Automark

–       Hamburg-based manufacturer MEYLE receives Innovation Award in the “Repair & Maintenance” category in Frankfurt

–       MEYLE service solution includes pre-compressed bushings and a specially developed tool for selective repair of the BMW rear control arm

–       Aftermarket repair solution, unique to date: MEYLE solution costs one tenth compared to replacing the two OE control arms

–       Messe Frankfurt presents award for particularly forward-looking innovations in the automotive sector

Hamburg, September 11, 2018. Hamburg-based spare parts manufacturer MEYLE received the Automechanika Innovation Award 2018 today in the Repair & Maintenance category: With the MEYLE-HD slot bushing kit including tool, the company was able to assert itself against numerous competitors, including well-known OE and aftermarket manufacturers. With the service kit, consisting of the pre-compressed and ready-to-install MEYLE‑HD slot bushings and a suitable installation tool, MEYLE offers an economical and ecological alternative to replacing the complete BMW rear axle control arm: This enables selective replacement of the bushings in selected BMW 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series and X5 models.

The Innovation Award was presented to the Hamburg-based manufacturer today at the official awards ceremony in Frankfurt and honours particularly progressive and forward-looking innovations in the automotive industry. “We are pleased to present MEYLE with the award in the Repair & Maintenance category. The MEYLE HD kit meets all award criteria for an environmentally friendly, sustainable and service-oriented solution – a real innovation, which we are therefore pleased to honour with an award,” says Olaf Mußhoff, Director of Automechanika Frankfurt.

As an aftermarket repair solution, the MEYLE HD slot bushing kit with matching installation tool is unique to date. The MEYLE HD kit was developed by engineers and product managers of the MEYLE chassis and steering team. MEYLE experts have accompanied and controlled the entire process chain – from the initial idea through development to production and comprehensive quality tests. Based on the MEYLE HD concept “Better than OE”, the impulse for the product came from the analysis of the repair on the BMW control arm: In contrast to the OE version, defective bushings on the BMW rear control arm can be replaced separately in pairs with the MEYLE kit – a repair solution that is not yet available from the OE side with the appropriate tool and previously had to be solved by the cost-intensive replacement of the complete control arm.

“The Innovation Award is a very special award for us, of which we are very proud,” explains André Sobottka, Board Member for Sales, Marketing and Communication at MEYLE. “Especially in our anniversary year, in which we also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the holding company Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG, the award is a great recognition for the good and close cooperation of our MEYLE engineers in Hamburg and in our production facilities. Due to our high technical understanding and our know-how as a manufacturer, we are in a position to offer further developed parts for the market and to create tailor-made solutions. We know the market requirements and the daily routine in the workshop very well and therefore focus our product development on solutions that are precisely tailored to the needs of the workshop employee. With the MEYLE-HD-Kit we have once again proven this and offer as MEYLE another exclusive solution for the aftermarket, with which workshop employees quickly become the DRIVER’S BEST FRIEND.”

The United Motors has launched its first 800cc United Bravo passenger car in Pakistan. The launching ceremony was held on yesterday in a local hotel of Lahore where automobile dealers, motorcycle dealers of United Bikes, Government officials from EDB, president LCCI, different vehicles associations representatives of media and many other guest were present, while Chief Guest was Hafiz Mumtaz, Provisional Minister of Excise and Taxation.

The hatchback automobile comes with a 3-cylinder water-cooled engine producing 40 BHP and 60 NM torque and a 4-speed manual transmission. The body type is 5 – door Hatchback. The seating capacity is 5 persons and fuel tank capacity is 30 L. For your comfort, the car is also equipped with an air conditioned.

United Bravo features a powered steering, powered windows, touch screen infotainment system, wooden exterior and interior, RPM, USB ports, defogger, alloy wheels and speedometer dials etc.

Other features include rear parking camera, alongside seat-belt warning indicator and a remote keyless system. For safety, there is a seatbelt, back foor lock and steering lock. United Bravo comes with a price tag of 850,000. The car is available in three colours; White, Silver and Grey.

While on sideline of the event MD of the United Motors Sana Ullah Chodhary told Automark that Car will be available at our 3S dealers across country within next few days while more dealers are almost ready to receive Bravo cars too. Plant capacity of the car is 35,000 per year in single shift for only Bravo cars.

There was a lot of hype and speculation has been created about this car, mainly because it was believed that United Bravo will break the monopoly of other companies by introducing a price affordable car in the country.

United Auto Industries (Pvt) Limited is the 1st local brand and 2nd Largest selling brand of United Motorcycles in Pakistan. The Company received Green Field Investment status under new auto policy 2016-2021 from Ministry of Industry and Production in June-2017.

TOKYO — Toyota is stopping most of its auto production in Japan as a result of a deadly earthquake in northern Japan.
Due to the interruption in its supply chain there, the automaker will idle factories beginning Saturday, the company said.
Toyota will halt planned production at its Kyushu, Tahara and Toyota Auto Body plants. Those factories make Lexus vehicles and the Toyota Land Cruiser, among others, some of which are bound for the U.S. markets.
Spokeswoman Akiko Kita said, starting on Monday, the shutdown will affect all Toyota and Lexus lines in Japan, except for two Daihatsu plants that also manufacture Toyota-brand vehicles. Toyota has 18 plants that produce vehicles in Japan.
The company could not immediately comment on the supply chain impact on overseas operations. The earthquake struck the northernmost island of Hokkaido before dawn on Sept. 6, killing more than a dozen people and leaving the entire island without power.
Authorities were slowly restoring utilities on Friday but swaths of the region remain offline. Toyota has a plant in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, that makes automatic transmissions, continuously variable transmissions and transfer cases. It was still without power on Friday night, Toyota said.
A spokesman for Toyota’s North American business said the initial production halt is not likely to have much impact on North American operations. The automaker could not say when production will resume.
Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co. spokesman Koji Okuda said the company did not expect any production interruptions from the quake because it has no manufacturing facilities in Hokkaido. Nissan does have a proving ground there, however, and operations there were temporarily suspended due to the power outage.

Toyota and Geely are in talks over possible cooperation in the area of hybrid technology, the automakers confirmed on Friday to Reuters. But nothing has been decided on the matter.

Partnering with Toyota, a leader in hybrid technology due to decades of experience with the Prius line, could enable Geely to get a jump start in the area of electrification.

The Chinese automaker already has access to hybrid technology through its ownership of Volvo, which currently offers models with plug-in hybrid powertrains. It also has a 9.7-percent stake in Daimler, parent company of Smart and Mercedes-Benz, which it could also tap.

Electric cars may be all the rage right now but hybrid vehicles are expected to play a more important role in the coming decade as automakers look to reduce their emissions. This is especially the case now that many major automakers are in the process of transitioning to fully electrified lineups.

Electrified cars include mild hybrids, regular hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars.

For example, Toyota, which is the world’s biggest automaker by volume, has an annual sales target of 5.5 million electrified cars, or roughly half of its total sales, by 2030. Of these, only about 1.0 million will be electric or hydrogen, with the rest to be hybrids.

It is worth to mention here that Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) and Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) have both agreed terms to allow Proton cars to utilize core technology platforms by Geely, as both companies have signed a new agreement recently to further extend their partnership.

Geely to acquire a 49.9% stake in the former from DRB-Hicom back in June 2017, with the aim of improving Proton’s domestic market share and exploring international expansion opportunities both locally and overseas.

Recently AlHaj Group, Pakistan has sign an agreement with Proton Malaysia to introduce range of vehicles in Pakistani market and later will assembler these cars in locally.