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☆ Volkswagen’s electric car orders double in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Volkswagen’s orders for electric vehicles shot up in Europe in the first quarter of 2024 compared with a year ago, countering suggestions that drivers may be losing interest in EVs. New orders for electric cars more than doubled in Europe, Volkswagen said in an earnings statement Tuesday. He acknowledged, however, that the pace of EV sales growth in Europe and the United States had been slower than the German carmaker had originally anticipated. As for Volkswagen’s EV deliveries, they declined 16% in Europe in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2023. “With these actions and our highly profitable combustion engine car business, we are well-prepared to continue to play a leading role in China,” Antlitz said.

Persons: London CNN —, Arno Antlitz, carmaker, ”, Antlitz, ” Antlitz Organizations: London CNN, Volkswagen, Europe’s, CNN, EV, ” Locations: Europe, EVs ., United States, China

☆ United Auto Workers-Daimler Truck agreement draws praise from Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —President Joe Biden praised the United Auto Workers and Daimler Truck for reaching a tentative in the eleventh hour Friday night, preventing a potential strike affecting 7,300 workers. Daimler is a major manufacturer of trucks and buses, responsible for producing Thomas Built buses, one of the most popular brands of school buses in the United States. CNN has reached out to Daimler Truck for comment. The tentative agreement comes on the heels of increased momentum for the UAW. The subsequent contract negotiations won record pay increases for UAW members at the three companies.

Persons: Joe Biden, ” Biden, Shawn Fain, Thomas Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, Daimler, UAW, Facebook, CNN, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, —, Motors, Ford Locations: New York, United States, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Vance , Alabama, Tuscaloosa

☆ Daimler Truck Workers in North Carolina Are Poised to Strike
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Jack Ewing | More About Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Workers who make trucks and buses for Daimler Truck in North Carolina appeared poised to strike on Friday as contract talks remained deadlocked. A contract covering 7,000 Daimler employees represented by the United Automobile Workers will expire at the end of Friday. The German company has five factories in North Carolina, where it builds Freightliner and Western Star trucks, Thomas Built buses, and various components. scored a significant victory this month when workers at Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted to be represented by the union. Workers at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama will vote on whether to unionize in mid-May.

Persons: Thomas Organizations: Daimler Truck, Daimler, United Automobile Workers, Freightliner, Western Star, Workers, Benz Locations: North Carolina, Southern, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga , Tenn, Alabama

☆ Opinion | The Volkswagen Union Win Shows That Labor Is Becoming a Bigger Tent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There’s a vote on whether to join the United Automobile Workers union, giving organized labor its first factorywide foothold at a major foreign automaker in the South. We know now that the pro-union side won with nearly three-quarters of the vote in an election that ended on Friday. I think what we saw in Chattanooga is workers voting on the basis of economics rather than party alignment. If that continues to happen elsewhere, the South could some day become as unionized as the rest of the country. It won’t happen quickly, though, because government officials and corporate groups are likely to continue to fight back.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Republicans — Organizations: United Automobile Workers, Republicans Locations: Chattanooga , Tenn, Tennessee, Chattanooga

☆ How the UAW’s win may change the South
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now, the United Auto Workers has dealt a serious blow to that model: winning a landslide union victory after decades of failing to unionize automakers in the South. It’s the UAW’s first win in trying to represent workers at a foreign car manufacturing plant in the South. Before Friday’s win, the highest profile union election held in the South in recent years was the attempt to organize Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama in 2022. Bill Lee in 2019 visited Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga to encourage workers to reject the union, and former South Carolina Gov. But the Volkswagen win, said UAW President Shawn Fain to CNN, shows that politics are not an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to organizing in the South.

Persons: Stephen Silvia, Southern, ” Silvia, – Tesla, Tesla, Henry McMaster, Kay Ivey, “, ”, Erica Smiley, Honda, Friday’s, you’ve, they’ve, Bill Lee, Nikki Haley, Biden —, Shawn Fain, “ Trump, ” Fain, “ I’m, George Walker IV, Harley Shaiken, Justice, CNN’s Chris Isidore Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, UAW, American University, Southern Gamble, Workers, Foreign, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, –, South Carolina Gov, Alabama Gov, “ Unions, Justice, Union, Auto, South Detroit, Benz, Kia, P Global Market Intelligence, Republicans, Environmental Defense Fund, Southern, “, GOP, Tennessee Gov, Democratic, CNN, Tennessee, AP, Chattanooga won’t, University of California, Jobs Locations: New York, United States, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Mercedes, Vance , Alabama, Alabama, Smyrna , Tennessee, Spartanburg , South Carolina, Lincoln , Alabama, Southern, South, Chattanooga, Georgia, Berkeley

