EuroWire July 2017

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Transatlantic cable
July 2017 26
According to 46 per cent of the manufacturers, identifying
opportunities for implementing the IoT remains the biggest
challenge. Another concern is ensuring the availability of IoT
data to everyone within the company who needs it. Only 34
per cent of the MPI respondents expressed con dence that all
their pertinent people have this ready access. Even so, noted
Mr Brandt, his company’s research from two years ago showed
that a signi cant percentage of manufacturers had not even
heard of the Internet of Things. Now, he said, “It’s become a
crucial weapon in their arsenals.”
In brief . . .
† T-Mobile Netherlands in mid-May claimed that it would be
the rst Dutch operator to provide nationwide coverage
for its Internet of Things network. Activation of NB-IoT was
scheduled within weeks of the announcement. T-Mobile
Netherlands also said that it is looking to invest in business
partnerships to explore opportunities in IoT applications. In
other words, wrote Mr Scales of TelecomTV, “[They’ve] got
the tech if you’ve got the brilliant idea.”
Automotive
USA diesel sales are fading fast as
post-Volkswagen regulator scrutiny keeps
some models o the market
While Mercedes-Benz said its exit from the American passenger
diesel market may not be permanent, the German car maker’s
decision to pause its USA diesel plans dealt a further blow to
the technology’s small and dwindling share of auto sales in the
country. Mercedes says that fewer than one out of every 100 cars
sold in the USA is a diesel. On 9 th May, Daimler AG’s luxury car
brand halted e orts to obtain certi cation to sell 2017 model
year diesel versions of its C-Class sedan, GLE SUV and other cars
in the USA. The reason cited was the tiny share of the market
commanded by diesels and the ‘increased e ort’ needed to
obtain approvals from USA environmental regulators.
To Ryan Beene of Bloomberg News, the explanation highlights
the struggle of auto makers trying to sell diesels in the USA.
Their prospects are worsening as costs rise to meet toughening
pollution rules and as scrutiny from the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) keeps models o dealers’ lots. (“America’s Diesel Car
Market Gets Even Smaller,” 10 th May). Dave Sullivan, an industry
analyst with car consultancy AutoPaci c (Tustin, California), gave
Bloomberg a dismal reckoning of the situation: “Diesel’s future
has been relegated back to what it was about 20 years ago – an
engine choice for pickup trucks.”
Much of the decline in sales derives, of course, from the scandal
at Volkswagen AG, which pulled 12 diesel models sold by its
Audi, Porsche and namesake VW brand out of the US market
after acknowledging in 2015 that it had been cheating to pass
federal emissions tests.
The eeting 2017 model year
Mr Beene summed up what ensued. After VW admitted
cheating, the EPA began subjecting all diesel passenger cars to
a new battery of tests designed to ensure there was no other
wrongdoing elsewhere in the industry.