GENERAL NEWS
Muted results for German machine tools
According to the VDW( German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), orders received by the German machine tool industry in the fourth quarter of 2024 were seven per cent down on the previous year’ s figure. Orders from Germany and overseas fell by similar amounts: seven per cent and six per cent, respectively. In 2024, incoming orders declined by 19 per cent. Domestic orders were nine per cent down on the previous year, while orders from outside Germany fell by 24 per cent.
“ The situation remains challenging for our industry,” said Dr. Markus Heering, Executive Director of the VDW, commenting on the result.
Heering added that the U. S. market offered good opportunities for German manufacturing technology, which is highly regarded,
Dr. Markus Heering, Executive Director, VDW. although he warned that President’ s Trump’ s tariff policy harbours high risks.
The ongoing turbulence in the global economy, including the threat of a trade war, is having an impact on the overall willingness to invest. The critical situation in the automotive and supplier industry is a particular burden, added the association.
Nevertheless, Heering reported that there are also some glimmers of hope on the horizon in sectors like aviation; medical technology; precision engineering; energy; shipbuilding and armaments, for example, which have accounted for several major orders in the past. Business in areas such as service, components, repairs, maintenance and conversions is also stronger than that in new machine sales, he said.
However, added VDW,“ order volumes fell by a quarter in all regions of the world last year.”
No increase in momentum is expected until the second half of the year, when the VDW anticipates that lower inflation and interest rates will support a recovery in investment.
“ We expect the new German government to provide clear support in meeting all the points that the industry has been making for months now: cutting red tape, reducing costs, boosting competitiveness and investment activity, to name just the most important demands,” explained VDW Executive Director, Heering.
The impact of the two-year decline in orders received is now being felt in machinetool production. Here, levels continued to fall by a moderate four per cent in 2024. A sharp decline of ten per cent is expected by the VDW in 2025. n
www. vdw. de
Nissan unveils driverless innovations
Nissan’ s latest autonomous edrive( AD) technology.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has showcased its latest autonomous drive( AD) technology in Yokohama’ s Minato Mirai area. For the first time in Japan, reported Nissan, a test vehicle with no driver in the car has navigated a public road in a complex urban environment *¹. Nissan has developed this proprietary technology for a mobility service that it plans to launch in Japan.
“ This is a significant step to empower mobility by resolving transportation service challenges faced by local communities, such as driver shortages resulting from an ageing population. By leveraging the technology, we will provide a broad range of new services that enable freedom of mobility,” outlined Nissan.
The company is maximizing its efforts to establish and verify the safety of AD technology tailored to different traffic conditions worldwide. To do this, it is utilising insights and technologies gained through research in Japan, research in Silicon Valley conducted by the Nissan Advanced Technology Centre and participation in the UK’ s evolvAD project.
The latest test vehicles are based on the Serena( minivan) and incorporate 14 cameras, nine radars and six LiDAR sensors. The roofmounted sensors offer significantly expanded detection by taking advantage of the height of the Serena and enabling accurate detection of its surroundings, compared to earlier test vehicles. The use of artificial intelligence( AI) has significantly enhanced recognition, behavioural prediction and judgment as well as control, delivering smooth operation in a variety of complex scenarios.
To ensure safety for the test vehicle demonstration, Nissan engineers verified an extensive number of possible scenarios along the driving route, added an immediate stop function for emergencies and introduced intentional redundancies.
Nissan is planning service demonstration tests involving approximately 20 vehicles to take place in Yokohama in fiscal years 2025 to 2026 and is building an operational framework and service ecosystem with stakeholders. Leveraging the test results, in fiscal year 2027 Nissan aims to provide autonomous driving mobility services, in collaboration with municipalities and transportation operators, with remote monitoring.
This initiative will be promoted in close cooperation with Japan’ s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; other government ministries, and Yokohama City. The ministries will also promote initiatives to create new autonomous mobility services through their Level 4 Mobility Acceleration Committee.
In other news, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. also announced that it will expand the use of low- CO₂-emission steel manufactured in Japan. Through this initiative, the proportion of low- CO₂-emission steel that Nissan uses in Japan in fiscal year 2025 is expected to increase by a factor of five compared to fiscal year 2023. n
* 1 Based on Nissan research.
www. nissan-global. com / EN /
6 | ismr. net | ISMR April 2025