Need to know: Engineering
Jaguar Land Rover is to create 800 jobs at its factory in Solihull.
The Times, 14th January 2013, p.34.
UK: 2012 new car market tops 2M and hits four-year high
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders shows that the UK new car market rose 5.3% in 2012 to over 2M units, the best result since recession began in 2008. The positive result contrasts with declines in other major European national car markets. The gain in 2012 was centred on the private retail side of the car market, which was up 12.9% in the year. The 2012 outturn was 1.6% ahead of SMMT’s 2.013M unit forecast, as set in October 2012 and 6.5% above the forecast set at the start of 2012. Despite growing, the 2012 new car market was still 14.9% or some 360,000 units below the 2007 market outturn. However, the SMMT believes that the 2013 market is set to be 'challenging' and anticipates a performance on-par with 2012.
www.just-auto.com, issue 656, 7 Jan. 2013.
US: strong December pushes 2012 light vehicle sales to 14.5m
Reports that US light vehicle sales remained strong in December, pushing total deliveries for the year to 14,492,398, close to the upper end of most predictions. Sales for the month totaled nearly 1.36M, which yields a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.37M, not quite as strong as November’s 15.54M, but still one of the highest readings in five years. In the premium segment Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche all set new annual benchmarks. Subaru, Hyundai and Kia did the same among the mainstream brands. Japanese automakers increased their sales and market share, but, as a group, the British, German and Swedish automakers took more market share than the Japanese.
www.just-auto.com, issue 656, 7 Jan. 2013.
ITALY: car market down 20% in 2012
Data from the Italian automotive trade association ANFIA shows that the Italian car market slumped by 19.9% to 1,402,089 units in 2012, the lowest total since 1979. In December sales were down 22.5% year-on-year at 86,735 units. Market leader Fiat-Chrysler Group sales declined in line with the overall market contraction last year, with sales of 415,281 units, down 19.5% on 2012 (and within that, Fiat brand totalled 294,778 units, down 18.9%). Most import brands lost volume in 2012, but there were gains for a few - including Kia (27,403 units, +39%), Land Rover (12,540 units, +38%) and Dacia (26,034 units, +0.5%). Lists the top ten selling models for 2012.
www.just-auto.com, issue 656, 7 Jan. 2013.
Electric Vehicle Encyclopedia
Details a new publication from IDTechEx on the present and future of electric vehicles and their components. There are over 100 tables and illustrations, including many block diagrams and cross sections and there is also substantial explanatory text. The encyclopedia is largely based on information from the latest IDTechEx events and reports on the subject and other expert sources, It explains over 200 acronyms and terms, from AUV to AELDC and KERS to lithium sulphur.
www.just-auto.com, issue 656, 7 Jan. 2013.
Range Extenders for Electric Vehicles 2012-2022
Details a new report from IDTechEx which deals with range extenders for sectors such as automobiles, buses, military vehicles and boats. It profiles all key developers, manufacturers and integrators of range extenders and gives ten year forecasts of the different types of electric vehicle and of range extenders by number, unit value and market value. It also analyses market drivers and the changing requirements for power output.
www.just-auto.com, issue 656, 7 Jan. 2013.
JAPAN: Global market set for growth - Ghosn
Nissan president Carlos Ghosn has predicted that in 2013 the global car market will grow by between 3-4% to a record 82M vehicles. His view is similar to that of an aggregate of forecasts compiled by the Financial Times which predicts that 82.4M cars and light vehicles will be built this year, up from 80.6M in 2012. This growth will come largely from a 5% rise in production in North America and a 10.1% increase in China. Ghosn said he expected growth in the US, China, India, Russia, the Middle East and southeast Asia but Europe would shrink by 3%. The FT also suggested the European market will fall by a similar amount this year following a 6.2% decline in 2012. Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who is chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, has also said that he expects modest growth in global auto sales in 2013, buoyed by demands in emerging markets as well as replacements in developed nations.
www.just-auto.com, issue 656, 7 Jan. 2013.
Optimizing materials selection in automotive and aerospace structures
Discusses the future of composites in the automotive and aerospace industries. Says that, although cost is an issue at present, emerging technologies will see falls. With more competitive pricing, the total carbon fibre reinforced polymer marker will reach $36bn by 2020, with aerospace at $14.4bn and the automotive sector at $2.7bn. Notes, however, that there are developments in advanced metals which will still have a place in both sectors. In aerospace, predicts that carbon fibre and titanium will be increasingly used in ribs, stringers and bulkheads. For the automotive sector predicts that carbon fibre will take some of aluminium's share in powertrain parts that don't need high thermal stability.
High Performance Composites, Jan. 2013. pp.7-8. http://tinyurl.com/5tvnf5v
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| AWS D15.2/D15.2M:2013 |
Recommended practices for the welding of rails and related rail components for use by rail vehicles
Welding Journal, vol.92, no.1. Jan.2013. p.76. |
