This 2009 file photo shows a Chevrolet Camaro on General Motors flex line at its Oshawa, Ontario plant.Chevrolet GMs long-running Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant officially ceased vehicle production today, December 18.General Motors of Canada has been building cars in Oshawa since the company’s inception in 1918, though the car assembly plant closed this month was opened in late 1953, when demand for Canadian-built Chevrolets was strong enough to warrant building a second facility.The plants closure was announced November 2018 and was due to the recent restructuring of the company, which will halt vehicle production there.Two of the final products that rolled off its line the Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala were discontinued this year, and GM announced the plant would not be updated for the next generation of vehicles.The closing of the plant leaves 2,300 workers unemployed. Just because the plant is finished making cars, however, doesnt mean its going to be completely abandoned by the automaker.Around 300 workers will remain employed at the plant, as parts-stampers for GM and other suppliers. GM made a commitment to produce quarter panels, trunks, doors and hoods at the plant for the next 10 years. GM has also injected $170 million into the plant to convert it into a test site for autonomous- and connected-vehicle technology. Ground has already been broken on the 55-acre site for a paved testing circuit.Some Oshawa workers are eligible for retirement incentives of up to $150,000 if theyve been working there for more than 30 years, or are of retirement age. They will also receive a $10,000 vehicle voucher. Workers who are less than 50 years old but have 10 years or more experience and will turn 50 within three years will be offered an up-to-$150,000 buyout package, or can opt to be placed on a layoff
Origin: The last truck rolled out of Oshawa, Ontario’s 66-year-old GM plant today
Plant
Ford Flex discontinued, Ontario assembly plant nixes 450 jobs
2017 Ford Flex Ford is killing its boxy Flex wagon after 11 years of production time spent, for the most part, in the sales doldrums.When the vehicle was first shown at the 2005 North American International Auto show, Ford called it the Fairlane concept, resurrecting a much-revered old nameplate. (No surprise, that choice made pretty much everybody angry, just as Fords new maybe-Mach E-badged SUV has all over again.)Despite the stupid name, the vehicle was marketed as an upscale, roomy, retro vehicle with all-wheel drive, albeit one not necessarily meant for taking off-road. It could have been something great, but Ford decided to advertise it as an edgy machine for young urbanites, and not the family truckster it obviously was. The Flex continued leading a hard life marketed alongside the venerable Explorer, instead of replacing it outright.While the Explorer refused to move to a new platform due to the perceived towing benefits of the rear-wheel-drive chassis, it would eventually move to the Flex platform, ironically. The Explorer was no doubt the ugly duckling of the two, but name recognition kept it in buyers minds enough to outsell the Flex.The Flex was built in Oakville, Ontario, which means all the workers tasked with its assembly will have to find work somewhere else. Some 450 jobs will be cut from Ford production at the plant, according to an email sent to Automotive News Canada by Ford of Canada spokesperson Lauren
Origin: Ford Flex discontinued, Ontario assembly plant nixes 450 jobs
Nissan ‘to review future’ of Sunderland plant in case of no-deal Brexit
Nissan could close its Sunderland factory if the UK leaves the European Union without a trade deal, according to reports in the Financial Times. The newspaper, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, reports a no-deal Brexit could prompt the Japanese firm to stop making the Qashqai SUV at the site – which could ultimately lead to the closure of the plant. In November 2016, Nissan pledged to build the hugely popular Qashqai in the UK, after then-chairman Carlos Ghosn received assurances from then-prime minister Theresa May that the firm’s operations would be protected from the impact of Brexit – but the agreement was reportedly contingent on a ‘soft’ Brexit with an EU trade deal. The FT claims that, under a global review Nissan has since undertaken, the Sunderland plant could be downsized or even closed if a no-deal Brexit makes it uncompetitive to ship cars from the site to the EU. Currently, Nissan also makes the Juke and Leaf models at Sunderland. In a statement issued to Autocar, Nissan said: “While we don’t comment on speculative scenarios, our plans for Qashqai production in Sunderland have not changed.” But the firm did warn that a no-deal Brexit could have a serious impact on British-based industry. It added: “Since 1986, the UK has been a production base for Nissan in Europe. Our British-based RD and design teams support the development of products