Despite this uneasy backdrop, Jaguar Land Rover are working around the clock as demand for vehicles is increasing. For the first time in history the Jaguar Land Rover Halewood plant has moved into 24 hour production to meet demand for its vehicles, mainly due to the Evoke and Freelander 2. Richard Else, Operations Director at the Halewood plant talks about why that plant is currently so successful.

Historic moment if you like, how’s it going? Is it a logistical challenge moving toward 24 hour production?

It’s come with a number of challenges, but they are the sort of challenges that I like to have. We have trebled the work force here over the last 3-years to meet the demand for the Range Rover Evoke and also the award winning Freelander 2 that we make here. It’s a great new story for the 50-year success that Halewood has achieved.

Halewood at one point under Ford’s ownership was one of the worst performing plants, now whilst there is some investment it’s one of the best; what’s happened?

It’s been a huge transformation in the last 10 to 12-years as the plant has been through a journey of complete change. It’s a real recognition of all that the workforce have done here in changing the way we run the plant, changing our approach to the quality of the cars we produce, and really securing the future for everyone who works at Halewood and works within our supply base as well.

The peak production for cars in the UK was back in 1972 when 1.9 million cars were made. It was 1.3 million last year. In the interim we have had a huge bust in car production; it looks like it’s quite a cyclical business. How confident are you that you can sustain this? Are you going to be able to keep all these additional workers on once this cycle continues?

Yes, clearly it is a cyclical business but we have every confidence in the short-term future in terms of securing all of these new jobs we have created. The demand for product has exceeded all of our expectations. We export our products to 170 markets around the globe and we are very confident in the future in terms of maintaining these levels of production.

I believe the big markets are Russia and China for you. Now China is slowing down a little bit and we don’t quite know what’s going on with the Russian economy. Are these really where the lion’s share of the cars you make are going?

20% of our vehicles go into our home market into the UK, and then as you say China and North America are also two very big markets for us as well.

Other vehicle OEM’s including BMW and Honda are making significant investments, are we in a golden age of car manufacturing here in the UK?

I think that’s very true, the UK car industry has got a huge amount of skill that we have protected over many years. We are really demonstrating that those decisions that were made 4 or 5-years ago where the right decisions. The workforce within the UK car industry can beat anywhere in the world and Halewood is a great example of that.

Has it taken the mind-set of a foreign owner to change things there?

Tata Motors are a very supportive owner of the business, Jaguar Land Rover has been very successful under Tata ownership and we have a workforce and a management team who are very committed with very ambitious plans for the future.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01lsyj4/Today_14_08_2012/

Audi’s 200-mph R18 e-tron quattro took the checkered flag in front of 240,000 fans, in the hands of German driver André Lotterer. The winning hybrid, nicknamed “Electra” by the Audi team, traveled 3,201.18 miles over the 24 hours—the rough equivalent of Miami to Seattle.

The event was billed as a showdown between defending champion Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen, and Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer fielded a new team this year, having not raced at Le Mans since 1999. Audi entered four cars (two of them hybrids), while Toyota entered two (both hybrids).

Raced on a twisty 8.5 mile course on closed-off public roads in France, Le Mans is considered the ultimate engineering test. In terms of global audience, it ranks with the Indy 500 and the Monte Carlo Grand Prix as one of the three most-watched car races in the world. In honor of Toyota’s return to Le Mans, Takeshi Uchiyamada—the company’s executive vice president and father of the Prius hybrid—waved the flag to signal the start.

For Audi, the event proved a glowing success: A one-two-three finish, with hybrids taking the first two spots. The winning car was piloted by Lotterer along with co-drivers Marcel Fässler of Switzerland and Benoît Tréluyer of France. Audi also posted the fastest lap: 3 minutes and 24.189 seconds, an average speed of 149.315 mph.

“We put a completely new technology on the grid and immediately won with it,” said Audi’s Chairman of the Board Rupert Stadler.

The German company has now won 11 of the last 13 years at Le Mans. Only Porsche has won the 24-hour classic more times (16).

For Toyota, the race didn’t go as planned. Neither car saw the finish line. In the fifth hour, British driver Anthony Davidson was passing a slower Ferrari in his Toyota when the Ferrari accidentally nudged him. Davidson’s Toyota took flight, cartwheeling down the pavement in a haze of smoke and debris. He broke two vertebrae and was taken from the track by ambulance.

