Automotive News – September 2024
Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Luxury car marque, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), is investing £500m into its Halewood manufacturing site in Knowsley to create a ‘factory of the future’.
It will transform the plant, which employs around 4,000 staff, to support the parallel production of electric vehicles, alongside existing combustion and hybrid models.
Originally built in 1963 to produce the Ford Anglia, Halewood is being transformed for the electric era. With £250m already invested, the transformation so far has involved more than one million hours of construction work over the last 12 months.
The site has been extended by 32,364 sq. m to produce JLR’s medium‑sized electric luxury SUVs on the new Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform.
The historic plant has been fitted with technology including new EV build lines, 750 autonomous robots, ADAS calibration rigs, laser alignment technology for perfect part fitment and the latest cloud-based digital plant management systems to oversee production, creating the ‘factory of the future’.
This investment is part of JLR’s commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which will see the Indian-owned group electrify all its brands by 2030, with the aim of achieving carbon net zero across its supply chain, products, and operations by 2039.
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Car production falls as factories continue model transition.
- August car production falls -8.4% in ongoing trend primarily due to model switchovers.
- Output reaches 41,271 units during traditionally quiet ‘summer shutdown’ month.
- Production for UK drops by -19.8% as exports decline by more modest -5.9%.
- https://www.smmt.co.uk/2024/09/car-production-falls-as-factories-continue-model-transition/
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Commercial vehicle production at 14-year high despite August decline.
- CV manufacturing falls -10.0% in August, but up still 8.8% on pre-pandemic 2019 figures.
- Output for export declines by marginal -0.2%, while domestic demand drops by -21.3%.
- In first eight months, production grows by 5.8% to 78,805 units marking best year-to-date performance since 2010.
- https://www.smmt.co.uk/2024/09/uk-commercial-vehicle-production-falls-in-august/
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Van market ends summer with a return to growth.
- New light commercial vehicle registrations grow 1.7% in August to 16,575 units in best performance for the month since 2021.
- Demand continues across all van segments, while 4x4s and pick-ups record declines.
- EV uptake declines for fifth month this year, dropping -30.3% and highlighting need to bolster confidence, maintain fiscal support and roll out van-suitable charging.
- https://www.smmt.co.uk/2024/09/van-market-ends-summer-with-a-return-to-growth/
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August new car market holds steady ahead of critical plate change month.
- New car market stable in traditionally quiet month of August, dipping -1.3% to 84,575 units.
- Battery electric car demand up 10.8% in month as buyers respond to summer of heavy discounting.
- Sector calls for renewed focus on measures to help more buyers to go electric as crucial plate change month begins.
- https://www.smmt.co.uk/2024/09/august-new-car-market-holds-steady-ahead-of-critical-plate-change-month/
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The UK’s first public electric heavy goods vehicle (EHGV) charging stations will open on Able Humber Port (AHP), Immingham, this year.
The new EHGV charging hub will drive the decarbonisation of future transport and logistics across AHP, and the South Humber ports as new electric powered HGVs replace existing diesel fleets.
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Car company Volvo has abandoned its target to produce only fully electric cars by 2030, saying it now expects to be selling some hybrid vehicles by that date.
The carmaker blamed changing market conditions for its decision to give up a target it had announced only three years ago.
It comes as the industry faces a slowdown in demand in some major markets for electric vehicles (EVs) and uncertainty due to the imposition of trade tariffs on EVs made in China.
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Chinese car giant Chery is weighing up the possibility of building cars in the UK, according to a senior executive. Its UK head Victor Zhang told the BBC it was a “matter of time” before the company made a final decision.
He said Chery, which is already preparing to build cars in Spain, was determined to take a “localised” approach to the European market. Mr Zhang denied the company’s exports had benefitted from unfair subsidies.
Chery, which was set up in 1997, is one of China’s largest car companies. It is already the country’s biggest exporter of vehicles but has ambitious plans to expand further.
