Commercial Vehicle Manufacturer Research Articles

Application of circular economy principles in a automotive industry chain

The economic model applied predominantly at a global level is linear, which operates through extractivism. In this model, the potential of the environment to regenerate due to resource consumption and waste generation is not fully considered. In this context, the Circular Economy emerges as an alternative for promoting new business models and forms of consumption that respects the recovery capacity of the environment., decoupling economic development from the increase in consumption of natural resources through the circularity of materials. One of the pioneering Circular Economy structures in scientific publications is called Butterfly Diagram, which has three principles and two different forms of circularity, which are biological and technical. Within the industrial context, there is the automotive sector, which traditionally practices a linear economy, consuming natural resources and generating a large amount of waste. On the other hand, the automobile is a product with a high level of recyclability, bringing great potential to the sector for implementing Circular Economy practices. The objective of this research is to identify and analyze existing circularity practices in an automotive industry, also verifying how they can be framed within the Butterfly Diagram. The research method used was a case study of a commercial vehicle manufacturer, with incorporated analysis units. The sources of evidence were semi-structured interviews, direct observation, documentary research and archive records. The research results show that Circular Economy practices already exist in the sector studied, mainly in after-sales processes. The evidence also makes it possible to propose new hierarchies for the technical cycle of materials in the Butterfly Diagram, dividing maintenance into preventive and corrective, and recycling into upcycling and downcycling.

The CO2 management decision problem in tactical sales planning of light commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe

The CO2 management decision problem in tactical sales planning of light commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe

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The CO<SUB align="right">2 management decision problem in tactical sales planning of light commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe

Analisa Jarak Center Lubang Connecting Rod diluar Standar pada PT. XYZ

PT. XYZ as a manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines has an important role in the automotive industry. This company consists of several departments, one of which is machining and assembly. Dynamic industrial developments encourage companies to continue to innovate in order to remain relevant, competitive and develop. Increasing competition in the business world will mean that consumers have more choices in choosing products. Therefore, to have competitiveness and survive competition with other products. This research seems to focus on identifying types of defects, their causes, and providing alternative recommendations for improvement to increase product competitiveness at the PT. Based on identifying factors that cause product defects through a fishbone diagram, namely human, machine and method factors. The proposal given in this research is to make parts or make tools such as Shim Plates which are used to help an object to be stable (connecting rod).

A REVIEW ON REAL VEHICLE USAGE MODELLING OF DRIVERLESS MULTIPURPOSE VEHICLES IN VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEMS

AbstractReal vehicle usage rarely matches the predictions made during early phases of vehicle development and sales processes at commercial road vehicle manufacturers. The automotive industry needs multidisciplinary vehicle design methods to predict real-world vehicle operations by considering the vehicle level and the transport system level simultaneously, in a more holistic approach. The aim of this study was to analyse how realistic vehicle usage of driverless multipurpose vehicles can be modelled in Vehicle Routing Problems (VRPs) by conducting a systematic literature review. We found that real vehicle usage modelling of driverless multipurpose vehicles in VRPs mainly depended on the following elements: VRP variant, energy consumption model, energy consumption rate class, number of vehicle-specific design variables and transport system-level factors. Furthermore, we identified in the literature five classes of energy consumption rate edge behaviour in VRPs. These findings can support decision-making in the modelling process to select the most suitable combination of elements, and their level of detail for the overall modelling aim and purpose.

CHALLENGES OF USING AUGMENTED REALITY TO SUPPORT AN EFFICIENT AND ERROR-FREE ASSEMBLY IN COMPLEX VARIANT ENVIRONMENTS

AbstractAs part of the digital transformation towards Industry 4.0, the tasks of staff on the shop floor are changing. Despite increasing automation, complex assembly steps still have to be carried out by humans, especially when it comes to complex products rich in variants, whose assembly cannpt be fully automated for various reasons. Due to increasing individualization and the steadily growing complexity of products, providing the right information at the right time and in the right place is becoming more important. In this context, the visualization of information via novel technologies such as augmented reality plays a crucial role towards an efficient and error-free production process. This paper compiles existing challenges when using augmented reality as a visualization form for an assistance system. On the one hand, the challenges found originate from a systematic literature review and are organized according to predefined categories. On the other hand, these challenges are complemented and compared through findings gained from expert interviews, which are conducted with employees of two European commercial vehicle manufacturers in the field of production. The analysis of the two methods highlights the need for further research.

