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VW, Amazon plan to network plants online

Volkswagen is planning to develop an Industrial Cloud production platform with online retail giant Amazon to increase the efficiency of its plants, the two companies announced on Wednesday. According to both firms, the Industrial Cloud will combine real-time data of all machines, plants and systems from all of the Volkswagen Group's 122 plants worldwide. Around 220 IT specialists will be working on the development of the Industrial Cloud. According to Volkswagen, the entire global supply chain with over 30,000 locations and more than 1,500 suppliers and partner companies could eventually be integrated into the new Volkswagen cloud.

Ford to close three of its factories in Russia

On Wednesday, Ford said it will close three factories in Russia, causing heavy job losses. The US carmaker said it will stop making passenger cars in Russia by the end of June, closing vehicle assembly plants in St. Petersburg and Naberezhnye Chelny, as well as an engine plant in Yelabuga. Ford said "significant employee separations are required". The Ford Sollers joint venture employs around 3,700 people in Russia, Ford said. It added that the total number of people leaving the company has yet to be determined.

BYD's net profit to surge in Q1 of 2019

The net profit of BYD, China's leading carmaker, is expected to surge by 538.39 to 778.65 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. BYD said it is expecting a net profit of 700-900 million yuan (about $104-134 million) in Q1. Net profits attributable to its shareholders totaled 2.78 billion yuan in 2018, a drop of 31.63 percent year-on-year, according to its annual report filed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company's revenues rose 22.79 percent year-on-year to 130.06 billion yuan, it said. BYD sold 247,811 new energy vehicles in 2018, a rise of over 90 percent from 2017.

Honda and Hino invest in mobility

On Thursday, Japanese automakers Honda and Hino said each company will acquire a 9.9 percent stake in the 2 billion yen ($18 million) Toyota-SoftBank venture Monet Technologies. The joint venture was announced late last year, which SoftBank and Toyota called a "united Japan" effort to face global competition. Toyota and SoftBank also announced a Monet Consortium, which includes partnerships with 88 other companies, including Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan and East Japan Railway, to enhance mobility services. Philips Japan, a health technology company, developer Mitsubishi Estate and Yahoo Japan have also agreed to join.

Jobs blow at Canadian auto plant

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced on Thursday it will cut some 1,500 jobs at its factory in Windsor, Canada; around a quarter of its local workforce. The Italian-American automaker took the decision, effective from the end of September 2019, to "better align production with global demand". Retirement packages will be offered while the company will also attempt to place laid-of hourly employees in open full-time positions based on seniority. The announcement is a fresh blow for the province of Ontario following the axing of more than 2,500 jobs announced for the end of 2019 at the GM plant in Oshawa, near Toronto.

(China Daily 04/01/2019 page19)