Dana Incorporated started production of its Spicer Electrified eS9000r e-Axle for Class 4 and 5 commercial fleet applications. The e-Axle will be available for ordering in the third quarter of 2020. Dana is the first to market with this e-Axle classification in North America and has the in-house capability to manufacture all components of the system, including the gears, axle, motor and inverter. Designed for medium-duty truck and bus applications, the e-S9000r is based on the proven and widely specified Spicer S110, S111 and S130 rear-drive axle platforms and is engineered as a fully integrated e-Axle, including a gearbox and motor.

BorgWarner Inc. and Delphi Technologies PLC entered into a definitive transaction agreement under which Auburn Hills, Mich.-based BorgWarner will acquire Delphi Technologies for approximately $3.3 billion. The acquisition will strengthen BorgWarner’s power electronics products, capabilities and scale. Combining with London-based Delphi Technologies will enable BorgWarner to maintain flexibility across combustion, hybrid and electric propulsion. The combined company will serve light- and commercial-vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket.

For decades, automotive component makers have relied on hot forging presses and shearing systems to transform metal bars into high-quality parts such as drive shafts, gear wheels and bearing rings, to name but a few.

General Motors will invest $2.2 billion at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to produce a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs. When the plant is fully operational, this investment will create more than 2,200 manufacturing jobs. GM will also invest an additional $800 million in supplier tooling and other projects related to the launch of the new electric trucks. The company’s first all-electric truck will be a pickup with production scheduled to begin in late 2021. Detroit-Hamtramck will be GM’s first fully dedicated electric-vehicle assembly plant. The plant’s paint and body shops and general assembly area will receive comprehensive upgrades, including new machines, conveyors, controls and tooling.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Peugeot S.A. (Groupe PSA) signed a binding Combination Agreement providing for a 50/50 merger of their businesses to create the fourth-largest global automotive OEM by volume and third largest by revenue. The combined company will have annual unit sales of 8.7 million vehicles. FCA designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles in a portfolio of brands including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. It also sells parts and services under the Mopar name and operates in the components and production systems sectors under the Comau and Teksid brands. FCA employs nearly 200,000 people. Groupe PSA, which employs 210,000 people, has five car brands: Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall. It also provides a wide array of mobility and smart services under the Free2Move brand.

American Axle & Manufacturing, a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of automotive driveline systems and components, opened a new 15,600-square-meter manufacturing facility in the industrial area of Viladecans, Spain, just outside Barcelona. The facility will support demand and growth from new and current European customers, including Renault, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Audi and Ford. AAM Barcelona produces a complete range of vibration control and damper products, including PV-bonded dampers, press-in compression dampers, isolation pulleys, in-mold bonded dampers and damped gears. It consolidates two smaller facilities in nearby Gavà and will employ nearly 300 associates at full capacity. 

Toyota is investing $391 million at its San Antonio truck assembly plant in an effort to better serve customers. The announcement comes as part of a broader commitment from Toyota to invest $13 billion in its U.S. operations over five years through 2021. The investment will make the plant more competitive in the long-term and more efficient while remaining flexible with multi-vehicle production capabilities by introducing various advanced manufacturing technologies. Separately, Aisin AW, a supplier to Toyota Texas and other automakers, will invest $400 million and bring 900 new jobs to a future facility in nearby Cibolo, Texas.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that Bharat Forge America Inc. will build an aluminum forging plant to manufacture automobile components in Lee County, N.C. The $127.3 million investment will create 304 jobs. The new facility will be part of a larger manufacturing center that will create as many as 460 jobs. According to Bharat Forge, the investment will help it create a strong global manufacturing footprint as part of its aluminum strategy.

Forging technology has undergone continuous development during the past few years.