Uday Senapati

MAJOR CAR BRAND PAUSES PRODUCTION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE Government Minsters aren't the best people to advise on technology change Those who specialise in product design have to look at all of the factors involved in product acceptability including usability and acceptability in the market place Despite repeated warnings that the BEV is not a universally acceptable replace for the ICE power train, governments press ahead Vehicle manufacturers and product specialists are being ignored so Europe and the UK dig an ever deeper hole for ourselves. This will cost us dearly There's a say that goes like this: - 'When in a hole, stop digging' #BEV #Cars #Energy #Fuels #environment #ICE #hydrogen #EFuels

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British commercial vehicle production output growth continues with the best Q1 figures since 2008. Figures also show British car production did fall in March, as manufacturers gear up to make new models, but rounded off Q1 with overall volumes still up 1.1%: https://lnkd.in/e95-H6FB #UKmfg #Manufacturing #Production #Automotive #CommercialVehicles

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The UK automotive industry is already complaining about the penalties for not selling enough EVs to reluctant consumers, but I wonder whether the forthcoming HGV mandate will risk further damaging the UK Automotive Industry. The forthcoming mandate for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) to transition to zero-emission technologies presents significant challenges and risks for the UK automotive industry, echoing the issues currently faced by the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Stellantis has already raised concerns about the impact of the UK's regulatory approach on its EV production plans. Without adequate government support and incentives, Stellantis has warned that it may halt EV production in the UK, which could lead to job losses and reduced consumer choices. This situation is compounded by post-Brexit trade rules, which require a high percentage of EV components to originate from the UK or EU, making UK-based production uncompetitive. The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires 70% of Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) to be zero-emission by 2030, and all new cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2035, is ambitious. Currently, only 6% of new LGVs sold are zero-emission, highlighting the scale of the challenge. The same ambitious targets are set for HGVs, with a ban on new diesel HGVs by 2040. However, as of now, only 5% of new HGVs sold are zero-emission, predominantly battery-electric. The automotive industry, including major players like Ford and Stellantis, supports the government's zero-emission goals but stresses the need for more robust infrastructure and regulatory clarity. The transition for HGVs is particularly complex due to the varied use cases and the lack of a dominant zero-emission technology. The government's recent initiatives, such as the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund and the development of new charging infrastructure, are steps in the right direction. However, industry leaders argue that without substantial incentives and support, the mandated targets may lead to significant disruptions. A balanced approach that combines regulation with strong incentives is crucial to ensuring the industry's sustainability and growth. The UK government must provide the necessary support to keep the automotive and HGV sectors competitive and thriving in the face of global competition and the shift towards electrification. https://lnkd.in/eNPhwPh7 #AutomotiveIndustry #ZeroEmissionVehicles #HGVs #UKGovernment #Stellantis #EVMandate #SustainableGrowth

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We are delighted to be working with Cleevely Electric Vehicles and our Sister company @ATA with Dave Walker FIMI~AAE~CAA~CAT~MSOE~MIRTE~Cert-Ed Watch this space for IMI courses that will make a difference in how you learn and transform you practice. #evtraining #skillsdevelopment #IMI #theIMI #automotiveexcellence #upskilling #sustainability #evautomotive #highvoltagesafety #futuretechnology #automotivetraining #evhybrid #hybridtraining #autoindustry #motortrade #evtraininguk

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Automotive sector can be driver behind turbocharged UK industrial and economic growth, says SMMT chief The Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has said the automotive sector can be the driver behind turbocharged UK industrial and economic growth. In his latest CEO update on Friday, Mike Hawes said: This week’s long-awaited announcement of an industrial strategy, with government’s Invest 2035 green paper, presents a fresh opportunity to turbocharge UK industrial and economic growth. Automotive can be the driver of this and, as SMMT set out in our Vision 2035 report, with the right conditions has the potential to deliver an economic boost worth more than £50bn during the next decade. https://lnkd.in/ecE__aPF

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Stellantis has just announced its Vauxhall plant in Luton will be shutting down, in a big blow to the local economy and the state of manufacturing in the UK. The reason? the weight of government quotas for EVs in combination with slowing demand. For many manufacturers, this confirms their concerns over the unfeasibility of the ZEV mandate. At Manufacturing Digital, we find ourselves agreeing with calls for a more flexible alternative. What do you think? https://lnkd.in/egMADZwF #Manufacturing #EVs

