What Yen is Checking Out: 

• China Becomes the World’s Biggest Auto Exporter—With Help From Russia

• Mexico Could Help this Huge Chinese Carmaker Crack the US Market

• Why China Poses a Growing Threat to the U.S. Auto Industry

Yen’s Thoughts:

China has established itself as the leading global motor vehicle exporter, with nearly five million units shipped last year according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. A lesser-known fact is that a significant portion of Chinese vehicles exported to Mexico, the second-largest overseas market for Chinese vehicles by volume, bear the Chevrolet badge. Produced by GM's Chinese joint venture partners, SAIC and Wuling, these "American-Chinese" vehicles surpassed 110,000 units in shipments to Mexico last year. Remarkably, they accounted for 15 percent of all imported vehicles in the Mexican market and secured an 8 percent share of the total Mexican light-duty vehicle market.

What Cullen is Checking Out: 

• Carbon Sovereignty: Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation

Cullen’s Thoughts:

I have been writing a paper on the mobility sector’s intersection with tribal energy sovereignty & free prior and informed consent (FPIC) – two concepts that promote tribal nations’ right to self-determination on energy production, consumption, and their role in the current energy transition. The mobility sector’s intersection in the energy transition relies on and encourages the use of massive amounts of domestically available critical minerals, the majority of which are on or near tribal lands. This is why it is tremendously important to consider the ethical implications of a just energy transition in the context of the vast injustices inflicted on tribal peoples throughout history and into the present.

Andrew Curley’s recent book, Carbon Sovereignty: Coal,Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation, helped me understand the complex interactions between tribal nations and energy production and consumption. As a member of the Navajo Nation, Curley explain show energy sovereignty (in this case through coal production and energy generation on the Navajo Nation’s lands) holds critical significance for the Navajo Nation – providing economic independence and labor opportunities to the tribe. However, Curley also documents the shifting dynamics within and outside of the tribe over this issue; for example, as factories dwindled and environmental concerns mounted, some members of the Navajo community supported continued investment in coal, while others sought to transition away from it. Those shifting dynamics were eye-opening for me to learn about and absorb within the context of the ongoing energy transition. It underscores the importance of ensuring that the mobility sector, like all other aspects of society, engages with this transition in just and equitable ways.

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Fireside Chat

Steel-E Motive: A Pathway for Autonomous Ride Sharing and Net Zero Emissions

February 28, 2024 at 10 AM ET

Developing safe, affordable and sustainable vehicles are critical factors driving the future of urban mobility, particularly for autonomous ride sharing vehicles. Join George Coates, Technical Director, WorldAutoSteel and Neil McGregor, Chief Engineer, Ricardo for a fireside chat on how body structure concepts like Steel E-Motive can provide advanced design and manufacturing solutions to accommodate this transition in a meaningful way.

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