☆ UAW says Volkswagen workers vote overwhelmingly to join union, giving it groundbreaking win
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

If the union can win the right to represent workers across the broad swath of the nonunion auto plants, it could increase their leverage in future contract negotiations. Most of the nonunion auto plants are spread across the south. It is also seeking to represent workers at three American automakers making electric vehicles – Tesla, Rivian and Lucid. Many of the nonunion automakers, including Volkswagen, gave their workers similar raises in the wake of the UAW contracts. And the UAW has had little success winning the right to represent nonunion auto workers since then, until Friday’s vote.

Persons: ”, Kelcey Smith, Bill Lee Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, National Labor Relations Board, UAW, Volkswagen, – General Motors, Ford, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, American, Mercedes, Tennessee Gov Locations: New York, Chattanooga , Tennessee, United States, Southern, Vance , Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Alabama, Georgia , Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, American, Pennsylvania

☆ VW Workers in Tennessee Start Vote on U.A.W., Testing Union Ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last fall the United Automobile Workers union won big pay increases from the Detroit automakers, and the impact rippled quickly through the nonunion auto plants scattered across the South. On production lines in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and elsewhere, those pay increases have been referred to as the “U.A.W. bump.”Now 4,300 workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., will test whether the union can achieve an even greater bump. On Wednesday, they begin voting on whether to join the U.A.W., and the prospects of a union victory appear high. About 70 percent of the workers pledged to vote yes before the union asked for a vote, according to the U.A.W.

Persons: Tesla, “, ”, Kelcey Smith Organizations: United Automobile Workers, Detroit automakers, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, VW Locations: United States, Alabama , Tennessee , Kentucky, Chattanooga , Tenn

☆ UAW files for union vote at Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The United Auto Workers union is seeking a union representation vote among more than 4,000 hourly workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The union has announced a broad-based campaign to win representation at the American plants of 13 nonunion automakers. That is slightly more than the union’s representation at the three unionized automakers, which have about 145,000 UAW members between them. The VW Chattanooga plant is the only factory operated by VW that does not have union representation. Once the election process starts, management often holds mandatory meetings with staff to make the case against union representation, and that convinces some earlier supporters of the union to end their support.

Persons: –, ”, Victor Vaughn, ” Vaughn, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, – Tesla, –, Motors, Ford, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, VW, ” Locations: New York, Chattanooga , Tennessee, VW Chattanooga, Chattanooga

☆ UAW aims to organize 13 nonunion automakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The United Auto Workers union says it has started an effort to organize workers at 13 non-union automakers with US factories. The union said there are about 150,000 employees at 36 nonunion auto plants operated by the companies it is targeting in this campaign. That is slightly more than the union’s representation at the three unionized automakers, which have about 145,000 UAW members between them. But if a union organizing campaign is successful, the union will be made up of workers from the company. The union has filed complaints accusing many of the automakers of unfair labor practices during those earlier organizing efforts.

Persons: Jeff Allen, “ We’ve, ”, Allen, we’ve, “, Shawn Fain, ” Fain Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, General Motors, Ford, US, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, Toyota Camry, Lexus, UAW, Workers, Tesla Locations: New York, Georgetown , Kentucky, America, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Canton , Mississippi, Smyrna , Tennessee

☆ Global Automakers Turn to China for EV Lessons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Yoko Kubota | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Volkswagen’s pavilion at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China. The carmaker plans to offer 30 electric models in China by 2030. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg NewsHEFEI, China— Volkswagen engineers in one of China’s electric-vehicle hubs are looking to the country’s automotive industry for clues about how to speed up manufacturing and beat back local rivals in the world’s biggest auto market. The German automaker has long been the number one manufacturer in a market dominated by gasoline-powered vehicles, but it has been losing market share as China’s market turns electric. It is now trying to figure out how to compete with upstart Chinese makers that can roll out good, affordable and highly digital electric cars—and do so in a third less time.