made in Sunderland, specifically for the European market. “Frictionless trade has enabled the growth that has seen our Sunderland plant become the biggest factory in the history of the UK car industry, exporting more than half of its production to the EU. “Today we are among those companies with major investments in the UK who are still waiting for clarity on what the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU will look like. “As a sudden change from those rules to the rules of the WTO will have serious implications for British industry, we urge UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade.” Current prime minister Boris Johnson has said he is committed to the UK leaving the EU on the currently scheduled date of 31 October regardless of whether a deal has been agreed. A no-deal Brexit would mean UK-built cars such as Nissan models made at Sunderland would be subject to tariffs when being shipped to Europe. But under a trade agreement between the EU and Japan, Nissan would be able to export models made in its home country into the EU without tariffs. That would potentially make it more profitable to make models for Europe in Japan rather than the UK. Earlier this year, Nissan reversed a decision to make the next-generation of the X-Trail SUV at Sunderland, citing Brexit concerns and the decline of diesel as reasons. The plant also recently lost the Infiniti Q30 and QX30, after Nissan decided to withdraw its premium sub-brand from Europe. It has also cut back a number of jobs at the plant as part of a global cost-cutting initiative. Nissan opened its Sunderland plant in 1986, and is believed to have invested more than £4 billion in it since then. The plant has recently been upgraded to prepare for the next-generation Juke crossover, which is due to go into production shortly. Honda is in the process of closing its Swindon factory, in a move it says is not primarily due to Brexit. But BMW and Toyota have warned they could switch production from the UK in the case of a no-deal
Origin: Nissan ‘to review future’ of Sunderland plant in case of no-deal Brexit
GM plans ‘temporary layoffs’ at Ontario plant late September
Production of the General Motors CAMI Automotive facility in Ingersoll, Ontario, is shown in this Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006 file photo.Dave Chidley / Canadian Press General Motors Ingersoll, Ontario production facility, known as CAMI Assembly, will go through a temporary layoffs for the week starting September 30, and may see several more layoff weeks through the end of the year, the automaker told Automotive News.The shut-down will allow GM to re-adjust production targets for the Chevrolet Equinox crossover built there, to re-align manufacturing with market demand.While sales of the Equinox were up slightly in the U.S., reports the outlet, they were down significantly in Canada in the first half of this year; a generally softening North American new-car market will see the other facility that builds the Equinox, GMs San Luis Potos plant in Mexico, permanently cut one of its three shifts, starting this month.The head of the union representing the CAMI plants 2,500-plus workers, Unifor Local 88 President Joe Graves, said GM cutting a shift at its Mexican plant instead of at Ingersoll is a sign that GM does recognize our quality, even if labor costs at the San Luis Potos are
Origin: GM plans ‘temporary layoffs’ at Ontario plant late September
Analysis: why Vauxhall’s Luton plant has a bright future
Britain’s biggest commercial vehicle plant, Vauxhall Luton, last month started production of a new Vivaro van as part of a £100 million investment under new PSA ownership that secures 1250 jobs. The new van provides Luton with long-term security, gives a huge vote of confidence in the plant’s ability to adopt PSA manufacturing and quality standards and potentially opens up opportunities to build other vehicles based on the PSA EMP2 platform, which also underpins the Vauxhall Grandland X. “This is a very, very important investment for Vauxhall,” said plant director Mike Wright. “In less than two years, the workforce has turned this plant into one of PSA’s ‘European champions’. The amount of change at the plant has just been huge.” Such accolades are particularly crucial when you consider how under threat Vauxhall’s other major plant – Ellesmere Port – has appeared to be in recent months. Five years ago, Wright guided Autocar through a tranche of £168m of investment that put the revamped Gen-3 Vivaro into production under GM ownership in conjunction with Opel and Renault, securing the Luton plant to 2025. Now it’s all change after PSA bought Vauxhall/Opel in March 2017, with the Vivaro name switching to the design that serves as the Citroën Jumpy/ Dispatch, Peugeot Expert and Toyota ProAce Verso. Like the outgoing Vivaro, it’s front-driven, but, being based on a platform that also supports SUVs, has refinements such as a multi-link rear axle, a more complex electrical