Economic growth in the country accelerated to 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, up from a multi-decade low of 3.0% in the whole of last year, as the country began a gradual recovery from the Covid pandemic.

The manufacturer announced it is taking cost-cutting measures to reduce its outgoings to under USD400m by 2024, including layoffs of approximately 270 workers at multiple sites.

The American manufacturer claims the new alloy will make its engines more durable and efficient than was previously possible. 

The new distribution centre replaces the existing facility in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which had been the company’s main parts distribution hub since it was first opened in 1978.

This fall was sharper than the overall economy. Economic growth slowed to 3.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 from 5.9% in the previous quarter and 8% in the whole of 2022.

The strong sales growth came about despite economic growth continuing to slow sharply in the first quarter to 0.8% year-on-year from 1.4% in the fourth quarter and 2.6% in the whole of last year.

The MAN truck, which will reach its first customers next year, was picked from a roster of approximately 20,000 products, submitted from 60 countries to 51 competition categories.

The demonstration vehicle achieved 16 miles per gallon fuel efficiency and a 170% improvement in freight efficiency over the 2009 ‘SuperTruck I’ vehicle.

The U.S. Department of Energy took the decision to cancel the deal with Microvast in late May without offering any specific reason - though the company has been the subject of allegations linking it to the Chinese government.

The company said trucks built on these two platforms will give it a presence in around 80% of the country’s heavy-duty truck sub-segments.

The market continued to decline despite a pick-up in economic growth to 2.7% year-on-year in the first quarter after slowing to 1.4% in the fourth quarter of last year.

This is just one of many recent acquisitions by Borgwarner in the electromobility sector.