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A Question of Ethics: Trial of Former VW Boss Begins Over 'Dieselgate' Scandal Yesterday (3 Sep 2024) the trial of the former Volkswagen (VW) CEO, Martin Winterkorn officially began bringing the infamous "Dieselgate" scandal back into the spotlight. This case, which first emerged in 2015, has now resulted in Winterkorn facing charges of fraud, market manipulation, and perjury, nearly a decade after VW was exposed for manipulating emissions tests. Volkswagen, one of the world's largest car manufacturers, developed a diesel engine it marketed as environmentally friendly, boasting low emissions and high efficiency. However, in reality, these engines emitted up to 40 times the permitted levels of nitrogen oxides, a pollutant linked to respiratory diseases and environmental harm. To cover up this expensive mistake, the engines were equipped with a "defeat device" software designed to detect when the car was undergoing emissions testing and temporarily reduce the vehicle’s emissions to meet regulatory standards. This deception allowed VW to pass stringent emissions standards, particularly in the US and Europe, while continuing to produce and sell vehicles that were far more polluting than advertised. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered the defeat device during routine testing. Despite initially denying the allegations, Volkswagen eventually admitted to installing the defeat devices in approximately 11 million vehicles worldwide. The company suffered massive fines, legal actions, and a significant blow to its reputation, costing it over €30 billion in fines, vehicle buybacks, and legal settlements. Now, nine years after the scandal first came to light, Martin Winterkorn, who was the CEO of VW at the time, has appeared in court to face serious charges. Prosecutors accuse Winterkorn of being aware of the emissions rigging as early as 2014 but failing to take action to stop it or inform the public and shareholders. The charges include fraud, market manipulation, and perjury, all of which could lead to significant legal consequences if he is found guilty. Winterkorn's trial will scrutinise his role in the company's decision to deploy defeat devices and whether he intentionally misled regulators, investors, and the public about the true environmental impact of VW’s diesel engines. This trial could set a precedent for how corporate leaders are held accountable for their companies' actions, particularly concerning environmental fraud and consumer trust. The trial serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of corporate deception and the ongoing global effort to ensure environmental compliance and consumer protection. It is a critical moment not just for VW, but for the broader automotive industry, which is under increasing scrutiny over environmental standards.

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Brilliant British design and automotive innovation or simply bonkers? A load of weird materials and form over function? Destined to be the final nail in the Jaguar coffin or another example of Jaguar brilliance, saving it from obscurity once again? We'll only know once they start trying to sell it but ngl, it's starting to grow on me.... #branding #advertising #creativity #marketing #design https://lnkd.in/gntFFhNi

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September saw plugin EVs take 29.4% share of the #UK auto market, up from 23.4% year on year. Both BEVs and PHEVs grew volume YoY, by 24% and 32% respectively. Overall auto volume was 275,239 units, up 1% YoY, but still far below pre-2020 seasonal norms (350,000+). #Tesla was the leading BEV brand in September. September’s sales tally saw combined plugin EVs take 29.4% share of the UK auto market, with full electrics (BEVs) taking 20.5%, and plugin hybrids (PHEVs) taking 8.9%. These compare with YoY shares of 23.4% combined, 16.6% #BEV and 6.8% #PHEV. Against broader auto volumes which were barely flat YoY, both BEVs and PHEVs grew volume at a healthy clip. BEVs grew 24.4% to a new record high of 56,387 units, whilst PHEVs grew 32.1% to 24,468 units. Meanwhile, HEVs were essentially flat YoY, diesels saw a 7% volume decline, and petrol-only vehicles lost substantial volume of 9.3%, dropping share from 55.7% to 50.1% YoY. Best Selling BEV Brands Tesla was yet again the best selling BEV brand in September, with the Model Y leading with 5,799 units, enough to put it in joint 4th place in the overall auto market. Year to date, the Model Y is the 9th best selling automobile overall (and by far the best selling BEV), with 23,485 units registered. #Volkswagen took a surprise 2nd place in the September BEV rankings, a much stronger performance than typical (the brand is only in the 6th spot year to date). #BMW, conversely, slipped back to the 12th spot, despite being 2nd in the year-to-date rankings. In both cases, these volume swings are likely more to do with irregular shipments of right–hand-drive units arriving in the UK than fundamental changes in demand. #Mercedes took the third spot in September, unchanged from its position in August. We don’t have enough resolution in UK BEV model sales data to definitively identify every newly launching model, but can identify a few. The most significant debuts in volume terms are the new #Polestar 3 and Polestar 4, which registered 93 units and 744 units in September, respectively. Polestar looks like it may have a big hit on its hands with the 4. These are remarkable launch volumes for a vehicle which starts from £59,995. Let’s see what the sustainable volume is going forwards. The new #Porsche Macan sold its first ~113 units into the UK in September, and will surely grow from here, with the UK market having outsized weighting for the Porsche brand (the Taycan sold 288 UK units in September). The #MG Cyberster Roadster made its first UK customer deliveries in September, with a healthy 70 units registered — very strong for a vehicle like this, in not-the-most-practical segment. The new MG is the only open-top BEV two-seat sports car on the market. 