system and a panoramic roof option for passenger versions. Switching to the new platform has required significant changes to the Luton plant layout. The bulk of the investment – £65m – has gone into a new, heavily robotised body-in-white assembly plant for the new platform. To accommodate the new line, Vauxhall cleared out a cavernous 8000-square-feet underground car park and installed 300 new robots plus assembly jigs and mechanical handling gear capable of pushing out 24 chassis platform underbodies every hour. “With a lot of blood, sweat and tears, we’ve transformed this space and installed and commissioned a whole new chassis line in just 12 months,” said Wright. This might just be a record for a new assembly plant body shop, the urgency of PSA to speed up the turnaround providing the impetus. Such speed of delivery is possible since the line at Vauxhall replicates the one installed at Sevel Nord, PSA’s van plant at Valenciennes in northern France. Luton is now part of PSA’s ‘van cluster’, led by Sevel Nord, and featuring Luton, Sevel Sud in Italy and Gliwice in Poland. Quality is benchmarked against Nord and, on our visit, Citroën and Peugeot vans are in production as a quality yardstick. Operations at Luton have been simplified by bringing in kits of pressed body panels from Sevel Nord’s suppliers, although this has diluted local content to 22% – below the 40% that it was under GM. Vauxhall hopes to raise the local content in future. With panels coming in from France, Luton’s ageing press shop is quiet for now. The speed of the model changeover at Luton allows insufficient time to build new body dies, which typically takes two years. Previously, the press shop was fully occupied stamping out panels both for Luton and Renault’s Normandy van plant. Replacement work might include panels for the PSA family of vans. As well as the new platform bodyshop, the Luton plant has reorganised its flow of parts and assembly to use two floors instead of three, dedicating the ground floor solely for assembly and final trim. A conveyor moves platforms from the new underground welding line to the first floor where the bodies are built up, before dropping down to the ground floor. Machines are crammed in to these new areas as PSA cracks the whip to improve workflow and shrink the production line footprint, one of its production efficiency measures. Body assembly starts when body panels arrive in trucks from France, crated in sets of 18 and paired left/right to ensure full sets. After being loosely ‘tabbed’ together they move into assembly, where 128 new robots are deployed on bodyside welding alone. Sparks fly, as usual, in the body-framing welding station, which is also new, and is the centrepiece of the plant. Usefully, more automation has raised output, and by mid-2020 Vauxhall plans 90,000 to 100,000 units per year, considerably more than the 60,000 annually under GM. At 100,000, the paint shop will be at full capacity. PSA has introduced innovations in final assembly, too, notably a new automated parts handling system dubbed the ‘supermarket’ that automatically loads components into bins to be delivered line-side by a fleet of 19 robotic, automatically guided vehicles (AGV). This reduces line-side clutter at the 200-plus final assembly stations, essential because the new PSA van offers more build variations, requiring more parts at each station. A spin-off from this extra complication is a
Origin: Analysis: why Vauxhall’s Luton plant has a bright future
Ford to cut roughly 200 workers at Oakville plant
The robots do their work on the line in the Ford Oakville assembly plant, on June 7, 2013. Workers and robotics work together in the million square feet facility to produce over 200,00 cars a year. Ford plans to lay off about 200 of the 4,600 workers at its Oakville, Ontario assembly plant come September, the automaker announced mid-July, and may let go even more employees there in January.We have been arguing as a local for the past several weeks trying to persuade the company from somehow avoiding this scenario, but to no avail, Dave Thomas, president of Unifor Local 707, in Oakville, Ontario, was quoted on the unions website last week.As always, its based on a business decision and it all comes down to dollars and cents, he said.The plant turns out the Ford Flex and Lincoln MXT, both of which have seen sales slow considerably, the automaker said. The Ford Edge, another Oakville-built product, is also seeing demand drop after it was pulled from several markets in Europe.We have a longstanding practice of matching production with consumer demand, Kelli Felker, Fords manufacturing and labour communications manager, told
Origin: Ford to cut roughly 200 workers at Oakville plant
Fiat investing in new plant assembly line to build electric 500