“Lying in a French hospital with a broken back wasn’t what I had in mind at this stage in the race,” he later tweeted.

Davidson is expected to make a full recovery.

Toyota’s second car suffered mechanical problems and retired in the 11th hour after a minor crash.

Before the race started, Toyota officials hedged their bets. “This is a learning year for Toyota Racing,” team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita said in a statement. The company had toyed with the idea of a Le Mans campaign early in 2011, but it was delayed by the March tsunami and nuclear disaster. The team didn’t start working on its cars until September.

Meanwhile, Audi was building its own hybrid. Both teams’ hybrids harvest energy during braking, which is then fed to an electric motor that powers the front wheels. The Audi uses a flywheel to harvest energy, while the Toyota uses supercapacitors. The technology differs from street hybrids in that it is aimed more to improve performance than to save at the pump.

“The fact that a hybrid won is an awesome accomplishment,” said Davy Jones, the last American driver to win Le Mans, in 1996. “These teams are pushing so hard. The engineering—both in terms of speed and safety—is just amazing.”

Article Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303703004577472811933287318.html

But this week marked another notch in Tata’s success story: It is one year since production began on the Range Rover Evoque. Sales have touched nearly 80,000 vehicles in just nine months, an impressive tally for a new luxury vehicle.

Moreover, for the company’s cars as a whole, demand increased in all major geographies in the year ended March 31, including in North America and Europe despite their economic uncertainty.

JLR sales jumped 15% in North America, while in Europe (excluding Russia), volumes grew 27%. It’s no surprise that sales in China surged 76%. Globally, retail sales of Jaguar sedans increased 5% to 54,227 autos, while JLR sales in total surged 33% to 251,632 autos.

In India, where sales of luxury SUVs are growing in line with rising incomes, JLR is holding its own as an alternative to the German giants–Audi AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG.

The turnaround of JLR is remarkable in an industry where few brands survive acquisition intact. When Tata Motors acquired JLR, skeptics termed it a disaster for the Mumbai-based auto maker.

On Thursday, employees at JLR’s Halewood manufacturing plant in the U.K. celebrated the Evoque’s first year of production. The strong response worldwide, including more than 18,000 advance orders, has had a significant impact on the factory. The workforce increased to more than 3,000 from 2,000. In March, JLR said it would hire an additional 1,000 workers to help deliver the increased volumes of both the Evoque and the Land Rover Freelander 2. That must be very welcome in Britain.

The company was offloaded for $2.3 billion in a fire sale by Ford as it tried to wriggle out of its sales slowdown in 2008. But it posted a net profit of 1.48 billion pounds in the last year, a growth of 43%. Revenue climbed 37% to 13.5 billion pounds. Oh, and it has cash of 2.43 billion pounds.

A sign of the success for the British luxury brands is laid out in a presentation given to investors in June. The company said “given increased JLR sales volumes and profits, there is a need to increase manufacturing capacity and we see increased opportunities to develop new products to drive further profitable growth. As a result, total capital spending is expected to increase to in the region of 2 billion pounds.”

New models are being lined up for launch. The Jaguar XF Sportbrake is expected between October and December, and the Jaguar F-Type in the middle of 2013. JLR is also working on several concept vehicles–the Land Rover DC100, Jaguar C-X16 and Range Rover Evoque Convertible.

In China, JLR agreed in March to form a joint venture with Chery Automobile Co. to make vehicles in the world’s biggest automobile market. JLR is also continuing its efforts to build a factory in Brazil.

For now at least, the skeptics can be silenced. Car owners (and investors) should enjoy the ride.

Article Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/07/06/jaguar-and-land-rover-add-cache-and-cash-to-tata/

JLR Chief Executive Officer Ralf Speth told Xinhua that the company will increase investment in China to expand its sales network in the country and develop cars that best meet Chinese consumers’ demands.

Speth said an assembly line introduced in a tie-up between JLR and China’s Chery Auto has passed the government’s environmental assessment and is on track toward completion. He said the models produced by the joint venture would remain “luxurious and high-end.”

