1, investment of 11 billion yuan Midea's new energy auto parts strategic base laid the foundation and started construction
On February 16, 2022, the signing and groundbreaking ceremony of the new base for new energy auto parts of Anqing Welling Auto Parts Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Anqing Welling), a subsidiary of Midea Industrial Technology, was held in Anqing City, Anhui Province. Anqing Welling is a new strategic base that Midea Group has invested in and established again after investing in the establishment of Anhui Welling Auto Parts Co., Ltd., which means that Midea's industrial technology has landed in another major strategic layout in the field of auto parts.
The signing and groundbreaking ceremony of the new strategic base for new energy auto parts of Anqing Welling Auto Parts Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Anqing Welling), a subsidiary of Midea Industrial Technology, was held in Anqing City, Anhui Province
As an important strategic project of Midea Group, the total investment of the new energy automobile parts strategic new base project is about 11 billion yuan, of which the investment in fixed assets is about 6.5 billion yuan. The first phase of the project is planned to use 458 acres of land, which is located in the Yuanmeng New District of Anqing City. The project focuses on breaking through the "four basics" bottlenecks such as core basic components, and aims to build an internationally competitive advanced manufacturing and modern service industry base, mainly producing power steering motors, new energy vehicle electric compressors, new energy vehicle drive motors and other categories of products, and creating three major system research and development centers and national laboratories for thermal management, main drive, auxiliary/intelligent driving. After the completion of the project, it can form an annual output capacity of 60 million sets and achieve an annual output value of 40 billion yuan.
Fu Yongjun, vice president of Midea Group and president of Midea Industrial Technology, mentioned in his speech at the signing ceremony: "Midea's new energy auto parts base is one of the largest projects in the history of Midea Group. It is hoped that the new base will become a new 'business card' in Anqing and provide strong support for building the 'third pole' of Anhui's automobile industry." ”
Under the guidance of the dual carbon target, low-carbon development has become the core issue of the entire automotive industry, and new energy vehicles are the main force to accelerate "decarbonization". In this context, in 2021, the domestic new energy vehicle market will enter an explosive growth stage, and the trend of automobile electrification will also bring subversive changes to the automobile industry. In 2022, domestic new energy vehicle sales are still expected to exceed 5 million units, and it is expected to expand to 30 million units by 2030.
Welling auto parts products mainly focus on the core components of new energy vehicles, including the cutting-edge technology CO2 rotor type automotive electric compressor that can solve the pain points of low-temperature heating in the industry, the AUXILIARY/automatic driving EPS motor independently developed in China, and the main drive motor with various performance at the cutting-edge technology level. At present, the existing three major product lines and five products have basically been tested on the car and mass-produced, and have brought high-quality products and technical solutions support to many world-renowned car companies and new forces. Midea's industrial technology will form a strategic layout of the world's six major R&D centers and two major production bases in the field of new energy auto parts. In the next ten years, Midea Group will invest $1 billion in technical research and strive to become a supplier of system-level solutions for new energy vehicles. (Source : Midea Group)
2, go abroad, The first stop of Lantu out to sea, Norway!
On February 17, Landu Automobile announced its official entry into the European market, making its first stop in Norway.
In June this year, Lando FREE will officially debut in Norway, the first Landu overseas flagship store is located in the Norwegian capital, Oslo city center Oslo Grand Palace business district, more surprise is the fourth quarter of this year, that is, for Norwegian users to achieve delivery. (Source: Lantu official website)
3, Stellantis will close some of its non-production sectors in Paris
According to foreign media reports, a Stellantis spokesperson revealed that the company is seeking to restructure some of its non-production units located near Paris, and the departments to be restructured are mainly concentrated in the fields of administration and research.
(Image source: Stellantis)
The spokesperson said Stellantis' move is aimed at reducing operating costs and allowing the company to accommodate employees working from home. The company plans to reduce the number of workplaces in the area from 5 to 3, and its offices in Satory and Trappes may be closed. Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment on details of plans to close some of its office space.
Prior to merging with FCA to form the Stellantis Group, PSA had taken similar steps in recent years to cut operating costs as much as possible. In 2017, PSA left its long-standing headquarters near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and moved to the outskirts of Rueil-Malmaison. Subsequently, the PSA further decentralized its management authority in 2020, transferring some of the functions responsible for management and support to the Velizy technical center in western Paris and some other functions to the Poissy factory building, also in western Paris. Even before the pandemic began, PSA had proactively allowed employees to work remotely and had its administrative staff work in co-working locations.
In addition to Stellantis, the Renault Group is also gradually moving out of Paris. As part of its cost-cutting plans, Renault will move away from its headquarters in Boulogne-Billiancourt. (Source: Gestapo Nebula)
4, Former Ceo of Porsche China as head of sales for Audi Europe
According to foreign media reports, Audi has appointed former Porsche China CEO Jens Puttfarcken as the company's head of European sales.
Jens Puttfarcken (Image: Audi)
Puttfarcken will succeed Martin Sander, who has left Audi and joinEd Ford Europe as head of the passenger car division. Audi announced in a statement that Puttfarcken will arrive on June 1 to take up his new duties. Both Audi and Porsche are brands of the Volkswagen Group.
