement), Mahindra Logistics, and Siddharth Bhandari, Chairman of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) – Bengal Region, and CEO, Bhandari Automobiles.

In his closing remarks, Shah said all stakeholders should become a change catalyst themselves, and should not wait for the external demand drivers to turn positive. Becoming competitive and collaborative is
paramount, he said, thereby focusing more on solutions
for the challenges.

“Our businesses have to move from build-to-print models to innovation and R&D-driven enterprises,” he said. “Since the traditional demand drivers are not promising, we need to do a lot internally as an industry to move beyond the uncertainties to make a winning strategy.”

This is neither the first nor the last crisis for this industry, he said, but a crisis of this kind cannot be wasted without gaining good experiences
and key learning. “We have to stop playing individually, but join others to perform a symphony to make the difference,” he added.

Watch the full panel discussion in MOTORINDIA’s YouTubechannel – www.youtube.com/motorindiamagazine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csXrR0NqKTk PSR

Kamaz Introduces First Mining Truck

KAMAZ says it has developed and built KAMAZ 65805 – first truck in its new mining truck portfolio. The product line will consist of dump trucks with wheel formula 8*4 and 10*6 and cargo capacity from 45 to 70 tons. The dimensions of the new truck will allow driving on regular automobile roads.

Read The Article

The new KAMAZ is powered by a 12-liter inline KAMAZ R-6 engine of 500 hp, and hydromechanical transmission with retarder.

The truck is introduced as “Autonomous ready,” and can be converted to a driverless vehicle by installing sensors and a decision-making chip.

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