Volkswagen News
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As it gears up for volume production of battery-electric cars starting in 2019, Volkswagen Group spends a lot of time talking to the press about its future plans for the vehicles. We already know its first electric car that year will be the compact hatchback Volkswagen ID, and the first to be sold in the U.S. will be the VW ID Crozz utility vehicle, in 2020. More than a year ago. Green Car Reports suggested the next generation of the VW Beetle might even go electric. DON'T MISS: Could future VW Beetle return to rear (electric) powertrain? (Oct 2016) That report was confirmed more than a year...
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Volkswagen ID electric car production date now set: November 2019Since the Dieselgate scandal broke more than two years ago, Volkswagen has spent a great deal of time talking about its plans for electric cars. It has rolled out three concept vehicles within the new Volkswagen ID family, and discussed its dedicated electric-car architecture that will underpin all...
John Voelcker -
VW Dieselgate exec Schmidt gets maximum jail sentence: 7 yearsA Volkswagen manager who pleaded guilty to deceiving regulators in the United States over the emissions of the company's TDI diesel engines has been sentenced to the maximum penalty of seven years in prison and the maximum fine of $400,000. "This crime ... attacks and destroys the very foundation...
Mark Stevenson -
Volkswagen ID Crozz electric SUV to launch in US in 2020A production vehicle based on the Volkswagen ID Crozz all-electric compact crossover will be launched in the U.S. market during 2020, VW said. The announcement came at a media event Tuesday night before the first of two media days at the Los Angeles auto show, where the electric SUV makes its North...
John Voelcker -
Discounts soar on many small cars as market stampedes toward SUVsThe market's shift to crossovers and SUVs is well documented, but what may be less well known are the massive discounts some automakers now offer on small cars as a result. While those small cars may deliver smaller profit margins, automakers must now add in steep discounts to move them from...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Volkswagen e-Golf: weekend drive report and range testThe thought came like a flash while on the highway heading into New York's Catskill Mountains: This is what all cars will be like soon. The 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf is absolutely the most normal, invisible, unremarkable electric car you can buy today. No one knew it was electric, or paid it any...
John Voelcker -
State and federal environmental regulators announced Monday they had approved modifications to illegally polluting Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche SUVs fitted with VW Group's 3.0-liter V-6 TDI turbodiesel engine The EPA and California Air Resources Board sent a letter Friday to VW announcing the approved modifications for the 3.0-liter TDI models. The fixes apply to 2013-2016 Volkswagen Touaregs, 2015 Audi Q7s, and 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne SUVs that were equipped with diesel engines. DON'T MISS: Fix for Audi, VW, Porsche V-6 diesels closer to approval: report (May 2016) Altogether, the updates...
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Volkswagen targets Pikes Peak with electric-car tech from future modelsThe next Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race is eight months away still, so a press release on a carmaker's entry into next June's event comes out of left field. But for Volkswagen, it's another small step to underscore its major commitment to battery-electric vehicles as its two-year-old...
John Voelcker -
VW plans for electric trucks and buses, starting production next yearVolkswagen Group has now detailed its aggressive electrification timeline for every part of its vehicle operations, including heavy trucks, setting lofty goals for zero-emission vehicles in the future. While Volkswagen works on the passenger car side of things, VW Group's commercial-vehicle...
Sean Szymkowski -
World's 3rd largest battery firm may ally with VW for electric cars in ChinaMany automakers have announced they will electrify entire vehicle portfolios in the years to come. With more electrified cars on the road, battery production will become increasingly more important. Adding to the positive outlook for lithium-ion cell makers is Volkswagen's potential partnership...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW to spend $3 billion more on rising cost of diesel buybackThe Volkswagen diesel scandal no longer gets much U.S. media coverage. Engineer James Liang has been sentenced to 40 months in jail for his role, while executive Oliver Schmidt will be sentenced December 6. Buybacks and modifications are underway for more than half a million TDI diesel vehicles...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen to show flagship all-electric ID sedan in Geneva: Phaeton successor?The long, strange, sad saga of the now-defunct Volkswagen Phaeton will likely go down as an asterisk in VW's long history. The pet project of now-departed VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech, a member of the Porsche family that controls the carmaker, it was a $70,000-and-up luxury sedan from the...
