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Aston Martin opens first overseas design studio in China

Published: Oct 24, 2018

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Neil Allison

The iconic producer of hand-crafted luxury sports cars, Aston Martin Lagonda (AML), today announced the opening of a brand new design studio in Shanghai.

24 October 2018, Shanghai, China: The iconic producer of hand-crafted luxury sports cars, Aston Martin Lagonda (AML), today announced the opening of a brand new design studio in Shanghai.
The British brand’s first design studio to be located outside of the UK, the ‘Aston Martin Lagonda Creative Lab, NICE 2035’ is a partnership with Tongji University in Shanghai, one of the world’s leading universities for the study of design and innovation.
Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer commented: “The Chinese market is incredibly important to the future success of Aston Martin. Collaborating with industry leaders and talented students at Tongji University will allow us to have a deeper understanding of the trends in China, ensuring we are focused on the needs of our Chinese customers.
“The first project of the new studio will be a collaboration on future interior designs for our sports cars and our first SUV, which will be launching in 2019.”
Speaking at the opening of the design studio in Shanghai, Dean and Professor of the Tongji University College of Design and Innovation, Professor LOU Yongqi said: ”I am sure this unique design studio has the potential to produce some truly inspirational ideas by combining the history of two century old organisations, in the culture rich city of Shanghai.”
President of Aston Martin China, Mr. Peng Mingshan said: ”Shanghai is one of the world’s most energetic and vibrant cities, a real hub for technology, art and design. The Yangpu District is full of world-class universities and institutions, an ideal location to set up Aston Martin’s first overseas design studio.”
Reichman, who became a visiting professor of the university, delivered his first lecture to over 100 students sharing his knowledge on the importance of beauty in design.

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BASF And Norilsk Nickel Partner On New Battery Production In Finland

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Published on October 23rd, 2018 |

by Kyle Field

BASF And Norilsk Nickel Partner On New Battery Production In Finland

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October 23rd, 2018 by Kyle Field

Germany chemical giant BASF and Russian mining conglomerate Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) have inked a new deal for nickel and cobalt supply.

The deal will see BASF build a new factory to produce battery cathode materials in Harjavalta, Finland, adjacent to a Nornickel cobalt and nickel refinery. The deal seeks to capitalize on the potential transition of the German auto industry to electric vehicles, which will require an immense new supply of lithium batteries to power them.

“With the investment in Harjavalta, BASF will be present in all major regions with local production and increased customer proximity, further supporting the rapidly growing electric vehicle market,” president of BASF’s Catalysts division Kenneth Lane said.

To date, most of these batteries are sourced overseas from Chinese and Korean suppliers, leaving local companies out of the mix. The new partnership leverages proximity to turn raw materials from the mine straight into usable battery cathode materials that can be funneled directly to a local battery cell manufacturer at a lower cost than they might be sourced from remote suppliers.

Locally sourcing the very raw materials that are used in batteries was one of the key reasons Tesla built its Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, where there are plentiful lithium reserves.

“The agreement is an important element of Nornickel’s broader strategy to expand its presence in the global battery materials market and establish long-term cooperation with leading producers of cathode active materials,” said Sergey Batekhin, senior vice president at Nornickel.

When it starts production in 2020, the new BASF factory is expected to churn out enough cathodes to supply some 300,000 electric vehicles per year, which, at 60kWh per vehicle, translates to enough cathodes for 18 gigawatt-hours of battery cells per year.

Impressively, BASF said that the new Harjavalta factory will “utilise locally-generated renewable energy resources including hydro, wind and biomass.” As companies around the world ramp up global battery production in support of the electric vehicle transition, it is an opportunity for us to build smarter, more efficient factories.

That happens both by utilizing low-carbon renewables to power them and by building them in intelligent locations. Building factories in close proximity to either raw materials or customers reduces the amount of transportation required and, thus, shrinks the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process. Manufacturing EVs is one of the areas where, according to analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, electric vehicles have higher emissions than gas and diesel vehicles due to lower volumes and what have historically been inefficient manufacturing processes for batteries.

The new cathode factory is but a single cog in a greater machine spooling up at BASF that will see some €400 million ($462 million) being invested into building cathode materials for Europe.

