It seems that in Italy Volkswagen has already run out the e-Ups at disposal for 2020 and at present the model cannot be ordered any more. The same in Germany where, due to the strong rise of the demand for electric vehicles, the automotive company has decided removing the e-Up temporarily from price lists. Germans have made a clean sweep of the small electric also thanks to the VAT decreased to 16% and to the eco-bonus: a mix of provisions that allow buying e-Up with just less than twelve thousand Euros.
News coming from the headquarters report that the sale is expected to restart by the yearend for 2021 shares.
A curiosity that honours the small electric Volkswagen: since last July, one e-Up has been also used by the 113 of Verona Police Headquarters, the first 100% electrical vehicle in this context intended for service in the old town. A couple of years ago, the same choice also to implement the car fleet of Centre Commissariat of Milan Police headquarters.
The protagonists of a decennial strategic partnership are Polaris and Zero Motorcycles that together foresee the development of off-road vehicles and snowmobiles. The intention of Polaris is proposing within 2025 vehicles with electric motor inside each of its main segments, with the first debut forecast by the end of 2021.
It is a revolutionary partnership that avails itself of two talented work teams, oriented to widen notably the offer of electric vehicles in the world of motor sports.
“Due to the progresses in results, price strategy and performances in recent years, and customers’ ever-rising interest –Scott Wine, president and CEO of Polaris, declared – it is now the time for us, thanks also to the collaboration with Zero Motorcycles strategic partner, to implement our rEV’d up programme and incisively accelerate our ranking in the electrification sector in motor sports.
The choice fell on Zero Motorcycles because it plays a pioneer role in electrification, with advanced technologies and notable know-how.
“Zero Motorcycles – stated Sam Paschel, CEO of the company  – is pleased and honoured to give birth to this strategic collaboration that will change the sector, while we are collaborating and developing the vehicle technologies and platforms that will enhance the electrification future in motor sports.
Due to the collaboration with Digital Charging Solutions (DCS), Kia offers the drivers of its BEV and PHEV vehicles the access to about 167,000 recharge stations in all Europe.
By signing up for KiaCharge, in fact, it is possible to gain access to the infrastructures of the primary energy providers through a single platform, to facilitate and to speed up the energy supply. Moreover, through the eRoaming, customers can manage recharge costs on the whole European network in a single monthly invoice, without having to stipulate additional contracts with multiple suppliers.
«The availability and the suitability of public recharge points –Emilio Herrera, Chief Operating Officer of Kia Motors Europe, affirmed – remains a hindrance for many potential buyers of electric vehicles. With the introduction of a complete accessible public recharge service from a single account, we are committed to making the use of an electric vehicle simpler, and then the choice more feasible».
Since October 6th, KiaCharge users will gain access to the DCS net through a single radiofrequency identification card (RFID) or an app at disposal on Play Store or App Store, and therefore they will be allowed browsing the information about prices in real time and choosing the stations that better suit their requirements, too.
KiaCharge plan is available, astride September and October 2020, in Italy, Poland, Spain, Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland; in the United Kingdom they will instead use it since the fourth 2020-quarter.
Few months after the release,SEAT Leon strengthens its offensive with the introduction in the price list of the two new hybrid plug-in 1.4 and-HYBRID 204 HP propulsion systems, absolute preview for Barcelona brand. The hybrid offensive by Leon includes also the second mild hybrid (1.0 eTSI) propulsion system to offer innovative propulsion technologies. The new hybrid proposals represent an important strategic element for the brand, in a market that in August registered the 22.4% weight of hybrid motors, unceasingly growing in last months, with over 200% increment versus the same period of last year.
The matching of 1.4 TSI petrol engine with an electric motor, a 13 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and the DSG gearbox with six-speed double clutch allows the whole to develop 204 HP power (150 kW) and 350 Nm torque. The hybrid system of the new hybrid plug-in Leon is based on the coupling of a 1.4 TSI 150HP combustion engine and an 85kW electric motor with 12.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack, all that coupled with DSG automatic gearbox. Besides, the hybrid plug-in version enables the drive in fully electric modality, and then with zero CO2 emissions, with autonomy of about 60 km, just exploiting the energy stored in the car’s battery.
The electric motor is mounted between the combustion engine and the gearbox and achieves energy from the battery pack with eight modules featuring 12 cells each, installed in front of the rear axle.
It is called Vision EQXX the new fully electric prototype announced by Mercedes, a model that is likely to be the zero-emission vehicle with the highest autonomy ever obtained, over 1,200 km. This achievement would allow travelling from Beijing to Shanghai with a single charge.
