Category Archives: Volkswagen

News and reviews of Volkswagen electric cars (including plug-in hybrids).

Who’s Winning the Electric Vehicle Race?

March 29, 2019Audi, Electric Cars, Ford, Honda, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Porsche, Sales, VolkswagenRepost

Automakers are focused on developing models, but ad spending surge is sure to follow

Oil-rich Texas is an unlikely spot for an electric vehicle demand surge. But John Luciano, general manager of a Volkswagen dealership in Amarillo, says his customers are juiced about EVs, suggesting the market might finally emerge from niche status nationally.

“If there is interest in Amarillo, Texas—which is truck country—there is definitely interest,” he says.

Automakers are banking on it. Billions of dollars are flowing into the sector, with Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Honda and other big auto brands making grand pronouncements about their electric vehicle ambitions. Volkswagen Group, whose brands include Audi and Porsche, last week announced it will launch an estimated 70 new electric models in the next 10 years—up from its previous 50-model projection—accounting for 22 million vehicles globally. Audi last month ran a Super Bowl ad touting its claim that one-third of its new models will be electrified by 2025. “A thrilling future awaits. On Earth,” the ad boasted.

But there could be plenty of chills along with the thrills as brands look to overcome long-held consumer concerns about EVs. These include their relatively expensive pricetag when compared to similar gas-powered models, and so-called “range anxiety,” which refers to fears of being stranded, out of power, with no charging station in sight.

Technological advances, including investments in charging infrastructure, will quell some of the angst. But it will be up to marketing departments to get the word out with advertising that reaches beyond tree-hugging EV loyalists or wealthy, tech-obsessed buyers—all without overspending on a sector that remains unpredictable.

Volkswagen Predicts EVs Will Go Mainstream In 2022

March 25, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

Unlike Tesla, it plans to consistently make money from EVs.

Volkswagen may have been a little late to the game for crossovers in the US, but it’s done a commendable job of catching up with offerings like the new Atlas and redesigned Tiguan. But the automaker has no intention of falling behind when it comes to electric vehicles.

We sat down with Volkswagen Group North American CEO Scott Keogh at Geneva to discuss a wide range of topics, among them VW’s upcoming EV lineup launch. Keogh believes that 2022 will be the “sweet spot” on the market when there’ll be enough EV products out there for them to become mainstream. But there’s work to be done beforehand.

“Profitability, let’s make no mistake, comes from scale. In my mind this is an opportunity to take the scale of the (VW) Group with the (all-electric MEB) platform and be one of the first to push aggressively into the volume side,” Keogh said.

All about that bass: carmakers seek electric car sounds for post-petrol era

March 15, 2019Cooper Electric, Electric Cars, Mercedes, MINI, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

GENEVA (Reuters) – Carmakers are dreaming up futuristic electric car engine sounds to ensure that pedestrians can hear vehicles that lack audible cues like high-revving, howling combustion engines, senior executives at the Geneva car show said.

As BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Mini and VW prepare to launch battery-driven vehicles, carmakers are searching for a new way to market the potency of their zero-emissions vehicles.

“The electric vehicle sound is its identity. It cannot be too intrusive or annoying. It has to be futuristic and it cannot sound like anything we had in the past. We cannot simply add the sound of a combustion engine,” Frank Welsch, responsible for technical development at Volkswagen, told Reuters.

VW’s electric cars will have speakers designed to draw the attention of pedestrians, Welsch said, standing next to a lime- green electric dune buggy being shown in Geneva.

“Performance models need to have a more assertive sound, with more bass. It cannot be a high pitched din, like a sewing machine. It has to be futuristic,” he said, adding that SUVs will have a deeper sound to reflect their bigger size.

Volkswagen is pushing for CO2 neutral production of electric cars

March 3, 2019Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution, VolkswagenRepost

The Volkswagen group is doing a 180-degree turn from their emission cheating days to pushing for CO2 neutral production of electric cars.

In a new presentation, VW shows how the I.D., its first next-generation electric vehicle, will be “CO2 neutral throughout the entire life cycle if the customer consistently charges with green power.”

They want to address CO2 emissions through the different phases including manufacturing.

In the manufacturing phase alone, VW says that “the carbon footprint of the ID. will be improved by more than 1 million tons of CO2 per year.”

They want to use green power throughout the entire supply chain and at their own factories.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen launched a new energy and charging unit to complete energy loop and help its future electric vehicle owners power their cars with green power.

