Auto Companies Research Articles

Fuel economy of Chinese light-duty car manufacturers: An efficiency analysis perspective

In 2012, the State Council of China released the auto industry development plan to accelerate the deployment of energy-saving vehicles (ESVs) and new energy vehicles (NEVs). Based on milestone fuel economy policies, China has set overall fleet-average fuel economy targets of decreasing the fuel consumption per hundred kilometres to 5.0, 4.0, and, 3.2 L/100 km by 2020, 2025, and 2030, respectively. In this study, the task responses of these targets from auto companies (i.e. car manufacturers and imported car dealers) are examined using a unique database of test-cycle fuel economy parameters for 35,129 models. Malmquist decomposition is used to estimate the technical progress of the auto industry towards achieving the fuel economy targets and the technical efficiency of each company for catching up with the best practice. To explore the effects of new policies on fuel economy improvement, three scenarios regarding technical changes are designed to predict company-level fuel economy. The estimation results show that according to the current rate of technical progress and technical efficiency increase, the average fuel economy indicator of the light-duty fleet will reach 6.8, 6.2, and 5.5 L/100 km by 2020, 2025, and 2030, respectively. This indicates that Chinese light-duty car manufacturers still need to accelerate the development, adoption, and marketisation process of fuel economy technologies to reach the mandatory fleet-average fuel economy targets timeously.

Ensemble learning from model based trees with application to differential price sensitivity assessment

The assessment of price sensitivity is a relevant issue with important implications in decision making for revenue management. The issue has attracted interest among companies evolving towards the data-driven culture through the exploitation of their data sources. Thus, the design of pricing strategies that rely on analytics to identify groups of customers that exhibit differential price sensitivity has a great potential for revenue managers. This work proposes a data-driven approach, using ensemble learning from model based trees, to assess differential price sensitivity in a similar way as random forests algorithm does to assess variable importance. A differential price sensitivity score is defined and a ranking is obtained as a result so that the top ranked variables can be selected as candidate inputs for segmentation and differential price sensitivity group finding. Then optimal price allocation is carried out on the derived groups in order to compute the expected revenues which are compared with the revenues given by un-optimized prices and by optimal price allocation derived from the logit estimation of the bid response function. The proposed approach is validated in synthetic experiments and by application to the real business case of an auto lending company; the resulting revenues show its benefit.

RESEARCH OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES QUALITY INDICATOR CHANGING TAKING INTO ACCOUNT MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS AUTOSERVICE SYSTEM

The analysis of perspective tendencies which connected with changing of autopark structure and designs of vehicles, the newest technologies of diagnosing their technical condition and service, methods of estimation services quality at the existing auto service enterprises, the last EU directives on application of the corresponding technical regulations has shown that innovative approaches to the organization of technical service systems for vehicles, assessing the quality of technological processes of maintaining and restoring the working condition of vehicles and ensuring the efficiency of car service systems should be applied. Therefore, the development of methodology for assessing the quality of technological processes of vehicle recovery at the systems of auto service enterprises, which would take into account a comprehensive approach to future trends in fleet structure and vehicle designs, the latest technologies for diagnosing their technical condition and maintenance, methods of assessing service quality is an urgent problem today.The article is devoted to the study of influence independent parameters describing the morphological structure of auto service system on the quality of technological processes fore restoring the efficiency of vehicles. The independent parameters are: capacity of auto service companies (number of posts), level of personnel availability, production organization form, automobile full weight, energy unite type, automobile age, income level of vehicle’s owners. The analysis is performed using visualization of a nonlinear model of the Sugeno type, developed in the Matlab package. The study is conducted for the following types of auto service companies:maintenance points, car repair shops, service stations, authorized service stations, specialized auto service enterprises, complex auto service enterprises. It is shown that for the studied enterprises of different types technical service the change of values morphological features of the main functional elements allows to increase the level of quality of technological processes of vehicle’s maintenance and restoration from 0,1% to 21,1%.

