Big Auto’s executives have a long history of taking shots at Tesla. Now, two industry giants, VW and GM, have decided to dismiss the Silicon Valley automaker altogether and claim they’ll (instead) lead the EV revolution. Yet, their braggadocio, somehow, doesn’t seem to add up.
Recognising that Tesla is stealing their lunch, VW Group’s head Herbert Diess has bent the truth well beyond a breaking point in claiming that, by 2020, they will produce EVs that match Tesla’s characteristics but at half the price. VW has already recently revealed the real (and fairly sensible) figures on its most affordable 2020 ID Neo EV, so why now are they grossly exaggerating its price and characteristics, or lying about Tesla’s price? They must be getting desperate.
Funds from Electrify America will help bring zero emission urban mobility to the city of Sacramento through two electric carsharing programs with a total of 400 electric cars available for rent on city streets by this time next year.
Although the now infamous VW dieselgate scandal has tapered somewhat, the news media has turned its full attention from rightfully highlighting what the company did wrong to now, what it is doing right, or at least, what it has been imposed to do to benefit all of us. There are indeed things to be thankful for regarding how the VW settlement funds are being allocated.
Prosecutors in Germany have whacked Volkswagen with a 1 billion Euro fine while a court has ruled a VW dealer must buy back a 2012 Passat TDI even though the statute of limitations has expired.
PIRG is urging state and local communities to allocate a portion of the money they receive from the Volkswagen diesel emissions settlement to spark the transition to electric school buses.
Where does smog (ozone) come from? Utilities like Duke and FPL do their share, but mostly, it’s from you and me, driving our cars. The good news is, you can DO something right now to cut smog down to healthier levels. Florida is getting $166 million from the VW diesel scandal settlement for clean transportation. We say it should all go for zero emission electric vehicles.
Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has now been charged by the US Justice Department with conspiracy in relation to the coverup at Volkswagen relating to the diesel vehicle emissions cheating scandal.
The head of powertrain development at Volkswagen’s Porsche business, Joerg Kerner, has been arrested by authorities in Germany in relation to the Stuttgart public prosecutor office’s investigation of the ongoing Volkswagen diesel vehicle emissions cheating scandal, unnamed sources quoted by Bild am Sonntag have revealed.
The Volkswagen board seems poised to move Matthias Mueller aside as the head of the company and to replace him with Herbert Diess. The move may come as soon as Friday.