Persons: Qilai Shen Organizations: Guangzhou Auto Show, Bloomberg News, Volkswagen Locations: China, Bloomberg News HEFEI

☆ Tesla strikes in Sweden are getting under Elon Musk’s skin
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —It has taken nearly a month, but workers striking against Tesla in Sweden have finally drawn a response from the company’s famously anti-union boss. “This is insane,” CEO Elon Musk said Thursday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that he owns. Musk was responding to news that Swedish postal workers are refusing to deliver Tesla license plates, joining a wave of action in sympathy with mechanics who stopped servicing Tesla cars late last month. About 130 mechanics began their ongoing strike in October after their employer, a Tesla subsidiary in Sweden, announced that it would not recognize their labor union, according to Expressen, a CNN affiliate. Still, the strikes by Swedish workers may embolden Tesla’s employees in Germany, where it has a large plant manufacturing electric vehicles and battery cells.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, dockworkers, Tesla Organizations: London CNN, Tesla, CNN, IF Metall, National Labor Relations Board, Reuters, IG Metall Locations: Sweden, Swedish, United States, Buffalo , New York, Germany, Berlin, German Union, —, German, Wolfsburg

☆ The UAW won big against Detroit automakers. Unionizing Tesla and Toyota will be tougher
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But the UAW’s ambitious plans to organize Tesla and other non-union automakers face steep odds. To grow, the UAW will need to gain a foothold at non-union automakers, which produce more than half of the cars assembled in the United States. Historically, UAW talks with the Detroit automakers have been closely watched by non-union automakers and suppliers. Anti-union companiesThe UAW will have to overcome weak protections for labor organizing in the United States and automakers’ aggressive tactics to defeat unions. It may be easier for UAW to organize Volkswagen and other European automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz than automakers from Asia, experts say.

Persons: Tesla, Shawn Fain, ”, Harry Katz, “, Thomas Kochan, Tesla's, Justin Sullivan, Bill Lee, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, Kochan, ” Kochan, “ There’s, “ Fain, he’s, Harley Shaiken, Jesse Jackson, John J, Kim, Elon Musk, Musk, “ Tesla, ” Shaiken, Biden, Erica Smiley, Smiley, ‘ we’ve, won’t Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, Ford, General Motors, Jeep, Chrysler, Detroit automakers, UAW, American, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW, Nissan, Volkswagen, Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Labor, Companies, Employers, National Labor Relations Act, MIT Sloan School of Management, Getty, Workers, Benz, Tennessee Gov, Former South Carolina Gov, Environmental Defense Fund, Alabama, M University, Jackson State University, University of California, Berkley, Chicago Tribune, Tribune, Service, Tesla, National Labor Relations Board, Employees, Bloomberg, CNN, Biden Union, Union, Biden, Justice, Detroit Locations: New York, United States, California, Texas, Tesla's Fremont , California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga, Michigan, Detroit, Chicago, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Asia, Europe, Tesla’s Fremont California, ”

That adds to tech-related tensions between the West and China, which is one of Europe’s biggest trading partners and the world’s biggest auto market. Chinese EV makers are drawn to Europe because auto import tariffs are just 10% versus 27.5% in the U.S., independent auto analyst Matthias Schmidt said. MG — owned by SAIC Motor, China’s biggest automaker — is the largest Chinese EV player in Europe. One reason Chinese companies can offer high-quality cars at affordable prices stems from the rules to enter the Chinese market. Chinese EV makers, meanwhile, are trying to stand out in a crowded field.

Persons: Laima Springe, Janssen, “, ” Springe, I’m, ”, Matthias Schmidt, John Kirkwood, —, Kirkwood, Warren Buffett, Ursula von der Leyen, Alfa, China’s EVs, Carlos Tavares, we’re, Alexander Klose, ” Klose, Schmidt, Justin Nicholls, Nicholls Organizations: Volvo, Nissan, Skoda, Union, EV, Volkswagen Passat, Kia, MG, SAIC Motor, China’s, —, Lotus, Chinese Commerce Ministry, EU, World Trade Organization, Tesla’s, Peugeot, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Global, Wall Motors Locations: Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe, China, West, U.S, British, Western, France, Germany, Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Israel

☆ Auto jobs are booming in the union-hostile South
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Looming over the United Auto Workers strike: Automakers’ continued migration to the anti-union South. Jobs at nonunion EV battery facilities pay less than the roughly $32 an hour that veteran UAW workers make. Since 1990, the South’s share of auto jobs has doubled from around 15% to 30% today, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Mostly nonunion EV jobs and manufacturing investments are surging in Southern states led by Republicans. The South has picked up 66% of planned EV jobs, while projects in Midwestern states such as Michigan, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio have combined for 26% of planned jobs, according to S&P Global.

