| | | | | | | | | | Automakers snap up aluminum; body-in-white coming to N.A.
 Automakers are expected to triple North American use of aluminum sheet by 2015, a surge that could lead to spot shortages. Automakers have made wide use of aluminum wheels, engine blocks, heat exchangers and suspension components to save weight. Now they are using more aluminum sheet for hoods, liftgates, fenders and doors. To meet demand, two major aluminum producers are adding production capacity. ...
 story | |  | |
| | North America car and truck production -- May and YTD
| | | May 2012 | May 2011 | May % change | 5 mos. 2012 | 5 mos. 2011 | 5 mos. % change | | AutoAlliance | 15,064 | 10,982 | 37% | 69,794 | 45,053 | 55% | | BMW Mfg. Corp. | 27,205 | 24,087 | 13% | 134,058 | 109,249 | 23% | | Chrysler Group | 222,359 | 178,465 | 25% | 1,017,721 | 828,078 | 23% | | Ford Motor Co. | 231,821 | 240,727 | -4% | 1,111,518 | 1,075,027 | 3% | | Ford incl. joint venture* | 243,223 | 249,842 | -3% | 1,155,880 | 1,105,639 | 5% | | General Motors | 285,807 | 284,775 | 0% | 1,411,109 | 1,339,296 | 5% | | Honda** | 153,467 | 59,752 | 157% | 750,776 | 447,753 | 68% | | Hyundai-Kia Automotive | 64,842 | 52,764 | 23% | 295,556 | 252,874 | 17% | | Mercedes-Benz** | 16,857 | 14,018 | 20% | 75,651 | 67,959 | 11% | | Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. | 2,187 | 2,555 | -14% | 10,396 | 17,485 | -41% | | Nissan | 105,265 | 103,780 | 1% | 550,951 | 458,679 | 20% | | Subaru** | 24,681 | 14,007 | 76% | 127,219 | 95,986 | 33% | | Toyota** | 158,215 | 31,298 | 406% | 746,343 | 448,647 | 66% | | Toyota incl. joint venture* | 167,480 | 33,593 | 399% | 790,209 | 479,874 | 65% | | Vehicle Product Group | 227 | 0 | - | 1,248 | 0 | - | | Volkswagen | 46,465 | 41,360 | 12% | 269,762 | 198,473 | 36% | | Other truck** | 36,131 | 31,840 | 14% | 176,253 | 137,182 | 29% | | Total North America Car | 620,154 | 474,105 | 31% | 3,011,452 | 2,323,378 | 30% | | Total North America Truck | 770,439 | 616,394 | 25% | 3,736,903 | 3,198,668 | 17% | | Total U.S. | 936,668 | 700,218 | 34% | 4,485,580 | 3,558,049 | 26% | | Total Canada | 228,586 | 159,913 | 43% | 1,080,557 | 908,942 | 19% | | Total Mexico | 225,339 | 230,368 | -2% | 1,182,218 | 1,055,055 | 12% | | Total North America | 1,390,593 | 1,090,499 | 28% | 6,748,355 | 5,522,046 | 22% | | Total N.A. Light Vehicles | 1,354,462 | 1,058,659 | 28% | 6,572,102 | 5,384,864 | 22% | | | *Production numbers are not included in grand totals | | **Automotive News estimates | | Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources | |
|
|  | Suppliers to the 2013 Infiniti JX
The base engine of Infiniti's new luxury crossover is a 265-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 combined with a continuously variable transmission. It has three rows of seats. Assembled in Smyrna, Tenn. This supplier data is compiled by SupplierBusiness. Click here to download our supplier list in PDF format
» Suppliers to the 2012 Toyota Corolla
| JUST IN TIME |
Supplier seeks solution to dated computer chips
For automakers, one of the biggest headaches posed by infotainment systems is instant obsolescence.
The auto industry, with its stately three- to five-year product cycles, simply can't keep up with the shootout-at-the-O.K.-Corral product cycles of smartphone makers. New applications produced for smartphones often aren't compatible with the dated software and hardware found in autos.
But this is starting to change. Early this year, Nvidia Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., introduced Tegra 3, a processor that combines the graphics processing unit, central processing unit and memory required for an infotainment system.
The other day, Nvidia Marketing Director Daniel Shapiro told me how the company's Tegra 3 would support 3-D graphics for navigation maps.
Which is fine, but the real show-stopper is this: Nvidia calls Tegra 3 "a system on a chip" because automakers can easily swap it out for an updated version.
That allows automakers to upgrade their hardware roughly a year after new technology appears in smartphones. That will reduce -- but not eliminate -- the lag time between a new smartphone feature and its adoption for automotive infotainment.
