SOLIHULL, UK—The humble rivet. That’s what Demos Hoursoglou, Jaguar Land Rover’s body-in-white manufacturing manager here, puts near the top of his list of worries about assembling the aluminum body of the Range Rover. The 2014 Range Rover body uses 17 types of rivets, 3,722 per vehicle. If one jams in a gun or is inserted incorrectly, production stops.
LANCASTER, CA—The first electric buses have rolled out of BYD Motors’ assembly plant here. The factory, which has about 60 employees, hopes to increase its workforce and have the capacity to produce 1,000 buses a year within two decades.
LEWISBURG, TN—Meiwa Industry Co. has opened a $6.1 million assembly plant here, its first North American factory. The facility, which makes automotive interior parts, is expected to create more than 100 jobs.
TOKYO—Nissan has commenced testing of a new super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint technology, the Ultra-Ever Dry, which would enable a car to automatically clean itself.
LISLE, IL—Navistar International is increasing production rates at its heavy truck assembly plant in Escobedo, Mexico, and its bus assembly plant in Tulsa, OK.
BELVIDERE, IL— Chrysler’s assembly plant here has received a $1.3 million rebate from the local natural gas provider as a result of implementing three gas-saving projects.
DETROIT—GM has urged a local court to offer protection from certain lawsuits being filed against the company over a recall related to faulty ignition switches.
MILWAUKEE—Johnson Controls and German research institute Fraunhofer Gesellschaft are working together to develop next-generation cooling systems for vehicle batteries.
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