| | | | | | | | | | With TRW touch pad, drivers write commands to cut distraction
 TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. has introduced an infotainment touch pad that can be molded onto the surface of a vehicle's armrest, steering wheel or dashboard. The touch pad, similar to the finger pad on a laptop that controls the cursor, allows motorists to write numbers or letters with their fingers to issue instructions for the navigation system, radio, smartphone and other infotainment functions. ...
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| | North America car and truck production -- April and YTD
| | | April 2012# | April 2011 | April % change | 4 mos. 2012# | 4 mos. 2011 | 4 mos. % change | | AutoAlliance | 15,380 | 7,553 | 104% | 60,233 | 34,071 | 77% | | BMW Mfg. Corp. | 25,202 | 23,059 | 9% | 112,624 | 85,162 | 32% | | Chrysler Group | 205,168 | 161,824 | 27% | 847,844 | 649,613 | 31% | | Ford Motor Co. | 217,934 | 192,587 | 13% | 912,773 | 834,300 | 9% | | Ford incl. joint venture* | 226,982 | 198,477 | 14% | 946,986 | 855,797 | 11% | | General Motors | 263,825 | 268,410 | -2% | 1,177,200 | 1,054,521 | 12% | | Honda | 152,028 | 53,636 | 183% | 641,409 | 388,001 | 65% | | Hyundai-Kia Automotive | 50,496 | 48,750 | 4% | 231,107 | 200,110 | 16% | | Mercedes-Benz | 14,149 | 13,236 | 7% | 60,829 | 53,941 | 13% | | Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. | 2,313 | 3,019 | -23% | 8,741 | 14,930 | -42% | | Nissan | 119,168 | 55,940 | 113% | 492,802 | 354,899 | 39% | | Subaru | 22,575 | 13,936 | 62% | 106,810 | 81,979 | 30% | | Think | 0 | 63 | -100% | 0 | 216 | -100% | | Toyota | 145,180 | 72,293 | 101% | 616,413 | 417,349 | 48% | | Toyota incl. joint venture* | 152,847 | 77,329 | 98% | 652,508 | 446,281 | 46% | | Vehicle Product Group | 224 | 0 | | 1,034 | 0 | | | Volkswagen | 67,038 | 28,840 | 132% | 242,411 | 157,113 | 54% | | Other Truck | 33,776 | 28,925 | 17% | 140,291 | 105,342 | 33% | | Total North America car | 610,398 | 398,931 | 53% | 2,545,128 | 1,849,273 | 38% | | Total North America truck | 724,058 | 573,140 | 26% | 3,107,393 | 2,582,274 | 20% | | Total U.S. | 871,094 | 645,813 | 35% | 3,716,427 | 2,857,831 | 30% | | Total Canada | 212,728 | 160,232 | 33% | 895,652 | 749,029 | 20% | | Total Mexico | 250,634 | 166,026 | 51% | 1,040,442 | 824,687 | 26% | | TOTAL NORTH AMERICA | 1,334,456 | 972,071 | 37% | 5,652,521 | 4,431,547 | 28% | | TOTAL NA LIGHT VEHICLES | 1,300,680 | 943,146 | 38% | 5,512,230 | 4,326,205 | 27% | | | *Production are not included in grand totals | | #Automotive News estimate, April totals will be published on May 14. | | Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources | |
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|  | Suppliers to the 2013 Dodge Dart
The 2013 Dodge Dart is Chrysler Group's first vehicle on a Fiat platform. The car, due in showrooms in the second quarter, debuts with a 2.0-liter I4 and a 1.4-liter turbocharged I4. A high-mileage version delivers an estimated 41 mpg on the highway. This supplier data is compiled by SupplierBusiness. Click here to download our supplier list in PDF format
» Suppliers to the 2012 Chevrolet Impala
| JUST IN TIME |
Cooperation is best solution to material shortages
Increasingly, automakers are finding themselves in a Darwinian competition for raw materials with other industries.
Over the past couple of years, automakers and suppliers have been whipsawed by spot shortages caused in part by fluctuating demand in other industries.
A good example is nylon 12, which is used to make fuel and brake lines. A decade ago, demand for nylon 12 was modest. But the photovoltaic industry started using nylon 12 and the material's sales soared.
Although a factory explosion last month in Germany triggered the nylon 12 crisis, rising demand from other industries ate up spare supplies of the stuff.
"The real demand increases were nonautomotive," said J. Scot Sharland, executive director of the Automotive Industry Action Group. "I'm not sure how you can avoid that. And it's hard to figure out what the next disruption will be."