From a pricing standpoint, the cathode is one of the more expensive parts of electric vehicle batteries, thanks to the concentration of cobalt in lithium-ion chemistries. As the sharp uptick in demand for cobalt has driven prices of cobalt up to new heights in recent years, battery cell manufacturers and electric vehicle builders are aggressively looking for ways to trim down the cobalt used in their batteries.

Tesla has committed to decrease its cobalt usage from 3% of the battery in June of this year down to 0% over the next 2–3 years, demonstrating that where there is a will, there is a way.

Source: Reuters

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About the Author

Kyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor. Tesla referral code: http://ts.la/kyle623

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Lyft buys UK start-up Blue Vision on road to robo taxis

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Daimler awards international media account to the Omnicom Media Group

Oct 23, 2018

Decision taken on global pitch for new media agency All Daimler divisions supported by one and the same agency Company's digital transformation on next level in marketing communications, too Stronger focus on digital media activities in future Stuttgart. Daimler AG has awarded its global media account to the Omnicom Media Group. The Omnicom Media Group is one of the largest and most renowned agency groups in the media sector worldwide. The processes in the area of marketing communications are being redefined in the course of the Group's digital transformation process and its evolution into an integrated and fully interconnected mobility provider.
“In the Omnicom Media Group we are delighted to have a top-calibre partner at our side for our global media activities. Daimler is one of the world's largest advertiser, with a portfolio boasting Mercedes-Benz as a global top 10 flagship brand, making it a highly attractive international account”, said Natanael Sijanta, Director Marketing Communication Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Our goal is to be the global digital champion in automotive marketing. We aim to fully reorganise our processes and our basis for decision-making in marketing and to address our customers worldwide in a personalised manner with content which is specifically of relevance to them. We have already established a global network of experts for this purpose: our three creative hubs for Europe, the USA and China are producing creative and brand-defining communicative content with great success. Since 1 July, 'Publicis Emil' has been supporting the digital transformation process in around 40 markets as our international network agency. Together we are establishing a globally consistent brand image across all communication channels. In the Omnicom Media Group we now have a media partner on board which will have a further key strategic role in our agency vision and which will be crucial in shaping our digital performance.”
The pitch focused first and foremost on shaping the digital transformation process in the media area. The aim is to address customers and potential customers of the brand in an even more precise and individual manner by means of data-based and personalised digital marketing and to make more effective use of media data, for example. Beyond this, we will also have a means of optimising our own content and distribution activities. By pooling our global media activities we will additionally achieve increased efficiency across all channels. The Omnicom Media Group will be responsible as of 1st January 2019 for more than 40 markets worldwide and all Daimler divisions (Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Trucks, Daimler Buses, Daimler Financial Services).
In its search for a partner for the digital transformation process in marketing, Mercedes Benz opted back in February 2018 to collaborate with Publicis and the customized agency “Publicis Emil” which has been established specifically for this purpose. Along with the local adaptation of the global and regional Mercedes-Benz campaigns in around 40 markets, the focus of the cooperation is on increasing synergies for a more consistent presentation of the Mercedes-Benz brand on the digital platforms, accompanied by stronger harmonisation and the ongoing optimisation of central and local digital content on all channels.
Fair and transparent selection process
Selection of the new agency was made on the basis of a standardised, uniform process involving all participating regions. In order to guarantee a fair and transparent process, Daimler's internal Pitch Team was supported by Accenture Media Management. The agency services presented were assessed according to uniform criteria and collated to form an overall result with the aid of a predetermined weighting key. Throughout the process, Daimler also followed the common guidelines of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) on conducting pitches.

Press Contact

Ina Schultz

Lifestyle and Brand Communications

ina.schultz@daimler.com

Tel: +49 711 17-76876

Fax: +49 711 17790-62116

Willem Spelten

Head of international Brand & smart Product Communications

willem.spelten@daimler.com

Tel: +49 (0)711 17-75847

Fax: +49 (0)711 17-79099473

Artur Demirci

Manager Lifestyle-, Brand- and Social Media Communications

artur.demirci@daimler.com

Tel: +49 (0) 711 17-77368

Fax: –

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Briefing: Banma Kuaipao rebrands as “Banma Ride-hailing”, secures RMB 300 million

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