The competition among the big players of the automotive industry in the EV sector has already begun. There are, however, still many problems to solve in the development phase, and in the meantime the main market remains the one of combustion engine cars. Either way, the best solution on the market has but one name: One-Shot®. Here is why.
“If we carry on at this pace, it’ll be really hard”.
And according to what Reuters reported, he said that if Volkswagen does not hurry with its electrification plan, they’ll end up like Nokia. Yes, the cell phone giant that lost the smartphone challenge.
If these words are uttered by Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen, it is big news.
If Volkswagen is concerned about the future, one stops and thinks.
What direction are we going in?
Let’s try and recap.
The largest combustion engine car maker (together with Toyota) in the world has concerns about the future.
Will the market start to demand electric cars and no more combustion engine cars? Maybe.
So, in order to maintain its leading position, VW took up a challenge, i.e. becoming the largest producer of electric cars in the world.
What are the consequences? Massive investments and absolutely ambitious objectives: Selling 22 million electric cars by 2028, which would mean reaching 53% of the global market.
But in the meantime, Wood Mackenzie, a global research and consultancy group, revised these figures downwards. They estimated that by that time Volkswagen will have sold about 14 million electric cars, thus only slightly exceeding 25% of the world total.
This is why speeding up is urgent. And this is not yet all.
According to the German magazine Manager Magazin, some of Mr Diess’s concerns might also be about the ID.3, VW’s first electric car for mass distribution.
The car itself is ready, but the software is reported to have issues, which may result in delays. Volkswagen confirmed the problem but currently denied any delays in delivery.
CHINA: THE OBJECTIVE IS BECOMING THE WORLD LEADER IN ELECTRIC MOBILITY
We all know Volkswagen and we know that the German giant can adapt, can conquer new challenges and is not a follower but on the contrary determines the market’s direction. It sets an example. A benchmark.
I am sure that it will be able to reach the objectives it sets out to reach.
Time is the issue, though. Time is effectively tight.
Our market evolves constantly. Change offers opportunities to those who want to come into the picture.
In 2018 and 2019 more electric cars were sold in China than in the rest of the world together.
Have you ever been to Shenzen? There is no better place to actually see this phenomenon.
It is one of the largest technological centres of China, and the only city in the world with 100% electric buses. Additionally, it is one of the first cities that set the objective of replacing petrol-fuelled taxis with new electric ones.
Coincidence? Not at all! Shenzen is home to BYD, one of the largest manufacturers of electric vehicles in global.
You got it.
China came into the picture, the biggest automotive market in the world. And China had a very clear objective in mind: becoming the biggest producer of electric cars.
Well, you may have noticed that there are no made-in-China electric cars on the roads of New York, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Paris, Rome or Seoul.
The world’s biggest car manufacturers are elsewhere! Challenging them on their territory would cost a huge amount of time and money.
“Ok, away-games are hard. So, let’s play on another ground and let’s make it ours”, this is what our Chinese friends must have thought.
It is estimated that by 2025 around 80 Chinese car makers will be playing on the global automotive market and will be producing between 2.5 and 5 million electric cars.
And this is why Volkswagen needs to hurry. But in doing so, they encounter two major issues.
- LIMITATIONS AND BOTTLENECKS IN ELECTRIC CAR DEVELOPMENT
The ongoing climate change forces us to act. To change. And to do so in a concrete, decisive and, especially, quick way.
If you asked me whether the full electric option is viable, I’d say: Of course, it is!
As you know, however, it has a series of issues, too:
- High costs, low autonomy, issues in battery disposal, need of recharging facilities, etc. These issues are known to you and there’s no need to go into the details here.
- There are many doubts as to whether this mobility model is sustainable. The problem is linked to the high level of energy required to extract and process lithium, cobalt and manganese, which as you know are the fundamental raw materials for the production of batteries for electric cars.
- Consumers’ habit to use combustion engine cars needs to be taken into account given the new increase registered in the market in 2019.
Honestly? I think that electric cars can be the future.
In the meantime, though, the planet lives in the present.
And to date, to be honest, electric car development still lags behind. Both in terms of their development and in terms of their REAL environmental sustainability.
- THE MAIN MARKET IS STILL THE COMBUSTION ENGINE MARKET
Let’s put it this way.
Whatever our opinion on the future of electric cars, it does not matter.
Let’s stick with the present and with objective data: for some years to come the main market will remain the combustion engine one.
You know very well what the market demands in an increasingly urgent way. You know what the objectives are and maybe they are your objectives, too.
- COST REDUCTION
- FASTER PRODUCTION
- MORE LIGHTWEIGHT PARTS
- FEWER EMISSIONS
This is exactly what the One-Shot® Method, the world’s fastest method to produce car parts, guarantees to you.
The game is still on and it will be for who knows how long.
Do you know what I think? I think that the market demands us to run on two parallel rails at the same time.
Optimising production, starting now. And in the meantime, designing the cars of the future.
COMBUSTION ENGINE OR ELECTRIC CAR: ONLY ONE METHOD ENABLES YOU TO KEEP UP TO SPEED
If your objectives are things like:
- Cycle time up to 900% faster and 300% productivity increase
- Lower costs and better commercial performance on your budget
- Fewer emissions, more lightweight and recyclable parts in line with Horizon 2020
Then I can say without being afraid to be proven wrong that One-Shot® is the best production method that you have ever tried.
The only Method that guarantees that you reach your budget, cycle time, lightweighting and recyclability objectives that were given to you (and that you will never reach by sticking with the traditional method, which has not been innovated in decades).
How does it do this?
By compressing all the phases of the traditional production methods into just one, all-in-one method.
The additional (big) advantage is that the One-Shot® method is already ready for the electric future.
Let me tell you why so by quoting an example related to the One-Shot® Aeroshield, the underbody part used on the Fiat 500.
Since it doesn’t require aluminium rivets, which risk absorbing or reflecting electrostatic discharge, it will be easily deployable on the new electric vehicles and at the same time it meets the latest sustainability demands.
The latest research carried out by SAPAs Innovation Engineering department goes towards the optimisation of production processes and it also proposes the implementation of new, bio-composite materials that can meet the zero waste requirements of a market that demands more lightweight, less polluting cars.
This is at the heart of the LIFE BIOBCOMPO project, thanks to which SAPA – together with CRF, FCA and SOPHIA and with the support of the European Union, will reduce CO2 emissions per km by 1.23kg by 30 June 2021.
If you don’t want to be hampered by the issues connected with the traditional production method and if you want to be ready for the electric breakthrough, I recommend you filled in the form at the bottom of the page.
If you also would like to easily obtain the best solution available on the market to solve the issues that the automotive industry is trying to solve and at the same time if you want to get ready for the future electric breakthrough, fill in the form at the bottom of the page.
Kind regards,
Giovanni Affinità
General Manager and Member SAPA’s Board of Directors