Thomas Ulbrich, the Board Member responsible for e-mobility at the Volkswagen brand, commented on the effort:

“Climate change is the greatest challenge of our times. As the world’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen is assuming responsibility: The new ID. will be the Group’s first climate-neutrally produced electric car. To ensure that it remains emission free during its life cycle, we are working on many different ways to use green power. Truly sustainable mobility is feasible if we all want it and we all work on it.”

New Volkswagen Passat Mk8.5 gets new tech and plug-in hybrid boost

February 22, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Passat GTE, VolkswagenRepost

The Volkswagen Passat range has been facelifted for 2019, with the GTE model getting longer electric-only range of 35 miles

Within the next month or two, the 30 millionth Volkswagen Passat will have been produced. Eight generations have hit the road since the car’s launch back in 1973, and UK orders for this newly updated Peugeot 508 rival will open in June.

The latest version is still based upon the Mk8, but VW believes the changes are significant enough to consider it a ‘Mk8.5’. Under the subtly massaged metal, the revised Passat packs improved safety tech, updated infotainment and connectivity systems, semi-autonomous driving capability and an overhauled engine range.

Perhaps the most significant change under the bonnet is an improved GTE plug-in hybrid. The power output from the petrol/electric set-up remains the same as before, at 215bhp, but a larger-capacity battery – up to 13kWh from 9.9kWh – sees the electric-only range rise to 35 miles on the latest WLTP standards. That’s an increase of 40 per cent. However, there’s no fast-charging tech, so at best the GTE can replenish its cells in four hours.

Putting Electric Vehicles on the Fast Track

February 14, 2019Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution, VolkswagenRepost

Three years ago, the world’s largest car manufacturer made global headlines for deliberately evading emissions standards.

The Volkswagen Group spiraled into an unmitigated public relations crisis—now known as Dieselgate—once it became apparent that the company installed “defeat devices” in 11 million vehicles between 2009 and 2015. Those devices enabled VWs to pass emissions tests while emitting far more pollutants than allowed by law.

For years, transportation experts in the environmental community had shown that this practice was far more commonplace than official testing data might suggest. But it was thanks to the investigative prowess of the nonprofit International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Volkswagen’s deceit was exposed—and from the depths of a $20+ billion corporate scandal rose a clarion call for action against unacceptably high emissions from vehicles. The dust has yet to fully settle from Dieselgate, but the fallout has already generated an urgent demand from corporations, cities and nations to embrace a new path that can provide significantly cleaner, more accessible and more affordable mobility for all.

A race has now emerged to determine the future of transportation and it is increasingly clear that those who invest in electric mobility will come out ahead. It is also clear that philanthropic funding proved instrumental in exposing Dieselgate and has helped amplify the call for increased ambition and action. In this new environment, philanthropy can continue to invest in accelerating innovation and ushering the world toward a zero-emission mobility future. Fast-tracking adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), however, requires tackling four challenges that could stand in the way of success.

The first is initial cost. While battery prices are falling rapidly and EVs are less expensive to operate and maintain than their combustion-engine competitors, the initial cost of EVs is still higher. Overcoming this challenge will require targeted fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that recognize the public benefits of EVs. The good news is that by taking innovation to scale, EVs will eventually become less expensive than combustion vehicles, providing significant economic savings in addition to environmental benefits.

The second challenge is convenience. Transitioning away from internal combustion engines toward EVs requires infrastructure building at scale. While early EV adopters were able to get by mostly charging at home, expanding the market further requires the installation of convenient public, apartment building and workplace charging stations. Once deployed, strategic management of vehicle charging can facilitate greater renewable energy integration and can make more efficient use of the grid, providing a double-win for clean power and transport.

Lease costs for electric vehicles fall in 2018

January 22, 2019BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, I-PACE, i3, Jaguar Land Rover, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Renault, Sales, Volkswagen, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Repost

Leasing costs of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have fallen throughout 2018 according to data experts at Cap HPI.

The study looked at five of the best-selling models in the UK and discovered that monthly lease costs had fallen by 9.5% on average.

The UK’s best-selling electric car, the Nissan Leaf saw monthly lease values fall by 6.6% between January and November 2018. Monthly lease prices for the Renault Zoe fell by 16% between June and November.

Between in the 12 months up to November 2018, the BMW i3 saw lease prices drop by 9.2%. The Volkswagen e-Golf saw prices drop 14% over the same period.

The Jaguar I-Pace saw the smallest price drop with a fall of only 1.7% since April 2018.

