Ex-Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi research and development chief, Wolfgang Hatz, has been released from pre-trial detention under a strict set of conditions designed to stop him fleeing Germany. According to reports in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the ex-engine boss was bailed for €3 million ($4...
Volkswagen will close its factory in Wolfsburg for one or two days per week between August and late September, as it tackles problems caused by the new Worldwide Light vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). Reports from Automotive News in Europe say Volkswagen told employees about the closures over email on Tuesday...
Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Company have signed a memorandum of understanding ahead of a possible 'strategic alliance', which could see the two automotive giants team up to develop commercial vehicles. The pairing wouldn't involve any equity sharing or "cross-ownership stakes", ruling out the possibility of a massive automotive alliance in a similar vein to Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi or Peugeot Citroen (PSA)...
Remember last month when we wrote about the MY19 Volkswagen Golf GTI losing the manual option? The three-pedal casualties have continued elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group, with the Skoda Octavia RS also losing its stick-shift variants for 2019...
Audi has announced plans to sell 800,000 pure-electric and plug-in vehicles in 2025, as the brand doubles down on its commitment to electric mobility. Rupert Stadler, Audi AG board chairman, said the company wants to "revolutionise mobility" and become the top luxury manufacturer in the e-mobility space – not exactly unique goals, given both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are aggressively planning their own plug-in revolutions...
Skoda Australia has updated timing for the arrival of its hotly-anticipated Karoq, which is now set to touch down in June. Earlier this month, Skoda's local communications boss, Paul Pottinger, said the mid-sized crossover would be here in September. As it turns out, Skoda was anticipating a delay in supply, but the company has since managed to push the Karoq's arrival forward to June...
Volkswagen Group has announced a significant executive restructure, as it chases "more efficient" management under new CEO, Dr. Herbert Diess. As reported earlier this week, Matthias Muller has 'stepped down' from his position as CEO, less than three years after taking on the role amid the Dieselgate storm...
Matthias Mueller, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, could be replaced by as soon as this Friday, if a report out of Germany proves to be correct. According to Handelsblatt, current Mueller will be removed from his role as CEO, even though his contract runs until 2020...
Porsche has announced it plans to spend more than €6 billion ($9.42 billion) on electromobility within the next five years, doubling its expenditure to focus on upcoming plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models and electric vehicles (EV). Decided at the most recent Porsche AG Supervisory Board meeting, the investment has been divided into material assets and development costs – around €3b ($4...
The Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance has claimed the global passenger vehicle sales crown for 2017 ahead of the Volkswagen Group and Toyota Motor Company. According to figures released by the various companies, the French-Japanese alliance has successfully broken the two-way lockout of the sales charts in recent times...
For the last episode of the year, Mandy Turner is joined by Paul Maric and Mike Costello. Topics covered in car news this week include the reveal of the Tesla-rivalling NIO ES8 SUV. Also unveiled were the Jeep Cherokee facelift, Honda Insight in Prototype form, and the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500...
Audi has ditched plans to sell Ducati, electing instead to keep the motorcycle division. Rupert Stadler, CEO of Audi, confirmed to Reuters and other news outlets: "I can assure you that Ducati belongs to the Audi family. Ducati is the perfect implementation of our premium philosophy in the world of motorbikes...
The Volkswagen Group, parent to brands like Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Porsche, has announced its future investment plans this week, including a commitment of over $52.81 billion (EUR 34 billion) into new-age automotive technology development. Matthias Müller, CEO for the German automotive group, said: "We are reinventing the car...
Authorities in the US have reportedly approved a fix for around 38,000 vehicles fitted with the Volkswagen Group 3.0-litre TDI turbo-diesel engine as part of the Dieselgate emissions scandal. According to reports from the United States, a letter made public earlier this week says VW Group brands have been approved to make hardware and software changes to vehicles fitted with the 3...
Stephan Winkelmann has been confirmed as the new president of Bugatti. Winkelmann, who is currently managing director at Audi Sport GmbH, will take over from Wolfgang Dürheimer at the start of January 2018, after Dürheimer announced his retirement. "I accept Wolfgang Dürheimer’s wish to retire...
The Volkswagen Group is looking to diffuse emerging tensions among its mass-market marques by giving them more clearly-defined roles in the future. According to a report from Reuters, the automotive giant wants to cut the overlap between Skoda, Seat and Volkswagen vehicles, in an attempt to better take advantage of its manufacturing scale...
The European Research Project L3Pilot for autonomous drive systems has been launched this week, led by the Volkswagen Group. As part of the four-year program, the L3Pilot initiative includes a total of 13 vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, research institutes and universities, operating 100 vehicles with 1000 drivers to test automated driving technologies for both Level 3 and Level 4 standards...
Ducati is staying under the Volkswagen Group umbrella - at least that’s according to a report by Bloomberg, which cites ongoing opposition from the German company's powerful labour unions as the reason why the motorcycle company's ‘for sale’ sign has been temporarily removed...
The Renault-Nissan Alliance has vaulted past the Volkswagen Group and Toyota to be the world's number one automaker at the halfway point of this year. To the end of June, the Franco-Japanese pairing sold 5,268,079 vehicles, ahead of the Volkswagen Group's 5,155,600, and Toyota's 5,129,000...
Diesel-powered versions of the Porsche Cayenne SUV have been recalled in the company's home market of Germany and banned from sale, following the discovery of what is believed to be a suspect emissions manipulation device. Announced by German transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, the move involves the registration ban of the 3...
