Revenue from the global connected passenger cars market is expected to reach USD 69.3 Bn by 2022. The major leading players are Tesla, Waymo, Bosch, etc. The global automotive industry is witnessing significant changes because of new innovative solutions adopted by vehicle manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Investment in Mexico's supply chain will enable the country's manufacturing sector to become less reliant on imported parts as trade uncertainty, such as the ongoing renegotiation of NAFTA, poses a threat to manufacturing. The large concentration of investments around Nuevo Leon and Coahuila suggests that this is where a supply chain hub is developing. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

The mix of EV and internal combustion engine related investments in China in our latest investment round-up highlights the need for automakers to fulfil current demand while also preparing for the industry's future. In Pakistan, Al-Futtaim Group's plan to assemble Renault vehicles in the country continues to build on the growing market diversity theme identified in Q118's project round-up. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

Investment in Mexico's supply chain will enable the country's manufacturing sector to become less reliant on imported parts as trade uncertainty, such as the ongoing renegotiation of NAFTA, poses a threat to manufacturing. The large concentration of investments around Nuevo Leon and Coahuila suggests that this is where a supply chain hub is developing. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

Investment in Mexico's supply chain will enable the country's manufacturing sector to become less reliant on imported parts as trade uncertainty, such as the ongoing renegotiation of NAFTA, poses a threat to manufacturing. The large concentration of investments around Nuevo Leon and Coahuila suggests that this is where a supply chain hub is developing. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

Brazil's economic recovery improved at the beginning of 2018, with consumer confidence showing more robust gains. Previously, this most important indicator remained weak, despite improvements in other related variables such as employment, interest rates, and household earnings. Despite the negative effects of Truckers' Strike that saw a short-term impact on the macroeconomic situation, we continue to hold a bullish vehicle sales forecast of 16.6% growth in 2018, reaching a total industry volume of 2.61mn units.

We have revised down our forecast for new vehicle sales in Mexico to a contraction of 10.0% in 2018. This will see sales volumes reach a total of 1.4mn units by year-end 2018. Breaking down this forecast, we expect passenger car sales to fall 13.4%, light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales to experience a 5.7% contraction, while heavy truck and bus sales grow 14% and 9.8% respectively. In 2018, we expect sales of passenger cars and LCVs (which includes pickup trucks and SUVs) to decline as rising borrowing costs, high fuel prices and uncertainty caused by the renegotiation of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the mid-2018 presidential election weigh on consumer spending. For heavier commercial vehicles, we expect a boom in sales in 2018 due to regulation changes coming into effect on January 1 2019, which require new heavy commercial vehicles to be either Euro VI or EPA 2010 compliant. The implementation of this regulation will prompt heavy vehicle fleet owners to rush to buy cheaper Euro IV vehicles before the deadline.

Automotive safety electronics are electronic systems that enhance user experience and convenience; they are categorized by systems and sensors. The increased proliferation of safety electronics solutions offers a centralized control and seamless exchange of data and information between various systems within passenger cars. Further, there is a growing need to meet consumer demand for more interconnectedness between multiple systems in passenger cars, owing to the rising demand for connected cars and the integration of smartphones with these cars. This further increases the demand for advanced and integrated automotive safety electronics solutions among market vendors.

Master Motors and Changan Automobile's joint venture to produce vehicles in Pakistan highlights how the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor will make it easier for Chinese automakers to break into the Pakistani automotive market, which offers huge growth potential due to low vehicle ownership rates and a large population. The growing presence of Chinese brands in the country will pose a challenge to the existing Japanese automakers who have continuously dominated the domestic market

The polyimide films market accounted for USD 1,149.3 million in 2016, and it is projected to gain higher market share over the forecast period. The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% by revenue owing to the growing application scope of PI films. Development in aerospace, automotive, electronics, and labeling industry is augmenting the product demand.