The Tegra 3 will appear first in the Tesla Model S, then in the Audi A3 and the Volkswagen Golf late this year or early next year.
Perhaps motorists won't grow old and die waiting for the latest whiz-bang features found on an Android or iPhone.
Published: Jun 12 12:01 am U.S. Eastern time
|
|
Rail-car shortage hampers shipments of cars, trucks from assembly plants
 North American automakers are struggling with a shortage of rail cars used to transport cars and light trucks from assembly plants to dealerships. ... story
| Renesas losses will force it to restructure
Company remains world's top automotive chip supplier
Despite the loss of its biggest factory after last year's tragic earthquake, Renesas Electronics Corp. managed to retain its status as the world's largest producer of automotive semiconductors. Still, the company had a net loss of 63 billion yen, or about $630.5 million, in the fiscal year that ended March 31. Reuters reports that Renesas plans to raise nearly $1.3 billion in capital and ... story
| How pickups could lose 800 pounds with aluminum
OK, so automakers are designing sedans that can get 35, 40 or even 50 mpg. But what about full-sized pickups? With the judicious use of aluminum and magnesium, it appears that automakers can reduce a pickup's weight by about 800 pounds without degrading performance. ... story
| 'Car trains' show possibilities for collision-avoidance technology
Commercial prospects for "driverless" cars got a boost last month when four vehicles on autopilot successfully trailed a lead car on a 124-mile route near Barcelona, Spain. The test run -- dubbed Project Sartre -- involved three Volvos and a semitrailer that maintained a 20-foot distance between each other at 53 mph. Ricardo PLC, which organized the test with six other companies, used off-the- ... story
| Supplier personnel
Nexteer Automotive President and CEO Bob Remenar, 56, stepped down to become chief executive of Diversified Machine Inc., an aluminum castings supplier in suburban Detroit. Effective immediately, Nexteer COO Laurent Bresson, 40, becomes president and Chairman Guibin Zhao, 48, adds the CEO title. ... story
|
Supply Line
JOB LISTINGS
| 
Top 10 vehicles
produced in North America,
May and YTD | | | May 2012 | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 70,425 | | 2 | Toyota Camry* | 45,922 | | 3 | Dodge Ram | 37,986 | | 4 | Chevrolet Silverado | 37,782 | | 5 | Toyota Corolla* | 35,255 | | 6 | Honda Civic* | 34,818 | | 7 | Honda Accord* | 34,259 | | 8 | Honda CR-V* | 29,828 | | 9 | Ford Fusion (Mex.) | 28,732 | | 10 | Ford Focus | 28,064 | | | | | | | | 5 mos. 2012 | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 332,820 | | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 220,070 | | 3 | Toyota Camry* | 216,366 | | 4 | Honda Civic* | 194,004 | | 5 | Dodge Ram | 177,446 | | 6 | Honda Accord* | 175,497 | | 7 | Toyota Corolla* | 151,248 | | 8 | Honda CR-V* | 146,328 | | 9 | Nissan Altima | 141,545 | | 10 | Chevrolet Cruze | 127,224 | | *Automotive News estimates
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) |
|
|  | | North America car and light-truck production by plant -- Top 10 plants for May and YTD | | | May 2012 | | | 5 mos. 2012 | | 1 | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C)* | 45,325 | | VW Puebla, Mexico (C) | 217,721 | | 2 | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T)* | 38,292 | | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C)* | 217,087 | | 3 | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T)* | 38,101 | | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T)* | 196,709 | | 4 | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (T) | 36,229 | | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T)* | 181,460 | | 5 | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C) | 35,800 | | Ford Kansas City, Mo. (T) | 174,288 | | 6 | VW Puebla, Mexico (C) | 34,854 | | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (C/T) | 172,577 | | 7 | Chrysler Windsor, Ontario (T) | 34,336 | | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C) | 167,943 | | 8 | GM Oshawa (Ontario) (C/T) | 34,241 | | GM Oshawa (Ontario) (C/T) | 164,679 | | 9 | Kia West Point, Ga. (C/T) | 34,142 | | Ford Dearborn (Mich.) Truck Assembly (T) | 158,238 | | 10 | Ford Dearborn (Mich.) Truck Assembly (T) | 33,423 | | Toyota Cambridge, Ontario (C/T)* | 151,297 | | NOTE: C=car plant; T=truck plant
*Automotive News estimates
Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources |
|
To view other breaking news stories throughout the day, visit autonews.com To unsubscribe from this email newsletter, please click here. Automotive News is located at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 48207
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment