Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

ST. PETERSBURG — Trumpeters dressed in white uniforms and long-legged drummer girls in blue jackets and cocked hats were playing marches Tuesday as Hyundai Motor launched its first Russian car assembly plant in St. Petersburg.

The company invested a total of $500 million in the facility, which will work in pilot mode until the end of this year and start commercial production in January.

The new China-based owners of Volvo plan to build as many as three assembly plants in that country to make the Swedish brand's vehicles—an ambitious gamble that the company can almost double sales globally by dramatically raising them in China.

Michigan's march toward a robust advanced battery industry continued this morning, as Massachusetts-based A123 Systems announced the grand opening of its new 291,000 square-foot facility in Livonia.

The company already has hired 300 workers for the lithium ion automotive battery production facility, which is believed to be the largest of its type in North America, and is expected to add several thousand jobs in coming years as it opens a second facility in Romulus.

GM's Indianapolis metal-stamping plant employees are looking in their mail boxes for the latest word on a proposed contract from JD Norman Industries.

The Illinois-based manufacturer wants to acquire the massive plant from General Motors before its scheduled closure in September 2011. The most valuable part of the deal would be the large, expensive equipment inside the plant and its skilled workforce. But United Auto Workers Union Local 23, which represents the 750 or so employees at the plant, has declined to negotiate with JD Norman.

Ford Motor Co has confirmed it will launch eight new vehicles in India by the middle of the decade as it plans to become a major player in one of the automotive world’s fastest growing markets.

 There are reports that Ford will not be building its compact Kuga SUV at the Louisville Assembly Plant.

Despite that report in the Bloomberg News, Ford officials say the renovations at the plant will continue.

Toyota has begun construction of a new assembly plant in Brazil, its third in that country. The company’s first Brazilian plant, established in 1958, was its first manufacturing facility located outside of Japan.

ALTONA will become the epicentre of Toyota’s plans to become the dominant player in manufacturing fuel-efficient engines.

Toyota announced on Friday the Grieve Pde plant would make more than 100,000 engines a year for its Camry and Hybrid Camry cars, starting late 2012.

Output in the nation's factories rose a strong 1% in July led by a fast pace of auto production, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

Capacity utilization rose to 74.8% in July from 74.1% in the previous month.

While many local businesses are losing market share and profit during the downturn, a local subcontractor is actually growing stronger. Anpec Industries is a machining subcontractor for the construction and automotive sectors. Much of its business is making parts for Honda ATVs and motorcycles.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today said it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in beleaguered South Korean vehicle maker SsangYong Motor Company.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said that it has "signed a memorandum of understanding with SsangYong Motor to acquire a majority stake in the South Korean SUV maker."

Mazda Motor Corporation and Ford Motor Company's joint venture, AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co. Ltd. (AAT), will invest US$350 million in its pickup truck plant to support the production of Mazda and Ford's next generation pickup trucks. The investment will enable production of the new compact pickups to commence in mid-2011.

The Indian auto component industry expects to grow by over four-fold to $113 billion by 2020 as there have been projections of a similar jump in car manufacturing in the country in the next decade, said Automotive Component Manufacturers’ Association.

If you thought it was high time someone produced an electric vehicle (EV) using that most versatile and environmentally friendly of fibers, hemp, then you can breathe a sigh of relief. Motive Industries Inc. has announced the development of Canada’s first electric vehicle whose body is made from an impact resistant bio-composite material that is made from hemp mats. If it remembers to turn up, the four-passenger car, called the Kestrel, will make its debut during the EV 2010 VÉ Conference and Trade Show in Vancouver in September.

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