Behind the development of Mercedes Vision EQXX there is a team with headquarters in Stuttgart, supported by the British Group AMG High Performance Powertrain, specialized in design and development of electric motors for motorsport. Feather in the cap of this new model will be the efficiency level of the vehicle and of the powertrain. «We have – affirmed Markus Schafer, Research and Development Manager of Mercedes – set up a team of our engineers to undertake an extraordinary challenge: manufacturing the electric car with the highest autonomy and efficiency ever implemented. It is a wide project, researching for state-of-the-art technologies».
Vision EQXX demo car will be very important to improve further the electric cars of Mercedes EQ range, constantly widened.
Yes, there is, the small Appy village, in the South of France. It is an isolated hamlet because there are only woods and meadows around it; place of an experiment signed by Renaultin collaboration with Publicis: its 27 inhabitants can travel exclusively with electric vehicles thanks to a triennial project started at the end of July. How? Renault has lent an electric Zoe to all families with the aim of demonstrating that the full transition to electric mobility is possible not only in cities but also in peripheral realities.
Spotlights are cast on a vehicle with 395-km autonomy in WLTP cycle, able to recover up to 150 km of autonomy with half an hour recharge.
Moreover, the test will allow assessing the car in the particular conditions of the zone, characterized by hot summers and snowy winters, an area that will become ambassador of the 100% zero emission mobility.
Two industrial giants, the Chinese automotive company First Automotive Worksand the GermanAudihave recently signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a joint venture for the production of electric vehicles based on the Premium Platform Electric.
What does it actually happen? Audi will bring the PPE developed with Porsche to China and on its base, within four years, they will produce different fully electric Audi models to be released on the Chinese market. The current scenario is very positive: in the first nine months of 2020, Audi delivered 4.5% more of electric cars versus the same period of the previous year.
«The agreement – stated Qiu Xiandong, general manager of FAW Group – is a strong message about the further enhancement of the Chinese automotive industry and the strengthening of the international cooperation in the sector of green energy vehicles».
The German witness is as enthusiastic: «This decision – affirmed Markus Duesmann, president of Audi AG board of directors – underlines the strategic importance of the Chinese market that induces us to go on with innovations on a local scale».
It is virtuous the engagement ofRenault Group, committed to zeroing carbon emissions in Europe within 2050 and to reducing, within 2030, 50% of CO2 emissions versus 2010.
Ten years have gone by since when Renault introduced the first ZOE on the road. Today, there are 350,000 Renault electric vehicles that circulate in the world, subdivided into 8 different models. Besides, within 2022, all new marketed models will be equipped with an electric or electrified version in a market where, within 5 years, 50% of sold vehicles will travel in electric or hybrid modality.
The major international trade fair, a landmark for industry 4.0 and the specialized mechanical engineering sector, was already preparing to host over 1,350 exhibitors over an exhibition area of 60,000 sq.m.
Huge damage to the trade fair and to Italian Manufacturing
MECSPE is assessing the damage caused by the sudden U-turn announced in the new ministerial decree of 25 October, which forbids the organization of “fairs of any kind”.
A landmark for innovation technologies and industry 4.0 in manufacturing, today the fair will begin to dismantle the stands and uninstall the machinery that was already being set up for display. Scheduled to be held in Parma, Italy, from 29 to 31 October, MECSPE had been confirmed by a previous ministerial decree of 18 October and, on 24 October, work began on installing an exhibition area of 60,000 sq.m. in 6 different pavilions. All the current health regulations were followed to host visitors in safety and guarantee compliance with government norms to combat the pandemic.
Ivo Nardella, President of SENAF, Gruppo Tecniche Nuove
“This is a hard blow, both for the fair and for the companies in the sector who have been coming to MECSPE for the last 19 years and have found new technologies, solutions for all kinds of production chains and ongoing training, as well as a unique opportunity to do trade and exchange ideas,” comments Ivo Nardella, President of SENAF, Gruppo Tecniche Nuove.“The new decree contradicts the previous one without considering the amount of time involved in planning a trade exhibition like MECSPE. For the specialized mechanical engineering sector, it represents three days of work that are vital for planning recovery. Mechanical engineering accounts for 8.1% of the added value of the whole Italian economy, 6.1% of employment and, when you consider that in Emilia Romagna, the region hosting the exhibition, mechanical engineering represents 56% of exports, you can understand the extent of the damage inflicted by this decision. What’s more, as far as we know, no discussions have been planned either with Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) or with AEFI (Association of the Italian Exhibition Industry), for that matter. A trade exhibition impacting the professional lives of almost 90 thousand workers, from entrepreneurs, skilled workers and technicians to engineers, and driving a strategic sector for our country’s recovery, cannot and must not be treated in the same way as a village festival, with all due respect for such events. We hope to receive an invitation from the Finance and Treasury Minister, Roberto Gualtieri, to assess the extent of the damage. We would also like to thank all the companies and associations, both professional and territorial, who have chosen to be part of MECSPE. We apologize immensely for the inconvenience caused by the decision announced yesterday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte”.
