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Welcome to the Automotive Engineering Podcast

To help pass the time during your commute or while working around the house or in the garage, we've launched the SAE Automotive Engineering podcast. The monthly podcast will feature interviews with anyone who has their finger on the pulse of the automotive world. This month, we speak with Slate Automotive and BMW about their upcoming electric vehicles and how each company is navigating the current state of electric vehicles.

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Looking Ahead to 2026

September is unofficially known in the industry as a key forecasting month. It’s when several suppliers lock in their revenue forecasts for the next year. As we approach 2026, there are still several balls in the...

Q&A

Energy

On Road to Net Zero, GKN Tackles Easiest Improvements First

Regardless of whether the shifting political climate in America affects U.S. OEM and supplier sustainability efforts, the world isn’t pausing on the reduction of carbon emissions...

Technology Report

Manned Systems

Industry Vet: Rapid Change Required to Catch up to Chinese EV Maker

Terry Woychowski, CEO of engineering consultancy Caresoft Global, had a stark, sobering message for a meeting in Auburn Hills of the Society for Automotive Analysts in...

News

Power

China’s True Edge Is Smarter Engineering and Speed to Market

It is commonly believed that Chinese OEMs have a distinct advantage over their global counterparts due to cheaper labor or raw materials. But their true edge comes from smarter...

News

Design

Bosch Invested in Large-Scale Metal 3D Printing

Bosch bolstered its 3D printing capabilities when it added a new metal 3D printer at its Nuremberg, Germany, plant earlier this year. The NXG XII 600 metal 3D printer from Nikon SLM Solutions...

Supplier Eye

Regulations/Standards

Delay and Extend and Rescope

Suppliers are learning several new and unwelcome lessons as the dynamics surrounding U.S. light vehicle trade and emissions legislation quickly shifts. Two major issues are at play here. As the industry...

Supplier Eye

Power

Supplier Eye: Investment Certainty Is Critical

Much has been written about the challenging operating environment within the North American automotive ecosystem. Suppliers and OEMs alike were never trained in business school or past...

News

AR/AI

U.S. States Focus on Taiwan as Trade War Continues

Interest in Taiwan as a source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the U.S. has been growing in recent years. At this year’s 360 Degree Mobility event in Taipei, held in late April, a...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Sourcing Re-Evaluation Underway

The events of the last few months (re: tariff structures) underscore that the world is becoming more insular. Last month’s column (on re-regionalization) outlined that major markets like China, the U.S. and the EU already have or are increasingly building a moat around their markets. Read on for this month's column.

News

Automotive

In Tariff Talks, Cooler Heads Should Prevail

For my nearly 60-year lifetime, I have had the benefit of being part of a North American Automotive Industry that was, from a production perspective, completely rationalized and optimized. Given...

Q&A

Power

Elektrobit Sees the Future in SMH Afeela Software

At CES 2025, we sat down with Moritz Neukirchner, senior director of strategic product management for software-defined vehicles for Elektrobit, to talk about his excitement for SDVs and why...

News

Power

Near-Term Focus Can Obscure Reliable Path Forward

So often in our industry, we can be too focused on near-term opportunities and navigating immediate issues. With a new U.S. administration on the way in and more than a handful of other...

Technology Report

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Ceres Holographics, Appotronics Team for Windshield-Wide Laser HUD

Transparent display pioneer Ceres Holographics and laser display company Appotronics announced on Tuesday an agreement to combine their technologies to create transparent...

News

Energy

Factorial’s Solid-State B-Samples Send a Message

Earlier this year, Factorial Energy CEO Siyu Huang told SAE Media her company was “very committed” to bringing solid-state battery technology to the market sooner than basically anyone...

News

Energy

Truck OEMs Invested in Infrastructure

Truck manufacturers have not sat idly by as charging infrastructure continues to lag behind the growing availability of battery-electric commercial vehicles. Take for example Daimler Truck North...

Technology Report

Software

SkillReal Says Inexpensive Camera and AI Add up to Faster, Better Inspections

A company says that its digital twin alignment system, incorporating a sophisticated AI algorithm and an off-the-shelf camera, has the potential to revolutionize...

News

Design

Toyota Scores the Top Spot Again in 2024 OEM-Supplier Survey

Toyota has locked down the top ranking in the 24th annual North American Automotive OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index (WRI) for the 14th consecutive year. This record-setting...

Technology Report

Test & Measurement

WCX 2024: Traditional OEMs Vs. Startups: Report to Cite Strengths, Weaknesses

An SAE white paper on the different engineering approaches taken by traditional automakers and recent arrivals indicates that each category is remarkably aware...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

We've Been Here Before

For a couple of decades, virtually every global original equipment manufacturer spent significant capital and attention raising their sales/production profile in China. It became the world’s largest light vehicle...

Technology Report

Energy

Porsche Study: Europe Missing out on Tooling Battery Gigafactories

A study examining the prospects for supplying manufacturing tooling for the scores of EV battery “gigafactories” scheduled to be built worldwide found there are...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

New Keys to Success

Much has been written about the extraordinary vehicle production and market environment of the past four years in North America and beyond. The plethora of negative impacts from COVID, chip availability, scarcity of...

Technology Report

Software

Kymco’s New Ionex BMU, BaaS Will Boost Electric Scooter Adoption

Taiwanese powersport company Kymco believes we have finally entered the time of the EV. During the 2023 International Motorcycle and Accessories Exhibition (EICMA) held...

News

Regulations/Standards

SAE Completes Next Step to Standardize Tesla-Developed EV Charging Connector

SAE International announced on December 19 that it has released the Technical Information Report (TIR) for the SAE J3400 standard covering development and...

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

The Supplier Capacity Dilemma at the Heart of the ICE-To-EV Transition

In the end, the transition from ICE to EV is about more than new technologies and processes. Suppliers need to be keenly aware of the risks assumed as BEV capacity is added. Being on the right program from a volume perspective is critical to supplier viability.

Articles

Manufacturing & Prototyping

How Distributed Metal Additive Manufacturing Can Add a Surge to Military Supplier Strategies

By embracing advanced metal additive manufacturing, ammunition and systems manufacturers can enhance their responsiveness to changing demands and better secure their supply chains against potential threats.

News

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

'Scaling' EVs Won’t Come Easy

Regular readers of Supplier Eye will note that this author tries to outline the positives and the negatives of supplier strategies. It’s a moving target. A recent deluge of negative headlines with respect...

News

Power

Managing the Evolution of the EV Charging Standard

SAE International announced in late June, 2023, that it intended to standardize the Tesla-developed North American Charging Standard (NACS) EV charging connector for North America. SAE...

News

Energy

Solid-State EV Batteries Project to Low Penetration in 2030

Although the automotive industry sees solid-state batteries as the next game-changer for EV driving range, performance and safety, the technology is projected to penetrate the...