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GAC Group plans to release 15 new models in 2022
On March 31, GAC Group announced its new car plan for 2022, and the group plans to launch more than 15 new, replacement or mid-term modification models. At the same time, confirmed new products from multiple brands were also announced.
It can be seen that the autonomous sector of GAC Group will launch models including EMKOO mass production version, the new generation Trumpchi M8 and the Shadow Leopard hybrid version. Among them, the EMKOO mass production version has announced the official spy photo, the car is positioned as a new SUV, and will use a hybrid system.
In the joint venture brand part, GAC Honda's new electric brand, Ji Pan's first model, Ji Pan 1 (i.e: NP1 in the picture); GAC Toyota will usher in a new electric vehicle - bZ4X; GAC Mitsubishi will launch a new electric SUV - Artuco AIRTREK (already listed).
Guangqi Honda officially released a new electric brand
On the afternoon of March 29, Guangqi Honda officially released its new electric brand "e:NP", Chinese name "Extreme Turbulence", and announced its brand strategy. In the naming, "e" stands for "energize power" and "electric power", "N" stands for "New Brand New" and "Next Evolution", and "P" stands for "Prime Extreme". Guangqi Honda said that in order to provide users with new pleasure value in the electric era, Guangqi Honda has achieved a comprehensive leap in the four major areas of product research and development, production intelligence, sales channels and service models through vertical integration of all fields of the system.
The majority of car fans are already familiar with e: NP1 is the first model of the extreme turbulence, corresponding to the Chinese named "polar 1", which ushered in the official debut at this conference. In addition to several parameters previously released, the conference also mentioned that the electronic control of Ji pan 1 integrates more than 20,000 scene algorithms, and will be equipped with active sound waves, DMC driver state perception system, etc.
GM's first plant will be discontinued due to lack of cores
Recently, GM said that due to the continued shortage of semiconductor chips, its pickup truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will start to stop production on April 4 for two weeks. It is reported that the suspension of production will affect models such as Chevrolet Solod.
GM said: "There is still uncertainty and unpredictability in the semiconductor supply base at present, and we are actively working with suppliers to reduce potential problems in the future." The company also said that this is the first time since last August that its full-size pickup truck products have seen a discontinuation related to semiconductor supply.
Ansmann/Nordic Chemicals reached a cooperation
According to foreign media reports, Germany's Ansmann AG and Austrian material supplier Borealis have teamed up to develop a replaceable battery encapsulated in a polypropylene (PP) housing. This GreenPack hot-swappable battery can be deployed in electric fleets for car sharing and delivery services, as well as commercial transportation, and can also be used to power lawn mowers, snow blowers, and lawn mowers.
Toshiba launches a new type of lidar
A few days ago, according to overseas media reports, Toshiba released a new type of lidar. Compared to the company's last lidar launch in June 2021, the new lidar projection device is three-quarters smaller in size.
According to the data, the new lidar uses two new projector units, which are only 206 cubic centimeters in size and can be easily placed in the palm of the hand. Its ranging range is extended to 300 meters, and the image resolution is 1200×84 pixels. This lidar can be flexibly configured with a projector unit combination to handle a variety of remote and wide-angle detection applications. The lidar will drive Toshiba's development in key application areas such as autonomous driving and infrastructure monitoring, and further applications to explore collaborations in other areas such as robotics, drones, and small safety devices.
Cummins will build a new powertrain test building in the UK
Recently, Cummins announced that it will build a new powertrain test building at the Darlington campus in the United Kingdom, accelerating the development and application of a new generation of power technologies dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and making it cleaner. The first phase of the project, with an investment of £14 million, is expected to be operational in May 2023.
The new powertrain test system is compatible with multiple fuels and will enable Cummins to further develop and test a wider range of power technologies, including: the company's latest general-purpose engine platform that can use green hydrogen, renewable natural gas or renewable diesel. And, assembly and testing capabilities will also be extended to hydrogen fuel cells, as well as pure electric powertrains.
Tesla and Vale secretly signed a nickel supply agreement
A few days ago, according to foreign media reports, Tesla signed a secret agreement with Vale, one of the world's largest nickel producers, which will supply Tesla with the nickel metal needed for power battery production. Nickel is a key component of ternary lithium battery production, mainly used to improve the activity of lithium batteries to enhance the endurance performance of electric vehicles.
Over the past 12 months, the price of nickel has risen significantly. Especially after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, because Russia is one of the world's largest nickel producers, sanctions, blockades and production suspensions have led to sharp fluctuations in the price of nickel, which has intensified the concerns of electric vehicle companies about nickel supply and put a lot of pressure on the price of electric vehicles.
CATL plans to invest $5 billion to build a factory in the United States
CATL plans to invest $5 billion to build an 80GWh plant in North America, while Guoxuan, which has an order backlog of more than 200GWh in the U.S. auto industry, is considering building a factory in the United States. In addition, Envision AESC's U.S. battery plant is scheduled to start production in 2025 to supply Mercedes-Benz.
This means that competition in the U.S. market from South Korean and Chinese EV battery makers will be fiercer than ever. At present, several battery factories in South Korea dominate the market through cooperation with GM, Ford and Stellantis. They are trying to stay ahead of the curve by accelerating the development of next-generation batteries. For example, LG Energy Solutions is developing 4680 batteries while providing Tesla with cylindrical batteries and making joint investments with General Motors and Stellantis.
In addition, CATL recently announced that it will release Kirin battery pack batteries next month, which is characterized by moduleless and direct battery assembly in the battery pack, thereby reducing costs and improving energy density. For electric vehicle batteries, higher density means longer range and higher output. The energy density of NINGDE-era LFP batteries is lower than that of the South Korean manufacturer's high-nickel batteries, and the Chinese company aims to turn things around with its battery-to-battery pack technology.
NHTSA will review Pony Chi Heng
On the morning of March 30, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Tuesday that it would review whether Pony Zhixing complied with the government's reporting requirements for driverless traffic accidents. In this regard, Xiaoma Zhixing responded to Sina Technology, saying that the investigation is the follow-up to the slight collision with the road sign when the Xiaoma Zhixing unmanned vehicle was tested in Fremont, California, last year, and we will fully evaluate and cooperate with the process.
On October 28, 2021, a pony chi-hing unmanned test vehicle had a slight collision with a road sign in the middle of the road during testing in Fremont, California, USA, without injury or other vehicles. Immediately after the accident, Pony Zhixing suspended the unmanned test of autonomous driving in California and conducted a comprehensive review of the incident. Xiaoma Zhixing said that the company has always adhered to the principle of safety first and has always maintained a good safety record. So far, Xiaoma Zhixing has accumulated more than 10 million kilometers of autonomous driving road test mileage, and has not caused any injuries. Upon receipt of an NHTSA inquiry, we will fully evaluate and cooperate with the process.
Xiaopeng will launch XPILOT 4.0 next year
On March 28, at the performance meeting of Xiaopeng Automobile, Xiaopeng Automobile revealed that the company plans to officially launch XPILOT4.0 in 2023 to achieve intelligent assisted driving at high speed and in all scenarios in the city, at least 4 models support XPILOT4.0 in 2023, and will gradually unify the intelligent assisted driving hardware and software platform of Xiaopeng Motors' new models.
Xiaopeng Motors said that compared with other mass-produced intelligent driver assistance systems in the industry, XPILOT4.0 will have a more comprehensive use scenario and a wider geographical coverage under the premise of ensuring a high degree of safety.
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