METHODICAL APPROACH TO CLUSTER CONFIGURATIONS OF PRODUCT VARIANTS OF COMPLEX PRODUCT PORTFOLIOS

AbstractCompanies are increasingly struggling to manage their complex product portfolios. Since they do not fully understand the complexity, intelligent solutions are required. Emerging technologies and tools offer new ways to deal with existing problems. With the help of clustering, similarities between product variants can be identified automatically, and complexity can be systematically reduced. This article aims to develop a methodological approach to identify correlations between product variants in complex product portfolios automatically by using clustering algorithms. The approach includes the systematic cleaning and transformation of product portfolio data. In addition, a guide for algorithm selection and evaluation of clustering results is presented. As the last step, the results are systematically analysed and visualised. To validate the methodical approach, it is applied to a real-world data set of a commercial vehicle manufacturer and the usefulness of the results is confirmed in an expert workshop.

Technical and Economic Analysis to Select Suitable Design Parameters of an E-Machine for Electric Commercial Vehicles

In the European Union (EU), road transport contributes a major proportion of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, of which a significant amount is caused by heavy-duty commercial vehicles (CV). The increasing number of emission regulations and penalties by the EU have forced commercial vehicle manufacturers to investigate powertrain technologies other than conventional internal combustion engines (ICE). Since vehicle economics plays an important role in purchase decisions and the powertrain of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) contributes to about 8–20% of the total vehicle cost and the electric machine (EM) alone contributes to 33–43% of the drivetrain cost, it is necessary to analyze suitable EM topologies for the powertrain. In this paper, the authors aim to analyze the technical and cost aspects of an EM for electric commercial vehicles (ECV). Based on prior research and literature on this subject, an appropriate methodology for selecting suitable geometrical parameters of an e-machine for the use case of a heavy-duty vehicle is developed using MATLAB and Simulink tools. Then, for the economic analysis of the e-machine, reference ones are used, and their design parameters and cost structures are utilized to develop a cost function. Different use cases are evaluated according to the vehicle’s application. The results for a use case are compared by varying the design parameters to find the most cost-effective EM. Later, an analysis is performed on other decisive factors for EM selection. This highlights the importance of collaborative consideration of technological as well as the economic aspects of EMs for different use cases in ECVs. The method developed in this work contributes to understand the economic aspect of EMs as well as considering their performance factors. State-of-the-art methods and research are used to develop a novel methodology that helps with the selection of the initial geometry of the electric motor during the design process, which can serve to aid future designers and converters of electric heavy-duty vehicles.

Analysis of the market structure of long-distance transport vehicles in the context of retrofitting diesel engines with modern dual-fuel systems.

The demands placed on vehicles are constantly increasing. European legislation has forced commercial vehicle manufacturers to develop ever more powerful and dynamic engines with low fuel consumption. With the appearance of exhaust gas standards, truck manufacturers realized that it was necessary to improve the fuel supply system so that the combustion process was more efficient. To achieve this the fuel injected into the cylinders had to be finer in order to mix more easily with air. High-pressure unit injection systems have proved to be a good and reliable solution. They are also relatively cheap to produce and less prone to fuel contamination. Many years and millions of failure-free kilometers traveled on unit injectors effectively distracted some users and producers from the Common Rail system. Exhaust gas standards and increasing consumer expectations forced manufacturers to take another step in their development, i.e. the need for more precise fuel injection control. The injectors had to run faster in order to carry out the initiation dose, the actual injection and the extra injection. All these modifications make diesel engines in commercial vehicles such as tractor units much more powerful. They also allow for cooperation with aftermarket dual-fuel CNG-ON and LPG-ON installations. Dual-fuel solutions are perhaps another step towards reducing emissions, and thanks to reduced tolls, they are becoming a real alternative to conventional fuel-powered tractor units. This work focuses on the structure of the truck tractor market in terms of selecting cars used for the use of a non-factory dual-fuel CNG-ON installation.

