WCA November 2017

From the Americas

But an instructive article by Sean Szymkowski in Green Car Reports indicates that falling sales of diesel vehicles in many European countries are somewhat offset by a boost for electric and plug-in hybrid cars across the continent. He noted in particular the latest data from Germany. For the month of August, sales there of battery-electric cars were up 137 per cent and sales of plug-in hybrids were up 214 per cent. Combined, the two varieties of “cars that plug in” are now approaching two per cent of new-car sales in Germany. The latest sales figures come from the USA news site Clean Technica , which shows a 1.88 per cent German market share for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars together. To be sure, the absolute numbers are still low. That 1.88 per cent represents 4,794 vehicles; whereas, in the USA, monthly sales this year have ranged from 11,000 to 18,500 units. But Mr Szymkowski pointed out that the market percentage for new electric and plug-in hybrid cars sold in the smaller German market has surged past that of the United States, where it is roughly one per cent. At the same time, new diesel car sales fell 13.8 per cent in the USA in August, while gasoline-powered vehicle sales rose 15 per cent. In a significant trend, several European countries have moved to ban the sale of new cars powered by fossil fuels. Norway and the Netherlands both plan to ban the sale of new cars powered by gasoline or diesel by 2025. France and the United Kingdom followed suit, although with longer timetables, announcing bans to take effect by 2040. Germany itself is considering a measure to ban the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines after 2030. But it retains a home-team advantage in the changed market. “Not shockingly,” wrote Mr Szymkowski, “German consumers sway heavily towards electric and plug-in cars built by German manufacturers.” He cited sales figures from Germany showing the Audi A3 e-tron to be the most popular electrified car sold in the country. In fact, of the 30 vehicles listed on the sales chart supplied by Clean Technica , 19 of the electrified cars hail from Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Smart, Volkswagen or BMW — German makes, all.  But France has an ace in the hole in the form of the Zoe. The five-door supermini electric car produced by the French manufacturer Renault is very popular in Germany, as it is across the entire continent. According to Green Car Reports , the Zoe with its 250-mile range regularly tops European electric car sales. Elsewhere in automotive…  Released on 12 th September, the results of a USA National Transportation Safety Board inquiry into a fatal car crash in Florida in May 2016 concluded that the Autopilot system on the Tesla Model S was lacking “system safeguards” to ensure its use only in appropriate circumstances.

Automotive With the arrival of South Korea’s Samsung, the intersection of connected cars and mobile networks becomes more crowded “It’s time to communicate our intent to enter the autonomous driving market. Samsung has been incubating this business for quite a while.” Young Sohn, president and chief strategy officer for Samsung Electronics Co, chose the occasion of the Frankfurt Motor Show to disclose the company’s plans to become a major player in autonomous driving. Samsung would announce that it had set up a business unit for autonomous and advanced driver assistance services (ADAS), together with a $300 million fund to invest in automotive start-ups and technology. Reporting from Frankfurt on the eve of the show, Eric Auchard of Reuters noted that the South Korean consumer electronics giant would thus be building on its recent $8 billion acquisition of audio and auto parts supplier Harman and its pole position in mobile communications markets. (“Samsung Enters Autonomous Driving Race With New Business, Funding,” 14 th September) The world’s biggest maker of semiconductors by revenue, Samsung leads markets in products as varied as phones and TVs, displays and memory chips. Mr Sohn told Reuters that these assets, and the inside track with car makers provided by its Harman subsidiary, give Samsung confidence to enter an increasingly crowded auto market with other top tech names. Chief among these are Samsung’s two biggest rivals, Intel and Qualcomm, both of the USA. Harman, best known for its consumer audio speakers, derives 65 per cent of sales from its automotive business, supplying navigation services, on-board entertainment systems and vehicle networks that put it at the intersection of connected cars and mobile networks.  Strategy Analytics automotive analyst Roger Lanctot told Reuters that Samsung is ideally placed to pull together consumer electronics, mobile devices and auto technology, but that entering the market will take time. While there is no coherent industry vision yet for what a connected car exactly means, Mr Lanctot said: “Creating openings for them, Harman and Samsung must move quickly in a market where vehicle design cycles can take anywhere from three to five years.” The Volkswagen diesel scandal continues to reverberate in Europe, but its effects are somewhat blunted in Germany Aftershocks from Volkswagen’s cheating on diesel- emissions tests continue to be felt in Europe, where diesel-powered cars had long enjoyed strong allegiance.

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2017