Employment practices in Japan\u2019s automobile industry: the implication for divergence of employment systems under globalization

This paper analyses recent developments in HR practice toward core white collar employees at Japan’s major automobile companies. It confirms there have been incremental but substantial changes in key HR policies such as compensation and the ranking system, but also finds that traditional long-term employment continues to be practiced at most firms. It further observes that Japan’s auto companies have introduced global HR polices earlier than have Japanese firms in comparable sectors. This, however, has not resulted in the alignment of policies toward those of overseas operations, which one often finds in other Japanese industries such as finance and pharmaceuticals. This would indicate that different trajectories of change are emerging in employment practices—that is, diversification in employment systems is expanding—according to sector (or, the products and services firms offer). This paper also analyses several background factors propelling such divergence, and suggests possible future constellations of employment systems among large elite firms in Japan. In these ways this study contributes to the debate on the effects of globalization on divergence and convergence of employment systems.

Protectionism, usmca and its Possible Effects on Mexico’s Automotive Industry

Mexico’s integration into the North American regional automotive industry is an outcome of nafta. This brought about Mexico´s insertion into regional value chains in the global automotive industry. The country now ranks as the seventh largest producer in the world owing to its attractiveness for foreign direct investment, cheap labour and proximity to the U.S. market. The nafta renegotiation and the emergence of the usmca resulted in a series of modified and stricter rules of origin. Among them, is a clause aimed at Mexico requiring that a percentage of labour content be paid more than $16 an hour. This article sustains that this clause will not really be a constraint for transnational auto companies’ desire to continue their investments and production of cars in Mexico. Rather, what could exclude Mexico from the international automotive production circuits is the upcoming technological change. In view of that, it is crucial that the government take steps to support the automotive innovation developments and the industry´s higher value-added phases.

New Way To Determine The Technical Condition Of Ball Joints

Among the multitude of vehicle suspension assemblies, the ball joint is one of the most important bearing assemblies, the operability of which directly depends on the operating conditions. Ball joints are used to connect the suspension and steering components and are kinematic interfaces that have three angular degrees of freedom when moving the working elements (levers). The reliability of the hinges has a significant impact on the safety of the car. In most cases, the ball joint is an indiscriminate node, which makes it difficult to determine the technical condition in a car service center. One of the methods of diagnosing are laboratory bench examinations of ball joints. To obtain reliable information about the wear of ball joints and the development of a technique for determining their technical condition in the conditions of an auto service company, a laboratory bench research area is needed. The completed research aimed at developing methods, tools and algorithms for determining the technical state of ball joints in the conditions of an auto service company. As a result of the research, the author’s team developed a vibration method for determining the technical state of ball joints and a mathematical model for changing the technical condition of the ball joint of the front suspension of the MacPherson type of a car, in bench tests.

Upravljanje transportnim procesima primjenom inteligentnih transportnih sistema - studija slučaja Preduzeća "Vertigo Montenegro" d.o.o, Podgorica

In the world of information technology expansion and application, intelligent transportation systems are increasingly used in all forms of transportation. These systems have been widely used in road transport, and this thesis shows one of the ways of application with all the accompanying features of the fleet control and management system developed by "NTS International"company. Considering that the fleet of each road transport company makes an important resource by which it is possible to carry out the main activity (transportation of passengers and / or goods), it is clear that managing it cannot be left to chance and that the application of its is necessary for the quality business of the company . Case study - "Vertigo Montenegro" company, from Podgorica, implemented a system of the NTS International company, and all the fleet performance indicators that are at the heart of the company's interest are listed in the paper, with accompanying photo documentation. In general, the use of its is low used in Montenegrin auto transport companies, and the main causes are: poor staff in management positions, lack of information technology education and greater confidence in traditional ways of doing business.

An integrated GRA-DEMATEL-ANP framework for evaluation of barriers to implementation of green supply chain management in manufacturing industries

Nowadays, green systems and technology have received much attention due to the increased concerns about environmental issues. However, companies have faced various barriers in its implementation. Thus, proper identification and evaluation of these barriers is necessary to achieve effective results. In this paper, an integrated framework based on grey relational analysis (GRA), DEMATEL and analytic network process (ANP) methods is proposed to identify and evaluate the barriers to green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation in manufacturing industries. Drawing upon an extensive literature review, a reference framework of the GSCM barriers is developed consisting of two main groups, namely internal and external barriers. GRA is used to deal with ambiguity in experts' assessments. Also, the interactions and cause-effect relationships among the GSCM barriers are evaluated using DEMATEL. The relative importance of the barriers is then identified by integrating results of DEMATEL and ANP. The proposed framework is implemented in a case study of an auto manufacturing company. The results show that, by taking interrelationships of the barriers into consideration, the factors related to customer and market and business partners as well as social and managerial factors are the most important barriers to effective implementation of GSCM initiatives in the case company.