Chery is best known for its inexpensive sedans in China. Involving an investment of 17.5 billion yuan, the Chery-JLR joint venture is expected to roll off its first vehicle in 2014.

Speth, leading the company’s senior executives for a week-long China market study tour, said he is even confident the Asian nation will eventually overtake JLR’s British home to become the company’s top market in the world.

According to JLR, more than 37,000 JLR cars were sold in China in the first half of 2012, doubling that of the same period last year.

In 2008, Ford sold JLR for 2.3 billion U.S. dollars to India’s Tata Motors, which has been focusing on emerging markets such as Russia and China.

Boosted by strong demand from the Chinese market, JLR recorded pre-tax profits of 1.51 billion pounds (about 2.36 billion U.S. dollars) in the 2011 fiscal year, up 34 percent from a year earlier. Sales hit 314,433 units including 54,039 Jaguar models and 260,394 Land Rovers.

Article Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-07/06/c_131699881.htm

“Ricardo is proud to be working with DARPA on this ambitious program, and it further builds on our portfolio of work with FANG and the United States military,” said Robert Ellis, director of military vehicle programs at Ricardo. “DARPA’s Adaptive Vehicle Make initiative has the potential to change the way that complex acquisition programs are performed, and it is exciting to be part of that effort.”

Exercising the capabilities that DARPA is developing under the Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) portfolio of programs, the FANG Challenge represents a radically novel approach to the development of a new infantry fighting vehicle. The FANG Challenge will use a crowd-sourcing model to produce revolutionary ideas through three prize-based design competitions, which require participants to design and develop progressively more complex vehicle subsystems, culminating in the design of a full infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). The winning crowd-sourced design will be eligible for consideration as the go-forward design for the ACV program.

“The FANG program employs Ricardo’s full breadth and depth of vehicle engineering capabilities,” said Paul Luskin, program director of the DARPA AVM portfolio at Ricardo. “The effort draws upon the company’s traditional strengths in vehicle design and testing, software development, advanced engineering tools and processes, and systems engineering. We also have the opportunity to delve into innovative areas like crowd source-based product development.”

Ricardo has selected a team of world-class organizations to support it in the development and execution of the FANG Challenge, including The Quell Group, Comet LLC, Georgia Institute of Technology’s Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL), Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS), and Southwest Research Institute.

This award represents the latest in a growing portfolio of initiatives in which Ricardo is supporting DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. Ricardo previously announced it had been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to develop a database of component models characterizing the drivetrain and mobility subsystems of the FANG vehicle. The DARPA awards are part of a global portfolio of Ricardo defense programs, ranging from technology insertion efforts and subsystem upgrades, to clean-sheet vehicle developments like the TARDEC FED (Fuel Efficient Demonstrator) Alpha and the General Dynamics Foxhound LPPV (Light Protected Patrol Vehicle).

The FANG Challenge is expected to begin in early 2013. Additional information on the FANG Challenge and how individuals can participate in the competitions, along with eligibility, will be announced by DARPA at a later date.

Article Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ricardo-awarded-darpa-contract-to-stage-fang-challenge-2012-07-02

What Ricardo has cleverly, and almost too obviously, offered up is to refurbish the British Army’s Pinzgauer off-road lightweight trucks. A bit larger than a Land Rover , or Snatch 2 in Army parlance, the Pinzgauer also has another name when in khaki service and the Army refers to it as a Vector.

The Vector is a lightly armoured vehicle that is used for carrying troops or as a command vehicle. It has been in service with the British Army since 2007 as the Vector, which means some of these vehicles have seen considerable active service.

New life

In the current atmosphere of austerity, Ricardo’s plan to refurbish these multi-purpose, go-anywhere trucks is a great idea. It means the Pinzgauers will remain in service for longer, anywhere up to 15 years more according to Ricardo, and it also allows the trucks to be upgraded.

Among the upgrades on offer from Ricardo for the Pinzgauer, it can have its turbodiesel engine’s performance enhanced by up to 10% and the payload capacity doubled to 1500kg.

On top of these changes, Ricardo can also offer upgrades to give the vehicle more cabin space and comfort, better suspension and uprated electrical systems. Better protection against ballistics and bomb blasts can also be fitted to the Pinzgauer, which says a lot about the conditions and countries where these vehicles are expected to operate.

