With Thailand tottering on the throne, will Indonesia or Malaysia usurp its place? Guest writer, EUGYNE, reports.
Thailand has led the South East Asian automotive industry for many years now, but will they be able to maintain the coveted position henceforth? The floods in 2010 and the frequent protests in recent months have forced foreign carmakers to decamp and seek alternative ‘pastures’.
Toyota undoubtedly wears the crown when it comes to hybrid cars. Sales of the Japanese automaker’s hybrid vehicles passed the six millionth mark last year.
Nissan and Qualcomm are way ahead of you guys.
Automology’s Philippines correspondent, HAROLD, reports on the country’s automotive performance.
Total vehicle sales in 2013 for the entire Philippines rose 16% compared to 2012. Based on published reports, combined sales of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI), the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc (TMA) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) reached 212,281 units in 2013, up from over 183,000 units in 2012. This remarkable auto industry growth was triggered largely by the high demand for passenger cars which recorded a strong 26% sales hike to 61 083 units in 2013 from 48,488 units in 2012.
It’s not a trick question, but if you have been following headlines for months, even years now, they have been filled with talk of new ‘Gigafactories’ to power the next generation of Tesla’s electric vehicles, hydrogen powertrains for Toyotas and hybrids over at Porsche (and others), and fracking.
The short story of Tesla Motors has been more about exciting cars and stellar share price performance than other more mundane manufacturing news, but next week the company will be revealing its plans for the much less exciting or innovative key to its long term future. Yes, it would appear that Tesla is almost all grown up now as it is to announce the plans for that essential component for all electric vehicles, a huge new lithium battery factory that has already been dubbed the “Gigafactory” by Tesla’s founder, Elon Musk.