An integrated GRA-DEMATEL-ANP framework for evaluation of barriers to implementation of green supply chain management in manufacturing industries

Nowadays, green systems and technology have received much attention due to the increased concerns about environmental issues. However, companies have faced various barriers in its implementation. Thus, proper identification and evaluation of these barriers is necessary to achieve effective results. In this paper, an integrated framework based on grey relational analysis (GRA), DEMATEL and analytic network process (ANP) methods is proposed to identify and evaluate the barriers to green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation in manufacturing industries. Drawing upon an extensive literature review, a reference framework of the GSCM barriers is developed consisting of two main groups, namely internal and external barriers. GRA is used to deal with ambiguity in experts' assessments. Also, the interactions and cause-effect relationships among the GSCM barriers are evaluated using DEMATEL. The relative importance of the barriers is then identified by integrating results of DEMATEL and ANP. The proposed framework is implemented in a case study of an auto manufacturing company. The results show that, by taking interrelationships of the barriers into consideration, the factors related to customer and market and business partners as well as social and managerial factors are the most important barriers to effective implementation of GSCM initiatives in the case company.

Does GST (Goods and Services Tax) A Game Changer For Indian Auto Companies’ Share Return ? (Event Study Analysis)

The Indian auto industry is one of the largest in the world. The industry accounts for 7.1% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Almost 13% of the revenue from central excise is from this sector and claims a size of 4.3% of total exports from India. Despite its contribution to the economy and growth potential, this sector has been combating the hardship of high tax rates for substantially a long period of time now with central excise duty ranging between 12.5% to 30% coupled with introduction of multiple cesses at revenues whims and fancies, most recent being infrastructure cess. The present study focuses on “A Study of Impact of Goods & Services Tax (GST) on Shares return of Indian Auto Companies”. This study aims to find the reaction of Indian Auto Companies Share return with respect to the announcement of GST rates and also tries to test efficiency of the stock market. The performance of stock market and its behavior serves as an indicator of the reactions of the economy of the nation. The Goods and Services Tax is a major tax reform in India which is most likely to boost the economic growth of the country. This expectation of the investors is assumed to be transformed to stock price returns that are either negative or positive. So for GST impact is concerned, here Daily, Monthly and Yearly, pre and post GST implementation share return is taken and different statistical tools applied to find impact of GST n these returns.

Empirical Research on the Relationship between Social Responsibility and Enterprise Performance of New Energy Automobile Enterprises in China

In China, new energy auto companies are important strategic emerging industries that promote the sustainable development of Chinese economy. They are also the important breakthrough for the auto industry to cope with energy security, climate change, environmental protection and structural upgrading. Therefore, we intend to objectively analyse the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate performance in different periods of the enterprise. Based on the characteristics of the new energy automobile industry and related stakeholders, the social responsibility of new energy vehicle companies refers to the responsibility of all enterprises engaged in the manufacture and production of new energy vehicles to all stakeholders. We select 103 observations from 2013 to 2017, construct a panel data model between social responsibility and financial performance and market performance, and use the Stata software to perform Pearson correlation on each variable of 103 sample data from 2013 to 2017. The irrelevant estimation method is used to estimate. The regression equation results show that the current corporate social responsibility has a positive impact on the later enterprise performance. And the current financial performance has a positive impact on the later corporate social responsibility. We find that there is a synergistic relationship between social responsibility performance and corporate performance of new energy vehicle companies in China.