By any measure, those are improvements worth having and turn the existing Pinzgauer into a far more effective machine that will fulfil its role in the military far better and for much longer.

Ricardo’s global market director for defence, Peter Moore, says: “The Pinzgauer has been an extremely effective vehicle with UK forces and many other military users around the world.

“However, existing operational fleets are approaching the end of their expected life and are considered uncompetitive with new platforms in terms of performance and crew protection.

“Using Ricardo’s in-depth engineering knowledge and resource, we believe the Pinzgauer can be effectively life-extended to provide a valuable and cost-effective military capability.”

Article Source: http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/fleet-news/index.php/2012/06/27/ricardo-offers-second-life-for-ex-military-pinzgauer/

Per the agreement, Lockheed will test, assemble and upgrade seven prototype vehicles. In the first phase, the company will replace the launcher’s cab and the fire control panel. As a result, the launcher cab’s inner volume will expand by 40%. The addition of energy-absorbing seats will offer added protection from mine blasts and improvised explosive devices.

The shift to High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (“HIMARS”) launcher will improve survivability as a result of sufficient armoring in the new cab. These upgrades will ensure that the M270-series launcher remains effective and provides consistent services while protecting crews from threats.

MLRS M270A1 is a movable, automatic system used to fire surface-to-surface rockets and missiles from the M270A1 platform. The three-man crew onboard the launcher is able to fire up to 12 MLRS rockets or 2 Army Tactical Missile System (“ATACMS”) missiles from the inside of the cab. Lockheed Martin is the key contractor for M270A1 research and development along with its two partners BAE Systems Land and Armaments LP.

HIMARS has been in service since 2005. It is a new addition to the MLRS launcher group. HIMARS carries a single six-pack of rockets or one ATACMS missile on the army’s 5-ton trucks and can launch all MLRS family of weapons. The HIMARS systems are interchangeable with the existing MLRS M270A1 launcher.

Earlier in September 2011, Lockheed Martin delivered the 400th HIMARS launcher to the U.S. Army. This launcher is in high demand due to its combat proven technique, which provides the armed forces with a reliable and mobile platform to launch rockets and missiles.

We view Lockheed Martin as a well-positioned organization with its successful delivery of information technology management services, infrastructure and applications to the U.S. Army and several other international defense establishments.

As the world’s largest standalone defense contractor, Lockheed Martin has a strong contract pipeline. Lockheed Martin ended the first quarter of 2012 with $76.6 billion of backlog. Of this Aeronautics segment orders amounted to $28.2 billion while Electronic Systems segment backlog was $24.3 billion.

The Space Systems segment orders were worth $15.4 billion and Information Systems & Global Solutions backlog amounted to $8.7 billion. On this basis, we expect Lockheed Martin to report a stable performance in the forthcoming quarters.

Lockheed Martin Corporation retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. The company competes with Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and maintenance of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Article Source: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-06/lockheed-wins-271m-us-army-deal-analyst-blog.aspx?storyid=151700#ixzz1zwo0nYLL

First off the mark is the updated D13 460bhp engine, which in its Euro 5 guise today powers more than one-third of all Volvo trucks.

“The Volvo FH gets a new 460bhp Euro 6 engine optimised for fast, fuel-efficient transportation on good roads,” says Mats Franzén, manager of engine strategy and planning at Volvo Trucks.

“The first trucks with the new engine will be delivered in spring 2013.” He adds.

D13 for Euro-6 clearly builds on Volvo’s Euro-5 engine experience. It’s an in-line, six-cylinder engine with unit injectors and catalytic exhaust treatment (SCR) plus exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

The SCR system has been integrated with the DPF in a compact unit, with the latter designed to capture and incinerates exhaust gas particulates, with automatic regeneration during operation.

As for the EGR approach, unlike conventional systems that cool recirculated exhaust gases to reduce engine temperature and thus NOx emissions, Volvo’s Euro-6 engine’s EGR system is virtually inactive during highway cruising, so minimising its impact on fuel consumption.

In fact, Franzén explains that the system is designed for the warm-up stage, when temperatures are too low for the SCR to function effectively.

“We have developed a reliable solution that not only meets the emission requirements, but also gives customers added benefits in the form of good fuel economy and trouble-free ownership,” states Franzén.