Digital Vehicle Protocol based on Distributed Ledger Technology in Production

This paper describes the utilization of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as means of a digital backbone – the so-called digital vehicle protocol – across the commercial vehicle industry. Enabling a digital vehicle protocol along the value chain resolves common data management problems, which are still the main inhibitor for advanced analytics methods and serves as a basis for new business models.This contribution demonstrates a per product-data centered approach in which low structured data can be written to and read from any point along the value chain on a product unit-based scope by using DLT. By embedding data post-processing pipelines per product-unit, data easily can be retrofitted to the task at hand. Therefore, it decouples data post-processing from data generation as well as overcoming current data silos within organizations. DLT hereby allows tying processing routines to data leading to a temper-proof digital vehicle protocol. Besides obtaining a stronger product-individual focus, our approach enables an easier integration of stakeholders into the entire business process landscape such as suppliers as well as sellers and leads to future business models such as billing depending on quality defects found during production.Our conceptual framework resolves current problems, i.e. data access, data quality and data processing costs. We align conceptual applicability with regards to a Truck Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) within the scope of failure management in production in order to specify implementation details, which reveal new business process models that further can transform commercial vehicle manufacturers from producers to service providers.

Selected Impacts of Regulation (EU) 2019/631 On Value Creation in the Automative Industry

Abstract Road transportation is responsible for a significant part of the EU’s total CO2 emissions. Therefore, the automotive sector is subject to continuously strengthening environmental regulation. Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17th April 2019 sets, for the period from 2020 to 2024, an EU fleet-wide target of 147 g CO2/km for the average emissions of new light commercial vehicles and an EU fleet-wide target of 95 g CO2/km for the average emissions of new passenger cars, phasing in for 95% of vehicles in 2020 with 100% compliance in 2021. If a manufacturer does not meet given CO2 standards, the excess emissions premium (penalty) is to be charged. Value creation in the automotive sector across the supply chain is necessarily undergoing a process of change. Manufacturers of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are forced either to face a massive penalty or to invest in the development of low-emission technology and in the change of the production portfolio towards zero- and low-emission vehicles with lower profit margins and a relatively unformed customer base. The aim of this paper is to identify how the excess emissions premium affects the value creation in the automotive industry. Our methodology utilizes the income-based valuation approach. First, we conduct an analysis of the key financial value drivers of automotive companies in the period from 2016 to 2019. Subsequently, we make a prognosis of value drivers for the future period affected by the above-mentioned regulation.

WITHDRAWN: How changing behavioural pattern hinders new car purchase – Empirical evidence

In 2019, India achieved the rare of feat of the world's fourth largest manufacturer of cars and seventh largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles according to IBEF (Indian Brand Equity Foundation). The demand for Indian vehicles in both the domestic and international markets continue to grow. Love for cars has been a big factor for the people to have an enjoyable experience with the automobile industry. The development of new technologies from the design of a car, booking an online appointment, the output of the engine horsepower to after-sales service, customers have been more selective in their buying behaviour of a car. The study analyses the passenger car customers’ behavioural pattern with three attributes of hindrance faced during the pre and post purchase of a car. In this respect, three main hindrances were studied namely, purchase attributes, usage attributes and maintenance attributes. 21 variables were prepared with above hindrances and 209 responses were analysed using multiple linear regression. The study focused a change in the buying behavioural pattern of the customers at the time of purchase and maintenance rather than usage of a car. It is concluded that customers’ profession and monthly disposable income serve as a primary trigger for both these hindrances. The findings suggest that the car manufacturers should recognise the hindrances faced by the customers in order to achieve their marketing strategies and develop potential demand in the automobile market.

Charging Infrastructure for Commercial Electric Vehicles: Challenges and Future Works

The journey towards transportation electrification started with small electric vehicles (i.e., electric cars), which have enjoyed an increasing level of global interest in recent years. Electrification of commercial vehicles (e.g., trucks) seems to be a natural progression of this journey, and many commercial vehicle manufacturers have shifted their focus on medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification over the last few years. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review and analysis of the existing works presented in the literature on commercial vehicle charging. The paper starts with a brief discussion on the significance of commercial vehicle electrification, especially heavy- and medium-duty vehicles. The paper then reviews two major charging strategies for commercial vehicles, namely the return-to-base model and the on route charging model. Research challenges related to the return-to-base model are then analysed in detail. Next, different methods to charge commercial vehicles on route during their driving cycles are summarized. The paper then analyzes the challenging issues related to charging commercial vehicles at public charging stations. Future works relevant to these challenges are highlighted. Finally, the possibility of accommodating vehicle to grid technology for commercial vehicles is discussed.