The Racers: How an Outcast Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Challenged Hitler's Best by Neal Bascomb

Reviewed by: The Racers: How an Outcast Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Challenged Hitler's Best by Neal Bascomb Elizabeth Bush Bascomb, Neal The Racers: How an Outcast Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Challenged Hitler's Best. Scholastic Focus, 2020 [336p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 9781338277418 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781338277425 $11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 7-12 Automobiles were barely past infancy when drivers began to race them and manufacturers to push their limits; racers needed excellent design to show off their personal skills, and manufacturers needed highly skilled drivers to show off their marketable designs. National pride quickly grabbed racing by the coattails, and by the 1930s, the dark pall of Nazism shrouded racing, upping the stakes for the well-established trio of driver, manufacturer, and nationalism. Into this heady mix step René Dreyfus, a French-Jewish driver struggling among top tier racers; Rudi Caracciola, a German driver with lots to prove; Lucy Schell, an American heiress who seeks to become the first woman to run a Grand Prix team; the Delahaye auto company, risking everything on Grand Prix racing as other companies withdraw during the global Depression. Bascomb is adept at interweaving historical, biographical, and heart-pounding sports threads into a compulsive whole, in which Hitler and hubris get their comeuppance, and for a brief moment in 1938 before World War II fully detonates, Nazis are bested. With plenty of period illustrations and a fascinating author's note on Bascomb's joyride in a Delahaye 145, as well as bibliography, source notes, and index, this promises broad crossover appeal for teens and adults, history and sports buffs, engineering enthusiasts, and of course, anyone mesmerized by Ford v Ferrari. [End Page 161] Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

The Brand Alliance and Its Relationship to the Awareness of Iraqi Customers of Auto Companies’ Products:An Analytical Study of a Sample of Hyundai and Kia Iraqi Customers

The Brand Alliance and Its Relationship to the Awareness of Iraqi Customers of Auto Companies’ Products:An Analytical Study of a Sample of Hyundai and Kia Iraqi Customers

Auto Markets in the World and Strategy of Japan’s Companies

In the world auto market, top three companies are VW(Volkswagen), Runault-Nissan-Mistubishi, and Toyota. About some selected countries and areas, China, England, Italy, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, USA, Brazil, UAE, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand are more competitive. However, the situation is different. Seeing monopolistic market countries and areas, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, France, India, and Pakistan, in particular, the influence of Japan to Taiwan, India, and Pakistan is very big. But in Korea and France, their own companies’ brands occupy the market. In Japan domestic market, the overall situation is competitive. Almost all vehicles made in Japan are Japanese brand. From now on, we have to note the development of electric vehicle (EV) and other new technologies such as automatic driving and connected car. That is because they will give a great impact on the auto industry and market of Japan. Now Japan’s auto industry is going to be consolidated into three groups, Honda, Toyota group, and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group for seeking the scale merit of economy. Therefore, I will pay attention to the worldwide development of EV and other new technologies and the reorganization of auto companies groups.

Organizational Innovation Factors, Capabilities and Organizational Performance in Automotive Industry

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of external and internal innovation factors on organizational performance directly and through innovation capability in Iranian auto parts industries. This research used the quantitative research method and used the survey technique to gather data from 275 Iranian auto part manufacturing companies. The collected data was analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. The empirical results showed that the inclusion of organisational innovative capability has a profound effect on organisational performance of the selected Iranian auto parts companies. The findings have several theoretical and practical implications. The use of the resource-based theory for the Iranian manufacturing context is relevant and can be enhanced with different dimensions of innovation capability. In practical sense, Iranian auto part manufacturing organization should engage more in enhancing their innovation capability which will in turn magnify the role and effect of external and internal organizational factors.