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Automotive can be at the heart of UK growth from now into the next decade and, as SMMT analysis published last month suggests, British manufacturers can produce more than nine million zero emission light vehicles by 2035 - some 600,000 more than anticipated under current outlooks. The resulting job and wealth creation is growth which the UK economy craves. But that's only possible with the right economic and trading conditions,  and industrial competitiveness is the starting point. We welcome the new government's commitments to gigafactories, energy, planning, trade and skills, therefore, given these can confirm our country’s credentials as a world-leading advanced manufacturing location. More in this week's Update: https://lnkd.in/ezwcQgZU

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if you want to know what the #automotiveindustry will do to decarbonise in 5, 10, 15 years then see where the legislation is going GHG (CO2, fuel economy) regulations for passenger cars have been in many markets for many years, and are being progressively introduced for HGVs - you either pay fines or can't sell vehicles this is a chart i used from 5+ years ago, and new EU regulations for heavy duty vehicles have just been adopted on 14 May 2024 (https://lnkd.in/e8d-sFfk) that include some key updates: 1. new vehicle CO2 reduction average vs 2019 now set out (noting 2030 number has increased from drafted 30% to adopted 45%) a. 2025/2029 15% b. 2030/2034 45% c. 2035/2039 65% d. 2040+ 90% 2. repeated reference to the accelerated uptake of sustainable renewable fuels, and specific callouts for hydrogen 3. inclusion of hydrogen internal combustion engines as ‘zero emission’ 4. promotion of the retrofitting / repowering of vehicle fleets to accelerate decarbonisation at lower cost, and reduce embodied carbon 5. requirement for fleet operators to adopt zero emission vehicles, not just OEMs to make them #hydrogen #energytransition #sustainability

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This week's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Transport News Brief lead comment, UK commercial vehicle manufacturing in September bounceback Today, SMMT has published the UK’s latest commercial vehicle manufacturing figures with 14,643 units leaving production lines in September – year on year growth of more than a quarter (25.9%), driven by exports as more than six in 10 (63.3%) British-built CVs headed abroad. It’s great news which comes with fresh trade data analysis from SMMT, showing the automotive sector remains the UK’s largest exporter of manufactured products in the first half of 2024, thanks to high demand for British-built vehicles. Indeed, so far this year we have seen the biggest volume of CV production since 2008, driven by overseas demand. Also within the last seven days, government announced its latest green paper, Invest 2035: UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, aiming to deliver certainty and stability for business investment in high growth sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, where the commercial vehicle sector has a huge role to play. There continues to be big global investment in new CV models with electric and hydrogen vans, pickups, taxis, buses and trucks, and even more of these can be made in the UK, but we must ensure we grow UK competitiveness, to ensure we attract the investment on offer. I was also very pleased that bus manufacturing has been a recent focus for government, with the announcement of the new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. In addition to the UK’s eight minibus, bus and coach manufacturers, we have many businesses in the wider supply chain which provides thousands of jobs. A holistic plan can bring the growth to the bus sector which government wants, and which has long been needed. The UK already has the strength of being the biggest market in Europe for new zero emission bus registrations, which is crucial because vehicle manufacturers often prefer to locate near to their largest markets. We can’t rely on that alone though, so we need to increase manufacturing competitiveness here by supplying more affordable energy for our factories, by upskilling our country to become a futureproofed workforce, and by having strong trade relationships, such as with the EU where so many of our commercial vehicles are exported. Finally, SMMT has partnered with Autocar to launch a new event, Drivers of Change, which will celebrate the automotive sector as a place that welcomes everybody. People from across the industry can enter nine categories – including PR, marketing, manufacturing, operations, purchasing, retail, sales, and vehicle development – and the deadline for entries has been extended to Friday 1 November. So, get writing your submission now to be one of the winners announced at the awards celebration, being held at SMMT on 6 February next year. More info here: https://lnkd.in/erXmzPg4