MECSPE PARMA IN NUMBERS
60,000 sqm of exhibition space, more than 1,350 companies, 2,000 square meters of Gamification: The Factory without limits, 12 trade shows, and 77 special initiatives.
As of 2021, MECSPE will pursue its international development by moving to the BolognaFiere Exhibition Centre.
MECSPE Exhibition Halls
Macchine Utensili – Machine tools | Equipment | Tools | Design software; Fabbrica Digitale – Industrial computing | IoT | Industrial sensors | Cloud-manufacturing | Automatic identification technologies | Applications, devices, instrumentation and intelligent components for interpreting and interconnecting processes; Motek Italy – Automation and Robotics | Assembly | Mounting and Handling; Power Drive – Mechanical power transmission systems | Oil-pressure | Pneumatics | Mechatronics | Motion control | Maintenance | Compressed air; Control Italy – Quality certification and control | Metrology | Measurement instruments | Laboratory tests | Calibration | Analysis equipment | Vision; Logistica – Wrapping | Packaging | Handling | Material handling | Lean manufacturing | Warehouse management software | Supply chain management | Outsourcing | Safety | PPE; Subfornitura Meccanica – Precision mechanical processing | Metal carpentry | Mechanical construction | Fasteners | Foundries | Small parts | Wire working | Outsourced industrial processes | Micro-processing; Subfornitura Elettronica – CEM (contract electronics manufacturers) | Cables | EMS (electronics manufacturing service) | PCB (printed circuit board manufacturers) | Engineering and design firms; Eurostampi, Macchine e Subfornitura Plastica, Gomma e Compositi – Plastics, rubber and composite processing | Machines and plants| Innovative materials| Moulding | Extrusion | Packaging | Blow Moulding | Moulds | Models | Normalised parts for moulds | Design, Simulation and design software | Micro-processing | Auxiliary equipment ; Additive Manufacturing – Rapid prototyping | Rapid manufacturing | 3D printing | Systems and services for reverse engineering | Additive technology | Materials | Services | Hardware: 3D printers and scanners, accessories | Simulation and design software; Trattamenti e Finiture – Furnaces | Galvanic, Chemical and Electronic Processes |Washing | Metallising, Glazing, Galvanising | Products and Accessories for Treatments | Heat Treatments | Coating; Materiali Non Ferrosi e Leghe – Non-ferrous materials processing (Aluminium, Titanium, Magnesium, Light Alloys) | Die-casting | Foundries | Outsourced industrial processes | Technologies | Design | Engineering.
The General Assembly of ANES members– National Association of Specialized Publishing has chosen its new President for the 2020-2023 triennium: he is Ivo Alfonso Nardella, Sole Director of Gruppo Editoriale Tecniche Nuove. Former Vice-President of ANES since 2013, Member of the Board of Directors since 2008 and Director since 2009, he has been member of the Board of Directors of the Industrial Graphics Union in Milan since 2020, too.
Ivo A. Nardella in the top management of ANES
During his installation speech, Ivo Nardella, who first thanked the outgoing President, Andrea Boni, for the excellent work carried out, affirmed he was honoured by the trust and appreciation expressed by Members and aware of taking over the management of the Association in an extremely complicated time for the publishing field and the entire Country system.
2020-2023 programme
“Going through the amber light – stated Nardella – is the ambitious achievement where I would like to drive the field in the course of my mandate: we have to be able to change in a difficult time, to support the Country by making all professional chains increasingly updated and trained to be able to face the recovery and to maintain the leaderships acquired on an international scale. We will operate with institutions to consolidate the fundamental role played by ANES associated companies in the culture-productivity relationship”.
The neo-president then presented his wide work programme for the 2020-2023 triennium, developed according to three fundamental values: representing all, training to inform, evolving to change, supported by a direct involvement of Members, also through the strengthening of the presence in Territories, and by the enhancement of people before personas.
Utmost attention will be still paid to the Association’s assets, from consulting to members, from training to Digital and CSST sections and work contracts, as well as to new valuable initiatives like B2B Marketing Conference, set up in 2019 as starting and evolutionary point for the challenges of B2B communication, which is generating an excellent ranking of ANES and of its associated companies towards the target of B2B marketers.
The other turnovers
Ivo Nardella, in the management of ANES, will collaborate with the Vice- Presidents Alessio Crisantemi from GN Media and Carlo Latorre from Cronoart, as well as with the President of the ANES Digital Section who will be elected by the Association’s digital component during next weeks.
