Volkswagen News

  • 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SE

    Most of the Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sold in the U.S. from 2009 through 2015 are likely to be bought back from their owners, probably leaving fewer than 100,000 on U.S. roads. That's not the case in Europe, where the impacts of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal are still playing out. Roughly 11 million cars with TDI diesel engines were sold by VW Group under multiple brands, and some of those will be modified—in some cases only with software updates. DON'T MISS: Which VW diesels can be fixed, and which can't? Now some U.K. customers have had their cars updated, and they...

  • Prototype EVgo 350-kw fast-charging station Fremont, CA
    Faster electric-car fast charging: test site in Fremont, VW plans 300 kw-plus

    Charging infrastructure projects for electric cars have mostly focused on expanding the number of charging sites available to the public over the last six years. But now significant effort is also being put into increasing the power those public charging stations can provide. This is due to...

  • Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, 2017 Detroit auto show
    First high-volume VW electric car must arrive by 2020, CEO says, mostly for China

    As it tries to put the ongoing diesel-emissions scandal behind it, VW Group is focusing its future on electric cars. The Volkswagen brand within the sprawling German company has developed an electric-car specific platform called MEB, and has shown multiple concepts based on it. Those include the ID...

  • BMW i3 and Volkswagen e-Golf electric cars using Combined Charging System (CCS) DC fast charging
    VW's Electrify America submits electric-car charging plan to EPA, CARB: now what?

    Volkswagen has submitted a plan for electric-charging infrastructure to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. VW's "Electrify America" plan shows how the automaker would spend funds it is required to commit to zero-emission vehicle infrastructure under the...

  • 2016 Audi A3 e-Tron Sportback, San Francisco Bay Area, Oct 2015
    After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitor

    Next year, the Audi e-tron luxury electric crossover is expected to arrive at U.S. dealers, bringing Audi into direct competition with the Tesla Model X roughly three years after the world's first all-electric utility vehicle went into production. But with a pledge to sell 25 percent of its cars...

  • Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencap
    VW pleads guilty to felonies in diesel emission scandal

    On Friday, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three criminal charges related to its use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. Entry of the plea is the latest step toward resolving the criminal aspect of Volkswagen's diesel scandal in the U.S. A settlement between...

  • 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

    In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in its diesel cars. The software routines allowed cars to pass emissions tests while still producing up to 35 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides in real-world driving, setting off a scandal that is still being dealt with. Volkswagen is proceeding with buybacks and modifications of affected cars, both in North America and Europe, but the excess pollution may have already had a significant public-health effect. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen diesel buyback: some buyers still...

  • 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI
    Volkswagen diesel buyback: some buyers still waiting

    In October, a federal judge signed the final agreement covering the majority of cars affected by the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal. That allowed the Volkswagen Group to start issuing buyback offers for half a million vehicles sold by the VW and Audi brands from 2009 through 2015 that were...

  • 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI
    VW exec pleads not guilty on diesel cheating charges

    A Volkswagen executive appeared in a federal courtroom in Detroit on Thursday to be arraigned on charges related to the automaker's diesel-emissions cheating. Oliver Schmidt previously headed the VW Group's U.S. regulatory compliance group. He was arrested by the FBI in Florida last month, while...

  • 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf
    2017 VW e-Golf rated at 125 miles, tops 124-mile Hyundai Ioniq electric car

    Oh, those crafty Germans. Just a few days after the week-long media launch of the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq range, Volkswagen has quietly one-upped the Ioniq Electric's 124-mile EPA-rated range. Granted, it's only beaten the South Korean electric car by 1 mile. But still. DON'T MISS: Hyundai Ioniq...

  • Volkswagen ID Neo concept, 2016 Paris auto show
    Volkswagen e-Golf to end when ID electric hatchback launches?

    The Volkswagen e-Golf will arrive in dealerships this spring with a higher-capacity battery pack that gives the electric car an EPA-rated 124 miles of range. The number equals the rating of the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq, and is the highest range offered by any electric car that's not a Chevy Bolt EV or a...

  • 2018 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen
    VW suggests engine downsizing is done; emissions rules are the reason

    When it comes to improving fuel efficiency, simply making an engine smaller is a fairly direct way to get results. It's the approach that many automakers have taken in recent years. They have downsized engines across model lines, usually adding turbochargers at the same time to match the power...

