U.S. car sales dropped 16% in November— but only 5% when adjusted for the number of selling days.

Gross deliveries for the month slid to 1.19 million units from 1.42 million a year ago, reports forecasting and market research firm LMC Automotive. But calendar effects, which made last month the shortest of the year for car selling, caused most of the difference.

“The U.S. auto industry continues to look for its footing,” says Jeff Schuster who heads LMC’s Americas operations and global vehicle forecasts. He cites the challenges of tight inventories, COVID-related restrictions and the prospects of a tighter lockdown as the pandemic picks up speed later this month.

For now, however, LMC predicts December sales will rise 7% to 1.62 ...READ MORE

Although gasoline prices across the country are comparatively cheap—according to AAA, the current average for regular is $2.164, compared with $2.596 a year ago—this is not having a negative effect on the sales of hybrids for Toyota and Lexus. Bob Carter, executive vice president-Sales, Toyota North America, says that 16% of the brands’ sales in November were hybrids. And that holds true for the sales through 2020 to date.

And he said it would have probably been higher were it not that they were “supply restricted.”

Carter describes hybrids as a “core technology” for Toyota.

And he anticipates that 20 to 25% of the brands’ sales in 2021 will be hybrid models.

Carter says that as the months have gone on in ...READ MORE

Global production capacity for hydrogen generated from renewable resources is expected to jump from 82 megawatts today to 23 gigawatts by 2030, according to IHS Markit.

That’s a 280-fold increase over the next decade.

Increased hydrogen production is necessary to support growing demand for fuel cell-powered vehicles (especially commercial trucks) and, to a lesser extent, hydrogen-fueled ICE-powered models.

So-called “green hydrogen” reduces the manufacturing carbon footprint as well as tailpipe emissions. The carbon neutral process uses renewable sources (wind, solar and water) to power electrolyzers that split water into hydrogen and oxygen, rather than deriving hydrogen from natural gas.

The production forecast isn’t a ...READ MORE

Daimler says it will nominate Bernd Pischetsrieder to become chairman of its supervisory board at the carmaker’s shareholders’ meeting at the end of March.

At age 72, he will succeed retiring Manfred Bischoff, who has held the chairmanship for 13 years.

Pischetsrieder, says Bischoff, is “one of the most internationally recognized automotive experts” whose expertise and experience “are of outstanding importance for Daimler.”

And how. Pischetsrieder will be taking over as Daimler attempts to navigate the perilous transition from piston to electric powertrains, moves into a future of connectivity and autonomously driven vehicles, and faces the impact of multi-modal personal transportation options.

Those tasks are being tackled at ...READ MORE

When you think about next-gen factories utilizing Industry 4.0 tools, advanced automation, big data, cobots, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality goggles probably come to mind.

But it all starts with something much simpler: managing the flow of materials.

So says Panasonic, which claims its latest tool, Logiscend 2.0 with InSights software, can significantly enhance the process—boosting productivity and quality while lowering costs—by adding visualization and analytics capabilities to its existing platform.

The paperless system, which uses electronic tags and tablets, allows users to track containers, parts and other assets throughout the manufacturing process—including “picking” parts from the warehouse, work instructions ...READ MORE