Camera Assisted Autonomous UAV Landing

This article describes the use of a monocular camera attached to a multirotor perpendicular to the horizon, to recognize visual cues or artefacts (AprilTag) and use it as an anchor for aerial alignment to finally land on it, thus attempting to make autonomous flights safer and usable in slightly hard-to-reach locations. A Hexacopter frame with the DJI N3 flight controller was used for prototyping and realizing the desired algorithm. Factors like wind speed and gusts were taken into account as well as the center of gravity of the multirotor and the position of the molecular camera attached to the copter facing downwards or at a 90-degree angle. The results of the experiments conducted were verified against existing methods like the GPS (Global Positioning System) waypoint mission provided by major commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) or Flight Controller manufacturers and were also compared to experimental methods presented in related research articles, fairing excellent results

The linkage between competitive intelligence and competitive advantage in emerging market business: A case in the commercial vehicle industry

To achieve competitive advantage (CA) in emerging markets (EM) firms aresuggested to increase market orientation, using competitive intelligence (CI) as a source toincrease firm performance. However, in-depth linkage between CA and CI, as well as itsawareness/culture and process/structure constructs, has been researched and understood onlyin a limited way in general and for EM business in particular. This paper gives in-depthclarification of six research questions relating to the connection between CI, its constructs andCA for EM business as well as how CI as a product/process could be adapted for a larger impacton CA. It reports on a qualitative, document and interview data based in-depth single case studyat a CI department of a European Union (EU) commercial vehicle manufacturer engaging inEM business. It finds that overall the linkage of CI for CA was traceable and transparent tousers/generators of CI in the specific case with ambiguously perceived limitations, andinfluenced by seven identified factors. Seven out of eight pre-identified CI constructs werepromoted but also heterogeneously understood as contributing to CA, with no other relevantconstructs identifiable. Adaptions for more impact on CA were recommended for CI as a productin a limited sense, and as a process with eight potential levers more comprehensively. Theseresults help businesses to improve CI, its constructs, its products and process for a betterlinkage to CA and firm performance.

Does Organizational Forgetting Affect Quality Knowledge Gained Through Spillover?—Evidence from the Automotive Industry

In the automotive industry, when firms develop quality knowledge at their suppliers to address quality issues, some of the knowledge can spill over to other firms that use the same suppliers. We investigate how organizational forgetting affects such quality gains obtained from spillover. We analyze the quality data of 191 suppliers who supply similar products to two distinct businesses: a car and a commercial vehicle manufacturer. A latent class analysis identifies that the spillover of quality knowledge is significant at 93 of the 191 shared suppliers. Spillover is more likely at shared suppliers when there are higher product and process commonality between the components supplied to the different buyers, but less likely when suppliers use multiple facilities to cater to the requirements of the different buyers. Further investigation of the retention of quality knowledge of 93 suppliers with significant spillover reveals that forgetting erodes the quality gains obtained from spillover by 19.09% annually. This effect is larger than the depreciation of quality gains obtained from working directly with suppliers (10.93%). Moreover, the impact of forgetting depends on where the quality knowledge is retained: the quality knowledge embedded in routines erodes faster than the quality knowledge embedded in technology or organizational members. Furthermore, the impact of forgetting on spillover depends on where the quality improvement initiatives are implemented: gains from initiatives in the output activities depreciate less than gains from efforts in the in‐process activities. Our work provides managers guidance on managing the spillover of quality knowledge at suppliers.