Suppliers can't afford to build huge warehouses to store raw materials and avoid shortages caused by floods, industrial accidents, earthquakes or whatever.
But automakers can make it easier for suppliers to switch to new raw materials. That's what happened last week, when AIAG's members standardized their validation procedures. With the changes, a part produced with a substitute material can be tested more quickly and approved for the assembly line.
Automakers are struggling to secure their share of the world's resources. Cooperation with suppliers may be the only route to salvation.
Published: May 8 12:01 am U.S. Eastern time
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Nylon snafu highlights need for many sources of raw material
 The auto industry has become acutely aware of the dangers of a supply chain in which one Tier 3 manufacturer might produce the bulk of a key raw material such as nylon 12, a material used to coat fuel lines and other components. Automakers and suppliers are working to line up multiple producers of key raw materials to avoid the kind of disruption caused by the March 31 explosion that wrecked ... story
| Q&A: AUTOLIV'S STEVE FREDIN
Small cars need smarter seat belts, airbags
 Airbags and seat belts -- mature products for suppliers -- are getting a fresh look from automakers that are trying to secure five-star crash ratings for small cars, says Steve Fredin, president of Autoliv Americas. For example, he says automakers are equipping small cars with knee bolsters and even "pre-pre-tensioners" for seat belts to compensate for the vehicles' smaller "crush zones." ... story
| Price dispute won't hinder supplies to Eberspaecher - for now
Eberspaecher North America's price dispute with a Tier 2 supplier won't affect its ability to receive parts, at least for now. A federal judge in Detroit has granted a preliminary injunction against Nelson Global Products Inc. that requires the company to continue providing exhaust system parts to Eberspaecher until their contract dispute gets resolved. ... story
| Supplier personnel
Personnel changes for Accuride Corp., Comprehensive Logistics Inc., Ricardo Inc. and Power Drives Inc. ... story
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Supply Line
JOB LISTINGS
| 
Top 10 vehicles
produced in North America,
April and YTD | | | April 2012* | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 61,965 | | 2 | Honda Civic | 41,074 | | 3 | Toyota Camry | 40,577 | | 4 | Honda Accord | 36,576 | | 5 | Chevrolet Silverado | 35,567 | | 6 | Dodge Ram | 35,139 | | 7 | Toyota Corolla | 32,700 | | 8 | Honda CR-V | 31,153 | | 9 | VW Jetta (6th gen.) | 30,562 | | 10 | Ford Fusion | 26,377 | | | | | | | | 4 mos. 2012* | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 273,210 | | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 187,786 | | 3 | Toyota Camry | 178,415 | | 4 | Honda Civic | 176,540 | | 5 | Honda Accord | 153,789 | | 6 | Dodge Ram | 149,848 | | 7 | Honda CR-V | 126,607 | | 8 | Toyota Corolla | 122,481 | | 9 | Nissan Altima | 120,896 | | 10 | VW Jetta (6th gen.) | 114,283 | | *Automotive News estimate, April totals will be published on May 14.
Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources
| » Click here to download our latest production table by nameplate (Data Center subscription required)
» Click here to download our latest production table by assembly plant (Data Center subscription required)
» Click here to view our library of production data (Data Center subscription required) |
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|  | | North America car and light-truck production by plant -- Top 10 plants for April and YTD | | | April 2012* | | | 4 mos. 2012* | | 1 | VW Puebla, Mexico (C) | 56,225 | | VW Puebla, Mexico (C) | 199,904 | | 2 | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C) | 45,149 | | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C) | 179,887 | | 3 | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C) | 40,879 | | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T) | 171,550 | | 4 | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T) | 40,134 | | Ford Kansas City, Mo. (T) | 161,927 | | 5 | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T) | 36,755 | | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T) | 152,301 | | 6 | Ford Kansas City, Mo. (T) | 36,427 | | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C) | 148,685 | | 7 | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (C/T) | 35,456 | | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (C/T) | 144,684 | | 8 | Chrysler Windsor, Ontario (T) | 32,257 | | GM Oshawa (Ontario) (C/T) | 136,096 | | 9 | GM Oshawa (Ontario) (C/T) | 31,849 | | Ford Dearborn (Mich.) Truck Assembly (T) | 130,133 | | 10 | Ford Dearborn (Mich.) Truck Assembly (T) | 29,854 | | Toyota Cambridge, Ontario | 125,650 | | NOTE: C=car plant; T=truck plant
*Automotive News estimate, April totals will be published on May 14.
Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources |
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