Hilegard Wortmann, member of audi's management committee responsible for sales and marketing, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Jens Puttfarcken, a sales specialist with international market experience, to Audi. I am confident that with his expertise and international thinking, he will succeed in shaping the future of the European sales area, which is crucial to Audi's success." I very much look forward to working closely with him. ”
Prior to being CEO of Porsche China, Puttfarcken managed Porsche's market in Germany from 2015 to 2018. He also held customer relationship management and after-sales roles at Porsche.
China is Porsche's largest market, and in addition to helping the brand expand into the Chinese market, Puttfarcken is also involved in Porsche Ventures' investment in Wanxiang Technology, a Chinese start-up specializing in "virtual idol incubation" and digital ecosystems.
In a statement issued on January 11, Audi said that last year, Europe became the brand's second-largest market in the world, with sales reaching 671,048 units, down 0.4% year-on-year; China is Audi's largest market in the world, with sales of 701,289 units in 2021, down 3.6% year-on-year. (Source: Gestapo Nebula)
5, South Korea is considering punishing Tesla for exaggerating the continuation of the voyage
According to foreign media reports, a South Korean government official said on February 16 that the country's antitrust regulator is considering imposing penalties on U.S. electric car maker Tesla after finding that the company exaggerated the specifications of the vehicle's batteries.
(Image source: Tesla)
The official revealed that the South Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has issued a report to Tesla that it exaggerated the mileage of some models, including the Model 3, in violation of the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act. A KFTC official said: "We plan to hold a meeting to review and determine the severity of the company's illegal acts and determine the severity of the sanctions." "Because of the sensitivity of the matter, the official did not want to reveal his identity.
Tesla claims on its official website that its Model 3 has a range of up to 528 kilometers on a single charge, but the KFTC said that if the temperature drops below freezing, the actual mileage of the vehicle may be much lower than this figure. Analysts say most electric vehicles experience shrinking range in cold weather conditions. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition, Tesla can also face another penalty from KTFC because the company did not refund the deposit to customers who canceled online orders before the vehicle was delivered. When South Korean consumers order Tesla cars online, they need to pay a deposit of 100,000 won (about $84), but when they cancel the order, Tesla does not refund the deposit. (Source: Gestapo Nebula)
6, India requires Tesla to buy $500 million in Indian-made parts or consider cutting import taxes
According to foreign media reports, a person familiar with the matter revealed that if Tesla wants India to consider reducing car import taxes, the company needs to commit to purchasing at least $500 million of auto parts from India.
While that starting point may be low, Tesla needs to agree to increase parts in India by around 10 to 15 percent a year until it reaches a satisfactory level, people familiar with the matter said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has formally asked Tesla to increase its procurement efforts in India, but has not yet conveyed the procurement target to the company. In August, Tesla said it had purchased about $100 million worth of parts from India.
The Indian government has said it very much wants Tesla to produce cars in India, but the country also seems to want to take advantage of Tesla's interest in the Indian market in an attempt to benefit the country's emerging electric vehicle industry. Tesla said it wants to test the waters by selling imported cars in India first, and to achieve that goal, India needs to reduce the import tax on electric vehicles that would have been as high as 100%. India is still a value-conscious, low-cost gasoline-powered market, with electric vehicles accounting for only 1% of the country's total car sales, and clean transportation is still a new industry for India.
In order to advance the tax cuts, Tesla must submit to the government a parts purchase plan proportional to its auto sales forecast in India, the person said. If Tesla plans to import cars from China to India, it will also have to export Indian-made parts to China.
Tesla and a representative of India's Ministry of Road Transport did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that India's import taxes are among the highest in the world and that clean energy vehicles and high-fuel-hungry vehicles are treated equally, which is inconsistent with the country's goal of carbon neutrality. India's minister of road transport, Nitin Gadkari, revealed that last year, India asked Tesla to avoid selling cars produced at the Shanghai plant in China.
In early February, India rejected Tesla's request to reduce import taxes on electric vehicles, saying it had offered lower tariffs on imported cars that had been partially assembled and would need to be assembled locally. India's electric vehicle import tax can reach up to 100%, while some assembled imported cars only need to pay import duties of 15% to 30%.
At a time when Tesla's negotiations with India's federal government are at an impasse, other Indian states are making overtures to Tesla, pledging to simplify the approval process. At least 5 states are working to attract Tesla to build a factory. (Source: Gesta motors Tan Xuan)
7, car companies called on the British government to set up a new regulator to promote the construction of charging infrastructure
According to foreign media reports, a number of car manufacturers have called on the British government to set up an independent regulatory body to supervise the construction of the country's electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and car companies are worried that the insufficient number of charging stations may lead to consumers' reluctance to buy electric vehicles.
(Image source: Mini)
The Uk's Association of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said on Feb. 16 that the new regulator should be responsible for setting standards and monitoring price levels. In addition, the agency should set legally binding targets to ensure that enough public charging piles are built across the country.
The UK government has decided to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine cars from 2030, and car companies including Stellantis, Bentley and Aston Martin have unveiled their electrification plans.
SMMT said ev penetration in the UK more than tripled between 2019 and 2021, but the number of charging piles increased by only 70%. The agency expects the pressure on charging infrastructure to rise in the coming years as more people switch gasoline and diesel vehicles to electric models.
SMMT CHIEF Mike Hawes said in a statement: "By clear, equivalent objectives, as well as supporting operators and local governments to align them with consumer needs, the government can give the UK a robust charging network that makes driving electric vehicles a reality for all." (Source: Gestapo Nebula)