Volkswagen News
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Volkswagen appears to be quite clearly committed to an ambitious program of electric cars following its diesel emission scandal. But aside from two adapted models launched a few years ago—the VW e-Golf and e-Up hatchbacks—and a few low-range plug-in hybrids, it doesn't yet have much to put in showrooms. Instead, it's launching a series of battery-electric concept vehicles under the Volkswagen ID label to show its thinking for models that will roll out starting in 2019. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen ID: more details of all-electric concept car at 2016 Paris auto show The latest of these...
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Modified European VW diesels 'undrivable,' say some ownersMost 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...
John Voelcker -
Faster electric-car fast charging: test site in Fremont, VW plans 300 kw-plusCharging 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
First high-volume VW electric car must arrive by 2020, CEO says, mostly for ChinaAs 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
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...
Stephen Edelstein -
After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitorNext 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...
John Voelcker -
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 VW and the U.S. Justice Department was announced just under two months ago, calling for the automaker to plead guilty, pay $2.8 billion in criminal fines, and $1.45 billion in civil fines. DON'T MISS: VW settles diesel cheating cases: felony pleas, $4.3 billion fines In Detroit, attorneys for both...
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VW diesel cheating produced 1,200 premature deaths: MIT studyIn 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
Volkswagen diesel buyback: some buyers still waitingIn 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW exec pleads not guilty on diesel cheating chargesA 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 VW e-Golf rated at 125 miles, tops 124-mile Hyundai Ioniq electric carOh, 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...
John Voelcker -
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...
John Voelcker -
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 output of the larger-displacement engines that they, err, displaced. DON'T MISS: EU cracks down as diesel scandal exposes lax tests country by country But engine downsizing may have a limit, at least according to Volkswagen. "The trend of downsizing is over," VW chairman Herbert Diess told The Telegraph...
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Which VW diesels can be fixed (updated), and which can't?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...
Stephen Edelstein -
Bosch to pay VW diesel owners $330 million in emission scandal tooWith 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...
John Voelcker -
Settlement for Audi, Porsche, VW 3.0-liter diesel TDI owners announcedVolkswagen 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...
John Voelcker -
VW diesel probe finally reaches to top; former CEO Winterkorn investigated by German prosecutorsGerman 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW dealers settle too; average payout almost $2 million eachA 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
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. But what happens to all of these cars once they are bought back? DON'T MISS: VW settles diesel cheating cases: felony pleas, $4.3 billion fines They get stockpiled in out-of-the-way locations across the country, apparently. VW is currently storing diesel cars at an abandoned NFL stadium, a...
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Court orders full reimbursement for VW diesel owner in GermanyA 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW Group plans 8 plug-in electric cars for ChinaAs 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW settles diesel cheating cases: felony pleas, $4.3 billion finesLast 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...
John Voelcker -
5 more VW diesel execs indicted, including R&D head, after weekend arrestOn 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...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW executive arrested by FBI on diesel emission conspiracy chargesThe 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...
John Voelcker