Robots manufactured by Comau are pictured on the assembly line of the Fiat 500 BVE, the first of its kind in Europe, during its inauguration at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Mirafiori plant in Turin on July 11, 2019.Miguel Medina / Getty Fiat announced mid-July it was investing US$788 million into its Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy in order to build a battery electric (BEV) version of its 500 city car.The first robots on the new assembly line were installed July 11 at a ceremony that saw the automaker announce the plants production target of some 80,000 BEVs per year.Production of these next-gen electrics will begin in the second quarter of 2020, said Pietro Gorlier, FCAs chief operating officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and the production target could later be expanded.FCA plans to invest a total of US$5.6 billion in Italian production by
Origin: Fiat investing in new plant assembly line to build electric 500
JLR set to invest in UK plant to build electric models
JLR set to invest in UK plant to build electric models Jaguar Land Rover will be able to build EVs at Castle Bromwich Jaguar Land Rover is expected to announce on Friday that it is investing millions in its Castle Bromwich plant to allow the manufacturing group to build electric models in the UK. According to reports in the Financial Times, a scheduled six-week shutdown will provide the opportunity to alter tooling on the lines, enabling the production of EVs. The expected news is a boost to the company’s workers in the country, as recent losses have seen Jaguar Land Rover announce job cuts as part of plans to restructure the company. A crucial element of that refocusing is an increased electric car offering. Currently, Jaguar has the all-electric I-Pace available, and Land Rover has the Range Rover & Range Rover Sport PHEVs on their books. The recently axed XJ large executive saloon is expected to be replaced by an all-electric model to rival the likes of Tesla’s Model S and the forthcoming Porsche Taycan. Other models in the Jaguar and Land Rover ranges will be offered as pure-electric or plug-in hybrid models in the next few years. The I-Pace is currently produced in Austria, and the only electric model produced in the UK is Nissan’s Leaf at the company’s Sunderland plant. A EV battery manufacturing site is set to be opened by Williams Advanced Engineering and Unipart, which could help with JLR’s EV plans, and is already confirmed to supply Aston Martin at its St Athans site. Jaguar has been boosted by the success of the I-Pace, which currently holds both the World Car of the Year and European Car of the Year titles, and is looking to build on those foundations with new electric models with future launches. JLR has recently announced plans to work with the BMW Group to develop next-generation electric powertrains going forward.
Origin: JLR set to invest in UK plant to build electric models
Analysis: What went wrong at Ford’s Bridgend plant?
Ford’s closure of its Bridgend engine plant ends a chapter that began at the peak of the brand’s popularity in the UK in the 1970s and reflects current changes in car buyer’s tastes, misdirected product planning and pressure to electrify its fleet to hit EU CO2 targets. The Bridgend closure will be devastating for the 1700 employees but it will also hit a further 5000 or so in the wider economy. “We fear the knock-on effect and it will be substantial,” said Tim Williams of the Welsh Automotive Forum, an alliance of car industry businesses in Wales. There is a glimmer of hope in the shape of Aston Martin’s St Athan plant, 12 miles to the south-east, but the chances of Ineos taking space to build its Grenadier 4×4 at the Ford site have now faded. Aston now represents the future for the car industry in Wales. It built its first DBX crossover at St Athan last week, with recruitment for 550 new assembly staff due to start in September. “I’m sure we will have plenty of applications from the Bridgend area,” said an Aston spokesman. Suppliers to Ford will also be affected, although few major component makers are local. Block castings, for example, are trucked in from Ireland and the plant has an extended supply chain stretching onto mainland Europe. Despite the drawn-out supply chain, potential customs delays and sterling weakness, Ford has denied a link to Brexit in its decision to shut Bridgend in September 2020. So what caused the plant’s closure? Dr Peter Wells of Cardiff Business School lists several contributing factors, the key ones being sales and market related: “The Dragon engine (the 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine used in the Fiesta ST and Focus) is not selling as well as hoped, Ford is running the plant well below capacity and it needs to make cost cuts.” As with all mid-market brands, Ford’s sales have been squeezed and in Europe have fluctuated in the past decade between 1.75 million and 1.33m, recovering to nearly 1.6m now. Market share has almost halved in the past 30 years – from around 11% in 1990 to 6% in 2018. “Ford’s market share in Europe is the same as BMW’s, yet it can’t command premium