Influence of knowledge management on product innovation by intrapreneurial firms

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a study on knowledge management, facilitating new product innovation by intrapreneurial companies.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology includes the empirical study which was conducted based on detailed questionnaire and data collection of 319 respondents from heavy engineering auto companies, such as Maruti, Honda and others. The data were analyzed to find the influence of knowledge management on new product development. Structural equation modeling method, critical path analysis and reliability were checked by Cronbach’s alpha.FindingsThe findings suggest that the innovation of a new product is critical for the companies. Also, it is very important for the companies to have knowledge management systems such as intelligence generation and dissemination process to facilitate information sharing among the various departments. Responsiveness to the market needs would be based on how authentic the customer data are and to what extent the company is able to share these data with research and product development departments to motivate new products for fulfilling these needs of the customers. This kind of process would enable the company to drive the next level of innovation within the company.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study has several implications for managers and researchers. The model proposed in the study suggests the adoption and implementation of knowledge management for product innovation. The study findings also suggest that developing better methods to share knowledge and intelligence among the employees about the customers’ data would be a very critical success factor for new product innovation.Practical implicationsThis paper also suggests that the researchers can study this model with respect to inter-disciplinary and inter-country study to become competitive using new product innovation.Originality/valueThe study contributes toward development of theory on creating innovation facilitated by knowledge management for enhancing innovation.

The Path to Supplier Relationship Management

Supplier management involves tweaking the supplier product to suit to the needs of buyer and in turn enhancing the quality of the product manufactured by the buyer. Supplier development is a challenging role and is determined by the amount of involvement shown by the buyer company in the operation process of buyer company and the willingness of the buyer company to commit resources for the operations concerning supply to that particular company. From the study it was inferred that supplier identification, supplier evaluation and legal/social compliance has a direct influence on supplier relationship management and also has an indirect effect on supplier relationship management through supplier development and supplier choice. Supplier development and choice of supplier are mediating variables for the effect of supplier identification, supplier evaluation and legal/social compliance on supplier relationship management. The study is based on auto companies in and around Chennai and further studies can be carried by involving executives of other geographical areas and also paying a larger focus on areas such as social accountability of supplier companies.

Evaluation of the Development Capability of the New Energy Vehicle Industry: An Empirical Study from China

In order to alleviate the pressures of environmental pollution and the energy crisis, and to lay out and capture huge emerging markets as soon as possible, all countries in the world are vigorously developing new energy vehicles (NEVs). This paper analyzes the factors influencing the development capability of the NEV industry from the aspects of autonomy, controllability, and stability, and constructs an evaluation index system. Based on the improved entropy method and the catastrophe progression method, we establish an evaluation model for the development capability of China’s NEV industry and comprehensively evaluate the development capability of 15 new energy auto companies. An empirical analysis finds that the outlook for the overall development capability of China’s NEV industry is not optimistic, and there is a big gap in the industry, lacking core technology and independent innovation capability. We propose countermeasures such as increasing research and development (R&D) investment and innovation, and improving policy support.

Effect of stress management intervention on stress response and job satisfaction among employees in Chinese auto enterprises

Objective: To understand the effect of stress management interventions on improving stress response and job satisfaction among auto company employees. Method: A total of 320 employees in three Chinese auto companies were selected in August 2017 by stratified random sampling method to detect the stress response and job satisfaction. According to the score of job satisfaction, we got the low job satisfaction group (experimental group, n=86) and high job satisfaction group (control group, n=86). The two groups accepted a twelve months stress management intervention and then the stress response and job satisfaction scores were measured in August 2018 to learn the intervention effect. Results: The stress response score had a significant correlation with the job satisfaction score (r=0.219, P<0.05). After the intervention, the stress response and job satisfaction scores in experimental group was significantly higher than that before intervention (19.38±9.54, 16.00±10.47, P<0.05). The job satisfaction score was significantly higher than that before intervention (11.07±4.59, 2.89±1.96, P<0.01). Conclusion: Stress management intervention can improve the stress response and job satisfaction of auto enterprise employees.

Analysis of the internal strategic alignment of the production strategy: case study in an auto parts company of the municipality of Sorocaba/SP

Abstract The auto parts sector plays an important role in the national economy and has the need to become more competitive in face of some difficulties in the current context. In this scenario, it is considered of great importance the alignment of the production strategy and its contribution to the competitiveness of the sector in the country. Thus, the research aims to analyze, based on methods proposed in the literature, the degree of internal alignment of the production strategy in two segments of one company in the auto parts sector. The method adopted was the case study, being the research of combined character that makes use of the qualitative and quantitative approach. Among the main results, it can be seen that, although the organization analyzed has more control over the production process technologies for products that serve the commercial vehicle market, there are efforts to reduce the product portfolio and standardize the products offered in the market. with cost as the competitive priority emerging.