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I've seen a lot of discussion about how the retail EV share of the new car market is better than the official SMMT figures suggest because consumers are using salary sacrifice schemes to buy EVs. However, if that was the case, I think you'd expect the fleet/business share of EV registrations to be even higher.

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This week’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Transport News Brief lead comment, Industrial strategy can reinforce UK’s CV production It’s been a significant week for the UK commercial vehicle industry. Production in particular has had mixed fortunes – while there was decline in October, volumes remain at a 16-year high in year to date, according to SMMT figures published today. The sector has posted a strong performance for some time now, so we’re right to feel a sense of pride in our sector and the contribution we make to the UK and economy and society, keeping businesses on the move. The industry also helps fly the flag for UK manufacturing as an export-led sector with three in five British-built commercial vehicles going to overseas markets in October. However, a -11.6% decline in shipments last month emphasises the importance of a strong domestic market for growth, vital to sustain the UK’s attractiveness as a location for manufacturing investment. Longer-term questions are being asked over this – as emphasised by the announcement of a consultation over closing Luton’s van factory, with zero emission model production moving to Ellesmere Port while ICE model output will go abroad. All vehicle makers prefer to build close to where they sell, so having workable market regulations in place is crucial, which is the announcement of a review of the zero-emission vehicle mandate is most welcome. SMMT has for some time engaged constructively with government to highlight how conditions have changed from when the regulation was first proposed, and how action is needed to ensure that we can still deliver on our ambition of rapid decarbonisation without deindustrialisation. Making manufacturing more attractive in the UK also means making our energy more affordable, strengthening our trading relationships and skilling up our workforce. Delivering these advantages won’t just benefit any one sector in the automotive industry, it raises all of us – something which was made clear at the inaugural meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Buses this week. The APPG, led by Alex Baker MP whose constituency has an R&D facility for one of the UK’s major bus manufacturers, will bring together industry and government to promote British bus manufacturing, the development of zero emission mobility and scaling up our wider supply chain which supports thousands of jobs across the UK. As SMMT’s Chief Executive Mike Hawes made clear at this week’s 107th SMMT Annual Dinner, attended by UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, a globally successful manufacturing base in 2024 and beyond cannot be achieved without an industrial strategy and cross-collaboration between industry and government. The launch of the APPG has been well timed with the Better Buses Bill expected to be brought before Parliament in the next few of months, but an industrial strategy cannot come soon enough.

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What if a car maker decides to rent, rather than sell, vehicles? How does the decision to radically change the #businessmodel come about? And how does it affect the #designprocess? I’m thrilled to share that my latest publication on #AutomotiveOEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) introducing Product Service Systems (#PSS) is finally out! 🎉 The paper, a result of the AAPS CDT - EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems MRes research project, explores how automotive OEMs have been integrating Product-Service Systems (PSS) over the past 20 years, challenging the traditional business model. In this qualitative study, we examined the #decisionmaking processes across six case studies, uncovering similar patterns that allowed us to identify key lessons learned and potential future implications, considering that many #autonomousvehicles may be #shared. Thanks to Elies Dekoninck for the supervision and guidance! The full article is available here (or I can send you the PDF 😅)

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Discussing cleaner options: Why scrap mechanically fit commercial vehicles if they can be repurposed as environmentally friendly EVs? #Commercialvehicles #retrofittingelectricmotors #repurposingoldCVs https://lnkd.in/d2-ab-T5

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🚘With availability of good used cars for dealers becoming increasingly more difficult and expensive to source. I would have thought that Stellantis would want to keep as much quality used car stock in their network and not wholesale to others… Obviously not. #usedcars #stellantis #carfinance #europe

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