pricing, so it is having to find cost cuts,” said Wells. Intended to replace the four-cylinder Sigma engine launched in 2011, the Dragon engine arrived just as Ford faced having to invest in hybrid and battery powertrains and while its cheaper, more frugal 1.0-litre engine is on the rise. “Ford’s product planning has just gone wrong,” said Wells. The Dragon has too large a displacement for the non-ST Fiesta and the Ka+, while the three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine built in Romania and Germany has become the core petrol engine for the Fiesta and Focus ranges. The 1.0-litre is also available in 138bhp form, closing the gap to the 148bhp Dragon. Other models that could have taken the Dragon, such as the C-Max and B-Max, are being discontinued and the new Puma crossover is arriving at a time when plug-in and mild hybrids are the essential powerplants. Ford’s new hybrid powertrain is based on a high-efficiency Atkinson combustion cycle, which, Ford says, makes hybridising the Dragon uneconomic. This is a very rapid fall from grace for a brand-new design that went into production only last October at a cost of £100m. It is likely to finish its third and final full year at around only 80,000 units – a third less than the 125,000 capacity at Bridgend. Given the plant built 701,000 engines as recently as 2014, this proved a fatal drop in output. Even from the start, Ford could see threats to its Dragon investment. The plan from 2015 envisaged 250,000 units a year and £181m of investment, yet two years later, that evolved to just 125,000 units with investment of £100m. Product planning dictated much of this revision: the Dragon couldn’t be slotted straight into Ford’s larger models because they were designed around four-cylinder engines. Although the Dragon will continue to be needed, it will be supplied from lower-cost Mexico and/or China in two plants already tooled to build it. Of course, other factors are at play. Bridgend’s contract to build Jaguar Land Rover’s AJ V8 and V6 petrols will finish just before the plant closes. Of the 650,000 units built at Bridgend in 2016, around 145,000 were JLR engines. JLR is replacing the V6 with a straight six. At one time, the new six was rumoured to be going into Bridgend onto the line that once built the ‘SI6’ 3-2-litre six fitted to some Land Rover and Volvo models. But those plans have changed, too, and instead JLR’s new six will be built in Wolverhampton and the V8 could come from BMW. Ford will maintain diesel engine production at Dagenham and engineering at Dunton in Essex, so it is hoped the closure of Bridgend is the last adjustment to its UK footprint for now. How Bridgend came to be When plans for a new engine plant in Bridgend were announced in 1977, Ford was riding high from many years of UK and European
Origin: Analysis: What went wrong at Ford’s Bridgend plant?
Tesla’s upcoming Model Y SUV could be built at Fremont plant
Elon Musk is notoriously cagey when it comes to details about his automotive empire. Delivery numbers? Cost estimates? Time frames? Where most other auto manufacturers get their feet held to the fire over such minutiae, Musk and company seem to thrive on a foundation of sand and fog. After introducing the Model Y small crossover earlier this year, questions centred around where exactly the thing would be built. Since it shares much with the Model 3, a logical guesstimate would be for it to share assembly space with its smaller brother. Back in Q4 2018, however, the company stated it would likely utilize the Gigafactory 1 space in Nevada for Model Y production. That seems to have changed, according to a report from CNBC. Citing those in the know, Tesla is looking at pressing its Fremont facility into Model Y production, a plan Musk may have alluded to on an April call with investors. Nothing’s been publicly confirmed. In order for that plan to work, the company would need to shuffle a series of deck chairs at Fremont, a plant which currently produces all three of Tesla vehicles on sale today. Adding the Model Y to that mix would likely require new equipment, gear for which the company has barely begun to place orders, according to sources cited by CNBC. Those same insiders say that making way for the Model Y would necessitate consolidating Model X and Model S production onto a single line. And yes, Tesla’s four vehicles are called S, 3, X and Y. That ‘3’ would have been an ‘E’ if not for the Ford Motor Company crying foul over trademarks and copyrights. Keep in mind that Tesla is planning extensive upgrades to the Model S this year, including an interior that is said to mimic that found in the Model 3. If it utilizes some of the same forms and parts, it could reduce costs, or allow for more flexible manufacturing options at Fremont. The company recently cut production staff and, according to insiders speaking to CNBC, now makes the X and S on weekday
Origin: Tesla’s upcoming Model Y SUV could be built at Fremont plant
All about car 