How will Increases in EV Manufacturing Impact the Automotive Supply Chain?

With new advancements in battery technology and electric vehicle manufacturing, the industry may start to see an increase in EV manufacturing and a decrease in internal combustion engines. 

This shift may happen in the automotive industry and other industries such as agriculture, and soon even aerospace. Many speculate that electrification will never fully replace internal combustion but the advancements in electrification are continuing to grow, especially in automotive manufacturing.

What does the future of automotive manufacturing look like? Learn about these industry leaders and some of the advancements in EV manufacturing they've been working on. 

 

A Carbon Neutral Future for Volkswagen 

Volkswagen recently announced they will cease the production of internal combustion engines by 2035. This may change tooling and the overall supply chain of automotive manufacturing. The company’s efforts to meet this goal will start soon, as re-fitting manufacturing facilities can take time. 

 

The new Volkswagen EV factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Image used courtesy of Volkswagen

 

The decision was made on June 26th, 2022 directly from Volkswagens headquarters. Volkswagen claims that they expect to cease production of internal combustion engine vehicles between 2033 and 2035. By 2030, 70% of vehicle sales will be from electric vehicles, and by 2050 the company will be carbon neutral.  

 

Nissan Announces New Giga Factory

Nissan unveiled their new EV36Zero facility in Sunderland England this week. This facility is said to rapidly increase Nissan’s efforts in contributing to cleaner manufacturing efforts. This gigafactory will render 6,200 new jobs that will need to be fulfilled. 

This will enable Nissan to produce enough batteries to produce over 100,000 new vehicles each year. The facility will include a multitude of IoT features to monitor energy consumption, maintenance, and manufacturing. The IoT solutions will be provided by Envision AESC, which is a battery division of Envision Group.

 

Information about Nissan's new EV36Zero electric vehicle hub. Image used courtesy of Nissan 

 

This billion-dollar facility will be a hub for lean EV manufacturing. It will be suited for further expansion while maintaining its self-reliance on energy. 

The city of Sunderland is leading a project for 100% renewable energy and is creating microgrids to save 55,000 tons of carbon each year. Including Nissan’s own solar farms, up to 10 new solar farms will be created to generate 132 Megawatts of electricity. The initial investment in this plan will cost around $95,000,000. 

 

Volvo Expanding Sensing Technology 

With the electrification of vehicles and much more technology integration, vehicles are getting equally safer as they become smart. Volvo is now expanding sensing technology to increase the safety of its vehicles. 

Volvo is partnering with Zenseact and Luminar software to incorporate advanced collision avoidance technology into their fleet of vehicles to reduce injury and fatalities. This technology includes light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and an autonomous driving computer powered by NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip. 

 

LiDAR sensors on an electric successor to XC90. Image used courtesy of Volvo

 

These new EV’s will be sensor, battery, and code-driven to enable continuous improvement in the future. The LIDAR sensing technology is another tool used in EVs that aims to prolong the continuous improvement of the vehicles while also keeping the operator safe. 

EV manufacturing will continue to expand over the next several decades. Industry leaders such as Volkswagen, Nissan, and Volvo will be at the forefront of this innovation.