Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 21, 2023 and here it is Morning shift, your daily compilation of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Gear 1: ARC doesn’t play ball
At the end of May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked ARC Automotive to answer questions about the airbag inflator. The regulator concluded it was “preliminary defect.” ARC is expected to respond to this request by June 14. In essence, the company has asked NHTSA to grind sand. polite car news:
The company states that it “completely disagrees with the agency’s ‘preliminary conclusion’ that a safety defect exists” in the driver and passenger inflators – 11 million of which are manufactured by Delphi. , which acquired Autoliv under a license agreement with ARC, which created the rest.
At least nine incidents globally — seven in the United States — caused by ruptured airbag inflators have been identified in NHTSA’s still-open ARC investigation. Among them, from 2009 to most recently in March, seven injuries and two deaths were reported.
Based on Automotive News’ story, ARC’s view is that the airbags that caused the injuries in those specific crashes were defective due to a welding-related “one-off manufacturing anomaly” that had long been fixed in recent years. subsequent recall by the manufacturer. Naturally, NHTSA wants to know how many of the affected units are publicly available that ARC believes could be disrupted. The company responded that overcoming the aforementioned “anomalies” may not be perfect and that no manufacturing process can:
In response, ARC said it “does not design and manufacture its inflatables with the expectation that some will occasionally fail. However, ARC recognizes that even with appropriate industry standards… and manufacturers’ efforts to reduce the risk of failure, manufacturing processes may not completely eliminate the risk of failure. occasional or isolated breakdown.”
In addition, the supplier said its customers, automakers and NHTSA “have been informed that there have been unexplained box breaks, and as is recognized by case law and all manufacturers As manufacturers know, the risk of manufacturing anomalies in any mass production cannot be completely ruled out. progress.”
Fair enough; but of course, that is the purpose of the recall. ARC believes it shouldn’t follow those either. The company seems ready pull this out as long as possible, this is possible because the NHTSA, like so many other government organizations, has jurisdiction only if the negligent actor in question believes it should. We still don’t know exactly which make and model of vehicle has raised the alarm for NHTSA, which hampers owners’ ability to replace potentially unsafe vehicles. It was a terrible situation all around. An NHTSA spokesperson said the company’s latest communications are currently being processed for sensitive information and a final public version will be released once completed.
2nd device: Tesla gets help from Texas in charging subsidies
Tesla is quite fond of Texas, since the company just built and moved there, and the same is true the other way around. Texas demonstrated this with a recent state decision that it will only provide federal dollars allocated to subsidize charging stations that include Tesla’s proprietary port, also known as the Charging Standard. North America. You know, which common engine, Ford, And Rivian passed, and it is also likely hyundai And Stellantis will be as well. From Reuters:
Tesla clinched a series of wins for its charging technology on Tuesday, capped by Texas saying it will require electric vehicle charging companies to include both Tesla’s standard as well as globally recognized CCS. country if they want to participate in the state’s highway electrification program using federal dollars. […]
Texas – home to Tesla’s headquarters and a new car factory complex – was the first state to mandate Tesla’s charging technology, fueling CEO Elon Musk’s hopes of making it the charging standard. nation.
“The decision by Ford, GM and now Rivian to adopt NACS has changed the requirements for Phase 1” of the rollout, the Texas Department of Transportation said in an email to Reuters on Tuesday. , and adds that they will require direct current fast chargers to include a CCS charger and a North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector.
Lew Cox, director of business development at MD7, said the Texas decision will put enormous pressure on other states to adopt Tesla’s NACS.
“It will effectively make NACS the new charging standard,” Cox said.
NACS has of course gained a lot of momentum in recent weeks, convincing many analysts and enthusiasts that the dominoes will only continue to decline and that Tesla becoming the new charging standard on this side of the lake is only a matter of time. is a matter of time. However, all this still happened too quickly.
3rd device: Mazda and Panasonic
Mazda, a company that is starting to dip its toes into EV production, wants to turn to Panasonic to supply batteries for its vehicles in the coming years. The two companies are no strangers to each other — they co-produced Demio for the Japanese market 11 years ago. But it was a very limited production test, and now Mazda has bigger ambitions. From Reuters:
Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor and Panasonic Holdings’ energy division will begin negotiations to establish a partnership to supply batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), the companies said on Wednesday.
Such an effort on lithium-ion batteries will likely move Mazda one step closer to ramping up production of electric vehicles, within the 1.5 trillion yen ($10.6 billion) spending plan it has already announced. announced in November to promote vehicle electrification.
In the partnership, Panasonic Energy will supply Mazda with cylindrical lithium-ion automotive batteries made in Japan and North America for Mazda electric vehicles that are expected to hit the market in the second half of the decade. this century, the companies said in a statement.
A Mazda spokesman declined to say exactly what type of battery the Hiroshima-based automaker intends to use in its electric vehicles, adding that it would hold talks to ensure supply from 2025-2027 or later.
As such, we won’t see this potential partnership live for another few years. Panasonic killed during his early days with Tesla and can now spread his wings to help the rest of the industry electrify its fleets.
4th gear: German carmakers plunge into business in Xinjiang
China has detained more than a million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang province, where several German car brands – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen – operate factories or make work with suppliers. All three have now been challenged by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights for failing to do due diligence in their dealings there, to ensure forced labor does not occur in any of the facilities where they are located. link. One last time, every Reuters:
Volkswagen said it was surprised by the allegations and was reviewing the complaint.
Mercedes-Benz said it has not received any complaints and has no direct operations in the area. “We are in contact with our suppliers and whenever there are concerns we urge suppliers to clarify,” it added.
BMW says it has not yet received complaints, but it does ask its suppliers to comply with social and environmental standards, including requiring them to take the precautions required by law. the law.
As of January 1, 2023, companies in Germany of more than a certain size must establish due diligence procedures, including an annual risk analysis, to prevent human rights violations. rights and the environment in their global supply chains. […]
While BMW and Mercedes-Benz do not have their own factories in Xinjiang, researchers at Sheffield Hallam University and others have documented links between automakers’ suppliers and companies. company has operations in or near the area.
Volkswagen has a factory in the capital of Xinjiang that does not manufacture vehicles, but conducts quality checks on vehicles sold in the region.
VW used to build cars at the facility, but stopped doing so in March. Around that time, Ralf Brandstätter, the brand’s CEO of passenger cars, toured the factory and Celebrity claims everything is cold because he asked some floor staff questions.
Reversed: The Original Also Known As ‘Chicago Wheel’
On this day in 1893 — 130 years ago — George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. debuted its wheels at the World Columbian Show in Chicago.
Neutral: It’s good to be back
One minute has passed. How’s it going? Last weekend I helped my brother move house. I’m drinking liters of water today for an impending blood test. I feel strong! This weekend I fly went to Wisconsin for a wedding.