Mark Turnbull, global head of consulting at Cap HPI, said: “Over the next few years the new price of BEVs will come down as more affordable ‘mainstream’ model ranges are introduced by many manufacturers.

“Used buyer perception will continue to improve as battery ranges are extended and charging times are reduced, and electric car technology proves to be robust and reliable. So subject to adequate investment in charging infrastructure, and positive government legislation, I believe their residual values will be stronger.

“A pincer movement of lower new prices and improved RVs will mean less depreciation in pound terms, and cheaper lease rates will speed up the adoption of this technology.”

One in 20 Brits wonder if they need rubber-soled shoes to drive an electric car

January 8, 2019Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

The country has yet to get to grips with the latest car innovations – and some of the myths we have about electric cars are really bizarre

Brits have some weird and wonderful misconceptions about electric cars – including a belief they can’t be driven through puddles, it has emerged.

It also emerged others don’t think they can be used in the rain at all.

One in 20 even believe electric cars are fundamentally less safe, and nearly one in five believe an electric car will slow down as the battery depletes.

The poll of 2,000 drivers also found some even worry about electric cars being TOO QUIET – as pedestrians may not hear them approaching.

The research was commissioned by Volkswagen, whose spokesperson said: “Electric vehicles are becoming more mainstream, but it seems many people still have lots of unanswered questions about them.

“Despite overwhelming evidence showing them to be beneficial on environmental grounds, some motorists still have concerns over safety, battery life and charging issues.

“Clearly it’s the job of us in the automotive industry to answer these questions, get the correct information out there and make electric vehicles a viable option for people buying new cars in the next few years.”

The study also found Brits have numerous questions they’d ask a car dealer when considering buying an electric car.

Top of the list would simply be ‘How quickly do they charge up?’ followed by ‘How quickly do they run out of charge?’

Fifty-two per cent of drivers would also like to know how much it costs to fill the ‘tank’ with electricity from a charge point.

And one in 20 would even query whether they’d need to drive wearing rubber-soled shoes to prevent electrocution.

Nearly six in 10 Brits would like to own an electric car someday, and would even consider one as their next vehicle.

A third of the population also believe that by the year 2025 most people will drive electric cars, leaving fossil fuels in the past.

Why Volkswagen Needs to Sell 600,000 More Electric Cars Per Year

December 29, 2018Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

Volkswagen estimates it must sell 600,000 more electric vehicles per year to meet the drastic new CO2 emissions goals released by the European Union on Monday.

To align with the targets, carmakers must reduce carbon dioxide emissions in new fleets by 15% by 2025, and 37.5% by 2030. At the same time, light commercial vehicles’ emissions must reduce 31% from 2021 levels by 2030.

Germany was hoping for a maximum reduction of 30%, Handelsblatt reports.

“The plan we have drawn up for transition is not enough to fulfill this transformation,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said this week regarding the emissions goals. Automakers have no choice but to get with the program or potentially face billion-euro fines.

Sources familiar with Volkswagen’s plans told Handelsblatt that the company had calculated it must sell 1.2million electric cars in Europe in 2030 to meet the previous emissions targets. To meet the new CO2 targets, however, that would need to increase to 1.8 million electric vehicles — or 45% of its total sales. Currently, VW and all of its related brands sell 4 million passenger vehicles annually in Europe.

VW Says the Next Generation of Combustion Cars Will Be Its Last

December 14, 2018Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

Final gasoline, diesel technology to roll out from 2026
VW is reducing old-school engines to ‘the absolute minimum’

Volkswagen AG expects the era of the combustion car to fade away after it rolls out its next-generation gasoline and diesel cars beginning in 2026.

Traditional automakers are under increasing pressure from regulators to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions to combat climate change, prompting Volkswagen to pursue a radical shift to electric vehicles.

“Our colleagues are working on the last platform for vehicles that aren’t CO2 neutral,” Michael Jost, strategy chief for Volkswagen’s namesake brand, said Tuesday at an industry conference near the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. “We’re gradually fading out combustion engines to the absolute minimum.”

The world’s largest automaker has started to introduce its first wave of electric cars, including next year’s Porsche Taycan. The rollout across its stable of 12 automotive brands is forecast to comprise about 15 million vehicles, as the company earmarks $50 billion over the next five years to spend on its transformation to self-driving, electric cars.

Production of the VW brand’s I.D. Neo hatchback will start in 12 months in Germany, followed by other models from the I.D. line assembled at two sites in China as of 2020. VW plans to launch fully or partly electric versions across its lineup of more than 300 cars, vans, trucks and motorbikes by 2030.