The German newspaper Bild has reported that Volkswagen Group’s Porsche brand is now seeking €200 million (~$235 million) in damages from its stablemate Audi over its involvement in the use of illegal defeat devices in diesel vehicles.
How much does loyalty to a major brand — or at least the status of various brands — limit the transition to electric vehicles from Tesla, Dyson, e.Go, etc.? On the other hand, how much does dissatisfaction with conventional automakers drive customers to such automotive newcomers? How much do legacy automotive brands keep the door shut to newcomers like Tesla versus invite the disruptors in?
The plug-in market in Europe had a surprisingly strong August month, with over 22,000 registrations, up 68% year over year (YoY). That pushes the plug-in market share up to 1.7%.
Audi has now completed work on its first all-electric race car, to be used for the Formula E series of racing events. Audi unveiled the new race car at an event in Neuberg, Germany. The new Audi e-tron FE04, as its known, was developed with Audi’s partner Schaeffler — the firms together comprising part of Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler — and utilizes a “completely new” powertrain design.
Prosecutors in Munich, Germany, have now arrested a second suspect as part of their investigation into possible emissions test cheating. In relation to this move, they have also reportedly widened the investigation to include a number of new suspects.
Electric vehicles will be manufactured at multiple sites around the world amongst Audi’s global network, rather than just at one, the company has revealed.
The L3Pilot self-driving vehicle tech research project — backed by a broad consortium of Europe-based firms and operating under the management of Volkswagen Group — recently launched in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The German auto industry faces increasing pressure from Tesla and Chinese auto makers. Can it survive the transition to electric cars?
Audi brought two autonomous concepts to Frankfurt — the Elaine, with Level 4 autonomy, and the Aicon, with full Level 5 autonomy. When the future arrives, Audi will be ready.
More or less, this story could be about Daimler, BMW, Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, or any other major automaker. In fact, while this article was in the works, a couple of Daimler execs came out and admitted a couple of the core challenges in a rather direct way. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne did the same a year and a half ago in his own dramatic style. But the complexity of the story means that it’s not a black and white issue and it also goes far beyond the statements referenced above.
