Automotive challenges and opportunities

Issue #75, Apr 18, 2021

The automotive industry continues to face challenges. But some of these turn into opportunities for improvement. The chip shortage is expected to continue well into the second half of 2022, according to industry exports. There is now a shortage of rubber. European car makers have proposed additional tax on fuel to promote EV adoption. U.S.A. and China are investing heavily in infrastructure to increase the adoption of electric vehicles. The RFID based FASTag had its challenges of adoption and India is looking at a GPS based toll booth collection. Here are some challenges and within them opportunities for improvement in the auto industry.

The rubber shortage

Automakers struggling with pandemic-induced plant shutdowns and a global chip shortage are now confronting another supply chain headache: dwindling rubber supplies. Snarled shipping lines are disrupting the movement of natural rubber, a key material used in tires as well as components under the hood. With the global supply already running short following stockpiling by China and a devastating leaf disease, rubber prices are on the rise and some U.S. auto suppliers are rushing to secure shipments before the market gets squeezed further. - Bloomberg

The infrastructure challenge for EVs

Despite all the optimism, there’s still a multi-trillion dollar barrier facing electric vehicles. It isn’t just the hefty cost of batteries, but also investing in charging networks and power infrastructure. Without the latter two, there isn’t much of a green future. Several countries have announced fiscal stimulus plans focused on decarbonization. But few are targeting infrastructure — the backbone of electric-vehicle adoption — in a meaningful way. - Bloomberg

Tax on fuels for EV adoption

Auto makers in Europe eager to boost sales of their electric vehicles have a new strategy: demanding higher taxes on conventional vehicles that burn gas and diesel fuel. The top executives at several car and truck makers are calling on European governments to introduce the new taxes on carbon-dioxide emissions from gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks as a way to help their EVs better compete. They say the levies should take the form of highway tolls or higher fuel taxes. - WSJ

Ford retooling office for hybrid work

Ford is pushing ahead with digital efforts to help bring office workers back to its Dearborn, corporate headquarters, while eyeing a future where many of them continue to work from home, company officials say. The campus over the past four years has been undergoing a massive redesign, which has included adding more open collaborative spaces to a traditional mix of offices and cubicles. Maru Flores leads Ford’s global collaboration and client productivity services team. Ms. Flores said ambient sensors have been installed throughout the main building, connected by Internet-of-Things software, to alert floor managers when too many people are gathered in any one space, such as enclosed offices - WSJ

Hydrogen pipeline alliance in Europe

Electric semi-truck developer Nikola Corp. has formed a partnership with commercial vehicle maker IVECO and natural gas distributor OGE to set up a hydrogen pipeline and fuel station system in Europe that’s needed to power fuel cell big rigs. The companies said the goal of their collaboration is to improve hydrogen availability and hold down the cost of distributing and storing the carbon-free fuel. Nikola will install fueling stations for customers that are tied into the distribution network. - Forbes

GPS based toll booth collection

According to India's Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the physical toll booths will soon be removed from the country and the state will collect tolls using a GPS-based system. Nitin Gadkari addressed various issues related to FAStag and he urged for the need for a GPS to be implanted for bringing better safety and regulation. He mentioned that the new-announced GPS Toll Collection will work on a specific mechanism that will collect money for tolls using the GPS imaging technology on vehicles. According to TAndFonline, the proposed technology will constantly acquire GPS coordinates to track travelling vehicle and will perform all necessary toll collections. It also says that the GPS Toll Collection system is developed "by equipping a microcontroller with third-generation (3G) and GPS connectivity". - Republic World