John Voelcker -
Along with the gleaming concept cars and new production models unveiled at last week's Frankfurt auto show, auto-company executives also make news. Often a company's CEO or product chief will announce directions for the future, whether they're hints about upcoming vehicles or new powertrain plans. Matthias Müller, chairman of the VW Group, did just that in announcing what the giant carmaker calls its "Roadmap E" for electric cars. DON'T MISS: Do Frankfurt's electric cars cover German desperation over diesel decline? Volkswagen, of course, has been hammered for two years by its...
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2017 VW e-Golf lease can cost more than longer-range Chevy Bolt EVModel years can be confusing: the 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car just went on sale this month, at a time when some other makers have already rolled out 2018 models. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, meanwhile, went on sale since last December; at some point this fall, we expect to get information on...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen ID electric car to launch in 2020 along with new VW GolfVolkswagen has a critical year coming in 2020, when the German brand will launch two incredibly important vehicles nearly back-to-back. The next-generation Volkswagen Golf will arrive that year, and then, one month later, the brand will launch its first mass-market electric car, the ID hatchback...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Volkswagen e-Golf, 125-mile electric car, starts at $31,315The 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf gets several notable updates, including a larger battery pack and more powerful electric motor.
Stephen Edelstein -
Volkswagen ID Crozz electric crossover concept updated at Frankfurt showGermany's giant VW Group has said, several times, that it will have 30 different electric cars on sale globally by 2025. Over the last year, it's unveiled three different Volkswagen ID electric-car concepts, two of them thinly disguised versions of future production models for 2019 and 2020. Now...
John Voelcker -
Want to buy a used, updated Volkswagen TDI diesel car? Your VW dealer will get first dibsUpdated Volkswagen diesel vehicles with new engine software will soon be back on the market, but those looking to buy one will have to wait for their local dealership. Volkswagen will offer the hundreds of thousands of modified diesel vehicles to its franchised dealers first, offering them a "right...
Sean Szymkowski -
California is set to receive a lump sum of funds from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust following its diesel emission scandal. With $423 million at the state's discretion, groups are lobbying hard to ensure the funds are used to have an immediate and positive impact on the environment and air quality. One diesel lobbying group believes the best way to combat emissions in the short run is to allocate a large portion of the funds to replace the state's old and dirty diesel-powered semi trucks. DON'T MISS: Diesel trucks with latest emission controls displacing dirtier, older ones on...
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Used diesel demand drops in Germany over fear of software upgradesDiesel-powered cars, long a staple on European roads, are starting to lose favor as million of dollars of inventory begins to pile up in used diesel models. The inventory, largely recent models certified under the superseded Euro-5 emission standards, has boomed recently over the possibility the...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW engineer gets 40 months in jail, $200K fine, for diesel cheating roleFormer Volkswagen employee James Liang was sentenced in Detroit on Friday to serve 40 months in prison and pay a $200,000 fine for his role in the global Volkswagen diesel-emission cheating scandal. It was a stiffer sentence than expected for an engineer who helped to create software that...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen ID Buzz drive: electric VW bus offers unique EV conceptWhen you see a concept car drive onto the stage at an auto show, don't be fooled into thinking it's what you'll drive out of the dealer a couple of years later. We got to drive the Volkswagen ID Buzz all-electric Microbus concept car Saturday for a couple of miles along the oceanside road outside...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen to build ID Buzz electric Microbus, cargo vans too, on sale in 2022The Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, an all-electric reinterpretation of the iconic VW Microbus, generated huge enthusiasm and public crowds when it debuted in January at the Detroit auto show. Today, the company announced its board had officially approved production of the vehicle, a distinctive entry...
John Voelcker -
Will Rallycross go electric? Michael Andretti on why series is perfect for EVsRallycross has become a sensation in motorsport relatively quickly: similar to autocross, a single car races against the clock on a set course or "stage," usually in the dirt, mud, or gravel—anything other than a paved track, in other words. Drivers with the best time are deemed the winner...
Sean Szymkowski