Page 34 - On The Move - Volume 18, Issue 1

The World's Most Popular Car Color is Tire Maker Michelin Rolling Toward
White for the 10th Year in a Row Greener Future

It's less of a drum roll and Hydrogen is emerging as part of Michelin’s business plan for the next
more of a sad trombone. Data for decade as it maneuvers to maintain a sustainable course through a rapidly
most popular car color in the en- changing mobility landscape. The tire maker already has built its first ze-
tire world has been crunched and ro-emission plant as part of a broad effort within the company to become
the winner is, once again, white. carbon neutral by 2050, Alexis Garcin, chairman and president of Michelin
Not only that, but it's the 10th North America, said during a webinar sponsored by the North American In-
consecutive year that white has ternational Auto Show.
topped the global list. It's been a Garcin says the company also is developing new tires that help reduce
decade of white. carbon emissions. “Reducing mobility is not a solution,” he says. Instead,
More than one in three cars companies must come up with solutions that reduce the industry’s carbon
built in 2020 was white, running footprint. “One of the biggest challenges for electric vehicles is range. One
away from the rest of the field at way to maximize range is to minimize the friction between the tire and the
38%. It's the third year in a row that white has held steady at that percentage. Black road,” Garcin says.
came in second at 19%, followed by gray at 15% and silver at 9%. That means over The low-rolling resistance tires that incorporate new, high-tech materi-
four out of five cars made in 2020 are black, white, or somewhere in between. Gray- als can increase an EV’s range by 7%, he says. The Michelin tire also will last
scale is a worse pandemic among cars than it was in Game of Thrones. longer and will not compromise safety on a slick surface.
The report was put together by Axalta, an industrial coating company, to help “You have to master a lot of technology,” he says. “This is where innova-
automakers predict trends (and presumably to sell more paint). Said an Axalta tion comes into play.”
spokesperson, "We're pleased to share this data ... to work with our customers to Extending the usable life of a tire is part of Michelin’s overall sustain-
bring dynamic colors to life." Except, these aren't really dynamic colors, are they? ability strategy, Garcin says. In addition, the company is working to develop
Compared to a U.S. survey released in October, America is a bit more colorful new sources of biomaterials, which can replace material made from fossil
than the global average. The black-white-gray-silver spectrum comprised slightly fuels such as oil and coal.
less of the overall global total, at 77%. Our next most popular colors are red and Michelin expects 80% of the material used in tires to be recyclable by
blue, which comports with the rest of the world, though in Europe, Japan and South 2050.
Korea, blue ranks a bit higher in fourth place. India is the only region in which brown Last year, Michelin joined with another French company, Faurecia, in
and beige climbed into the top four. Greens, yellows, and the remainders are so rare a venture aimed at creating a worldwide leader in hydrogen mobility by
they get grouped into an "others" category that hovers around 1-3%. combining both companies’ activities with hydrogen fuel cells. Garcin says
The news isn't all bleak, though. Axalta says blue is trending, while silver is Michelin expects hydrogen projects to produce roughly $1.5 billion in an-
on the decline. And Axalta's own Color of the Year is Sea Glass, a green-blue shade nual revenue by 2030. One clear advantage is that fuel cells can be re-fueled
inspired by bodies of water. with hydrogen within three to five minutes, which is quicker than the time
Still, those are relatively small fractions compared to the monochrome jugger- required to recharge an EV’s battery, he says.
nauts. For now, expect your local parking lots to continue to resemble a formation of The need to protect the planet and use resources more efficiently is a
Star Wars Stormtroopers. key tenet of Michelin’s operating philosophy, to focus on “People, profitabil-
Source: AutoBlog ity and planet.”
New products and new developments by Michelin will have to meet
VW Adjusts Production Amid standards for sustainability, which emphasize minimal environmental dis-
ruption. At the same time, the tire maker expects its operating units to main-
Semiconductor Bottleneck tain a solid level of profitability now and in the future, Garcin says, noting
profitability and sustainability are not conflicting goals.
Garcin adds the global pandemic has challenged the mobility industry
Volkswagen Group said it is adjusting production in North America, Europe and and underscores the need to move away from traditional methods of man-
China because of a shortage of automotive microchips. The move will affect produc- agement and puts greater emphasis on collaboration.
tion of VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat models based on VW Group's MQB platform, VW
Employee diversity also is important. A diverse work force that brings
said in a statement on Friday. The platform underpins car such as the VW Golf. different perspectives and knowledge to bear on problems benefits the com-
Semiconductor manufacturers reassigned their production capacities to other pany, he says.
sectors such as consumer electronics during the slump in car sales earlier this year Garcin says the outlook for 2021 is daunting as unemployment around
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. the world remains high in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he is
Car sales have now recovered significantly, and the auto industry faces a short-
optimistic the vaccines will work, and the economy will remain resilient.
age of the electronic components required, VW said. "We are now feeling the effects Source: WardsAuto
of the global semiconductor bottleneck," said Murat Aksel, VW's board member over-
seeing purchasing.
VW's home plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, is among the group's factories worst
affected by the shortages. Some of the plant's em-
ployees working on production of the Golf hatchback
will have their holidays extended to Jan. 18 from Jan.
4, German media reports said.
Automakers and suppliers in China had warned
earlier this month that a shortage of automotive mi-
crochips was threatening to slow down the industry's
pandemic recovery. VW and German suppliers Robert
Bosch and Continental said shortages of semiconduc-
tors could run into 2021.
Source: Automotive News
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