  • 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI

    More than 16 months after Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel vehicles was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, some progress is finally being made in addressing the affected cars. Settlements are now in place for almost half a million VW and Audi models with 2.0-liter TDI 4-cylinder engines, as well as roughly 80,000 VW. Audi, and Porsche vehicles equipped with 3.0-liter TDI V-6 engines. But so far, only a relatively small number of these vehicles can be modified to meet emissions standards and stay on the road. DON'T MISS: Emission updates for 2015...

  • 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SE
    Bosch to pay VW diesel owners $330 million in emission scandal too

    With a judge set to weigh in on the settlement VW Group negotiated with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel owners, Volkswagen seems to have settled most of the U.S. legal claims stemming from its diesel-emission cheating scandal. Total costs in the U.S. alone are now more than $20 billion, and among other...

  • 2014 Audi Q5 TDI, Catskill Mountains, Oct 2013
    Settlement for Audi, Porsche, VW 3.0-liter diesel TDI owners announced

    Volkswagen today announced that it had reached a settlement with owners of Audi, Porsche, and VW vehicles fitted with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engine. Different remedies apply depending on the vehicle's model year: 2009 through 2012 cars will be bought back, while 2013 through 2016 vehicles will be...

  • Martin Winterkorn
    VW diesel probe finally reaches to top; former CEO Winterkorn investigated by German prosecutors

    German prosecutors have extended a probe into Volkswagen's use of "defeat device" software in diesel cars to former CEO Martin Winterkorn. Winterkorn, who resigned shortly after the existence of VW "defeat device" software was revealed by the EPA, has said he had no knowledge of the...

  • 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Six-Month Road Test
    VW dealers settle too; average payout almost $2 million each

    A settlement between Volkswagen and its U.S. franchised dealers over the diesel-emissions scandal has been approved by a federal judge. First announced last August, the settlement calls for VW dealers to compensated for the alleged loss in value of their franchises related to fallout from the...

  • Volkswagen TDI diesel cars stored at Pontiac Silverdome (Photo by Jalopnik)
    Where do bought-back VW diesels go? Dead NFL stadiums, among other places

    When news of its diesel-emissions cheating broke last September, Volkswagen issued a stop-sale order for affected TDI diesel cars. Now that a settlement for 2.0-liter TDI models has been approved, the automaker is also beginning to buy back cars with illegal "defeat device" software from customers...

  • 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

    A lot has been said about Volkswagen's use of "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests, but a German court may win the prize for most-creative description. VW "defeat device" software is like putting horse meat in lasagna, three German judges decreed during a recent hearing related to the diesel scandal. Besides unleashing that vivid image, the hearing was also a major coup for German Volkswagen TDI diesel owners. DON'T MISS: Diesel owners in Germany who sue VW face significant hurdles That's because the judges ordered VW to reimburse a diesel owner for the full...

  • Volkswagen ID Neo concept, 2016 Paris auto show
    VW Group plans 8 plug-in electric cars for China

    As it works to recover from its diesel emission scandal, the Volkswagen Group is rapidly embracing electric cars. By 2025, the company hopes to be selling 1 million electric cars per year, and plans to launch 30 different electric models across multiple brands in the coming years. According to a...

  • 2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI
    VW settles diesel cheating cases: felony pleas, $4.3 billion fines

    Last week, Volkswagen settled an array of criminal and civil charges over its 16-month-old diesel scandal with the U.S. Justice Department. The news of the settlement was quickly swamped by a variety of further stories, both on the regulatory and diesel fronts. Those included the arrest of one...

  • Handcuffs
    5 more VW diesel execs indicted, including R&D head, after weekend arrest

    On Wednesday, six senior VW Group executives were indicted by the Justice Department on multiple counts of conspiracy and intent to defraud. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, to defraud customers, and to violate the Clean Air Act. All stemmed from the Volkswagen diesel...

  • 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI
    VW executive arrested by FBI on diesel emission conspiracy charges

    The head of VW Group's U.S. regulatory compliance group was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this weekend on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Oliver Schmidt led the German automaker's regulatory compliance during 2014 and the early part of 2015. The Volkswagen...

  • Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, 2017 Detroit auto show
    VW ID Buzz concept: all-electric Microbus could arrive in 2022

    If you pronounce the word "buzz" with a German accent, it sounds like "bus"—which is almost surely why VW's second all-electric concept vehicle is called the Volkswagen ID Buzz. It's the latest in a series of concept studies for a modern-day Microbus, with stylistic nods to the classic Type 2...

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