Re-insourcing das atividades logísticas: estudo de casos múltiplos em centros de distribuição de peças de reposição

A fim de reduzir o tempo de entrega, otimizar o uso da frota, agilizar os fluxos logísticos e oferecer serviços especializados, as empresas atribuem à terceiros o gerenciamento de suas atividades logísticas. No entanto, a experiência da terceirização para algumas empresas parece não ter surtido o efeito desejado. Em algumas situações, tem-se observado uma tendência de reversão na decisão de terceirizar as atividades logísticas, processo esse denominado re-insourcing. Embora o re-insourcing esteja sendo realizado, ainda não são totalmente claras as razões que motivam essa mudança estratégica nas organizações. Este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar as razões que levam as organizações a interromperem a terceirização das atividades logísticas e realizar o re-insourcing. Para tanto, um estudo de casos múltiplos foi conduzido em uma montadora de veículos comerciais e em uma montadora de tratores para agricultura e construção civil. O resultado deste estudo indicou que o principal fator motivador para a realização do re-insourcing foi o baixo desempenho apresentado pelos operadores logísticos, causado pela alta rotatividade da mão de obra terceirizada, baixa produtividade e nível de qualidade dos serviços prestados abaixo do esperado.

A Study of Industrial Safety Measures with Special Reference to Automobile Manufacturing Industry

In India, automotive is one of the largest industries showing impressive growth over the years and has been significantly making increasing contribution to overall industrial development in the country. Presently, India is the world’s second largest manufacturer of two wheelers, fifth largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles as well as largest manufacturer of tractors. It is the fourth largest passenger car market in Asia as well as a home to the largest motor cycle manufacturer. Purpose of study is to assess the safety measures to be taken in an automobile manufacturing industry and to provide suggestions for better safety measures can be applied in automobile manufacturing industry. Present study is Descriptive, Exploratory and empirical in nature. Sources of data are primary as well as secondary. Study is done with special reference to Force Motors Ltd. Safety provisions implied at Force Motors were observed and analysed. Statistical tools used are Bar charts and pie charts etc.

Mission K-54: turning around the US$3bn Indian auto major – Ashok Leyland

Learning outcomes Learning outcomes are eliminating usual options for a turnaround, understanding how organizations can respond to adverse industry /market changes through cost and productivity management, managing strategic cost control turnaround deployed across a company, turning a huge threat into an opportunity and the role of leadership in driving strategic cost management and importance of internal communication and buy-in for a successful implementation. Case overview/synopsis Ashok Leyland Ltd. is the 2nd largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, the 4th largest manufacturer of buses in the world and the 12th largest manufacturer of trucks globally. Vinod Dasari joined this company in 2005, and since 2011, he has been the MD and CEO of the company. This case is about restaging of this company that commenced in the year 2013 when the company was heading toward a loss for the very first time in its 65 plus years of history. Ashok Leyland was heaving under its own weight, saddled with overheads, grappling with intense competition from old and new players and struggling to become agile and meet the new challenges in the market. A potential loss of up to Rs 750 crores (US$123m) looked inevitable. The challenges were that major structural changes were required and the company needed not only a transformational change but also a surgery. The company had to come up with savings of Rs 750 crores (US$123m) annually to avoid making losses. The projection of 54,000 unit sales volumes be achieved. Internal communication and buying in by all employees. This case outlines the path chosen by Dasari to restage, turn around, overcome the challenges and deal with employee resistance. Complexity academic level This study is applicable for MBA programs in business strategy, strategic marketing, international marketing and BBA programs in business strategy, strategic marketing and international marketing. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

The role of interaction-based effects on fatal accidents using logic regression

Background and Objectives: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were estimated to be the eighth major cause of death worldwide in 2016. Investigation of various factors alone can distort the results. Thus, it is important to consider interactions among the various factors associated with RTAs. Logic regression was used to investigate the important combinations among traffic accident variables. Methods: In this analytical study, the existing 1-year data from the police accident database in 2014 were examined. The Legal Medicine Organization database was also used to correct death after 30 days. Logic regression, a generalized regression model, was used to explore the interactions among different factors of the accident. Results: Cross-validation results showed the best model in the form of three trees and eight leaves. Being a professional driver and exposure to a heavy vehicle on sandy or earthy road double the chance of death. Operating an unsafe car on a road with curve increases the odds of a fatal crash by 1.65 times. Driver error on a nonresidential road without any shoulders adds 90% to the odds of having a deadly crash. Conclusions: The significance of the interactions between the road and driver factors shows that roads with poor design can cause a driver to make mistakes and increase fatal accidents. Therefore, politicians must consider constructing structures alongside nonresidential roads and proper shoulders, install signs at curves, and repair pavement in order to reduce the fatality of accidents. It is also recommended that manufacturers of commercial vehicles install proper safeguards in all heavy vehicles to reduce fatal accidents.