Article Source: http://www.transportengineer.org.uk

Amusingly called I-See, Volvo’s new system is controlled much like an autopilot – taking over gear-changing and using gradients to save fuel when engaged, according to the gradients it ‘sees’.

Anders Eriksson, product developer at Volvo Trucks, explains that kinetic energy – the mechanical work needed to reduce an object’s speed to zero – is a powerful resource. Hence so many manufacturers attempts to store kinetic energy, instead of releasing it as surplus heat.

“If kinetic energy can be exploited to a greater extent, it may help cut fuel consumption,” states Eriksson. “This will benefit both the environment and the economy, something that is very important today as fuel costs are becoming an increasingly heavy burden on haulage firms.”

Volvo’s system harnesses the truck’s kinetic energy to push the vehicle up hills, while on downhill gradients the energy is used to assist acceleration.

I-See is linked to the transmission’s tilt sensor and hence obtains information about the local road topography digitally. However, Volvo argues that the fact that its system is not dependent on maps makes it more dependable, since it always obtains the latest information. I-See can recall about 4,000 gradients, corresponding to a distance of 5,000 km (3,100 miles).

“I-See is an autopilot linked to the truck’s cruise control, taking over and handling gear-changes, accelerator and brakes on gradients, ensuring they all operate in the most fuel-efficient way possible,” explains Hayder Wokil, product manager at Volvo Trucks.

“I-See freewheels as much as possible – so on certain stretches of road no fuel is used at all,” he adds.

“In this way fuel consumption can be cut by up to 5%, a figure based on the results of simulations and tests on public roads,” continues Wokil.

“I-See works best in undulating terrain,” comments Eriksson. “With moderately long and steep slopes, I-See ensures that you can freewheel for long distances without using the engine.

“It is this freewheeling capability that makes the system special,” he adds. “When the truck rolls freely, virtually no fuel is used. But in order to freewheel, a whole lot of data is required.”

Eriksson makes the point that it’s all about precision. “For instance, you have to know whether your speed will drop or increase over the next stretch of road. A gradient of just a few per cent can be the decisive factor,” he explains.

Other factors that make a difference include air resistance and the truck’s weight – aspects that well trained drivers deal with unthinkingly. “I-See imitates the driving style of good drivers,” comments Wokil.

“They utilise the vehicle’s kinetic energy, accelerate in time and avoid unnecessary gear-changing,” he continues, “But unlike a driver, I-See never gets tired.”

He also suggests that the system will allow even good drivers to focus more on the surrounding traffic.

The bottom line: “For a truck in normal operation, covering 140,000km [87,000 miles] a year, the saving will be about 1,000 litres of fuel annually. This makes a big difference to the haulage firm’s profitability.”

Article Source: http://www.transportengineer.org.uk/

From the beginning of July, all parts deliveries for UK-built backhoe loaders, site dumpers and rollers will be undertaken from Rothenburg. Currently, parts for UK-built machines are supplied from the Warwick, UK parts centre.

Terex said it had invested in the 8000 m2 Rothenburg facility to increase the breadth and depth of the parts inventory. Parts ordered before 4.00 pm UK time will be delivered the next day, although items weighing more than 70 kg will need to be ordered by 3.00 pm.

Head of Terex Parts Sales, Dave Wills, said; “UK customers should see an improvement in availability from Rothenburg’s more structured and dedicated parts supply operation.

“Also, our distributors will be increasing their own inventories of fast moving parts to help improve responsiveness to our customers. The cost of parts from Rothenburg will not be affected. I’m also delighted to say we will not be losing the many years of knowledge and expertise of our UK customer support team members as they will continue to be a part of our customer support team at the Coventry factory.”

Dean Barley, vice president of global aftermarket, said many manufacturers were faced with cost challenges in today’s market; “We have worked hard building off efficiencies and streamlining our processes to leverage our Global Parts Distribution facility in Rothenburg, Germany.

“Leveraging a dedicated operation without harming the delivery times to our customers has enabled us to provide our parts at the right price and at the right speed. This combined with our local distributor support and increased parts availability should offer customers with the right balance between excellent availability at the right price.”

 Article Source: http://www.khl.com/magazines/international-rental-news/