Persons: ’, Ford, nonunion autoworkers, ”, Stephen Silvia, Southern, Mason, Honda, Deni McIntyre, unionize, “ It’s, Nelson Lichtenstein, Jeffrey Greenberg, Lichtenstein, Bill Lee, Nikki Haley, Houston Cofield, Biden, Biden’s, Shawn Fain Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, General Motors, Volvo, Benz, BMW, Toyota, Hyundai, American University, Southern Gamble, Workers, Foreign, Ford, GM, Dixon, Midwest, UAW, EV, P Global Market Intelligence, Nissan, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Kia, CNN, University of California, Clinton Presidency, Universal, Southern Republican, South . Tennessee Gov, Former South Carolina Gov, Republicans, North Carolina –, Environmental Defense Fund, P Global, Ford Motor Co, SK Innovation Co, Bloomberg, Getty, Big Three Locations: New York, Detroit, Smyrna , Tennessee, Spartanburg , South Carolina, Vance , Alabama, Lincoln , Alabama, Germany, Santa Barbara, Clinton, Korean, United States, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, South, Chattanooga, Southern, – Georgia, South Carolina , Kentucky, North Carolina, Midwest . Georgia, Michigan, Indiana , Kansas, Ohio, Stanton , Tennessee, BlueOval

HONG KONG, Aug 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) China shortcut sets a tricky roadmap for its western rivals. An increasingly competitive Chinese market means others may also need to plot a new route. VW’s western peers may feel they do not need to follow in its tracks. Second, VW’s Xpeng deal highlights how companies need to adapt quickly to stay relevant in China. Both partnerships will see the companies jointly develop intelligent, connected electric vehicles for the Chinese market.

Persons: China’s, that’s, Bernstein, Alix, Elon Musk’s, VW’s, Auto, Neil Unmack, Pranav Kiran, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, HK, FAW, SAIC, VW, BMW, upstarts, Alix Partners, Elon, Mercedes, Benz, Nissan, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volkswagen’s Audi, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, Jetta, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Xpeng, Kingdom, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Zhejiang

☆ Volkswagen’s EV Gambit in China Makes Sense
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Volkswagen invests $700 million in Chinese EV maker Xpeng to boost sluggish sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The German group’s Audi subsidiary will also work more closely with its existing partner, SAIC Motor, China’s biggest car maker. Shares in Xpeng jumped more than 30% Thursday in Hong Kong, leading a broad rally in Chinese EV stocks. China is the single largest market for Volkswagen, accounting for about 40% of its global sales and half of its profits. In the first quarter of 2023, BYD, the Chinese EV maker backed by Warren Buffett, surpassed Volkswagen to become the largest brand by sales in China, according to official car insurance registration data. The German car maker said it would strengthen its strategic position in China, including beefing up its capacity for e-mobility, digitalization and autonomous driving.

Persons: ”, Ralf Brandstätter, Xpeng, Warren Buffett, It’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Volkswagen, VW, Audi, SAIC, China’s, “ Volkswagen Locations: Hong Kong, German, Xpeng, China, Xinjiang, Germany, BYD, Europe, Hefei, Anhui, Hefei city

☆ Volkswagen Seeks to Regain Edge in China as It Cuts Delivery Forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But overall revenue increased 18.2 percent as the company stemmed some of its losses in China, where deliveries were down 1.2 percent. Western Europe provided the company with its strongest business, with 1.65 million vehicles ordered in the first half of the year, and 200,000 of them — or 12 percent — were electric vehicles, the company said. Volkswagen hopes that its investment in XPeng will help advance the German automaker’s electric vehicle software to the standards produced by Chinese manufacturers. Some analysts interpreted the move as a concession that Volkswagen was unable to compete with Chinese companies on the latest technology. But Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive, expressed confidence that VW customers, including those in China, want more variety in their vehicles.

Persons: ”, Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Oliver Blume, Mr, Blume, “ Organizations: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group Rus, China, BYD, Audi, SAIC, British, Center for Automotive Research, “, Tesla, Volkswagen Group, Porsche, Lamborghini, VW Locations: China, Western Europe, Russia, Avilon, Moscow, XPeng, Duisburg, Germany

London/Berlin CNN —Tesla has lodged an application to double the production capacity of its plant near Berlin to 1 million electric vehicles a year. The expansion means the Tesla factory, which delivered its first vehicle in March last year, would overtake Volkswagen (VLKAF)’s sprawling plant in the German city of Wolfsburg, stealing its crown as Europe’s biggest car factory. Anyone objecting to Tesla’s proposal to expand the German factory has until September 18 to do so. Tesla’s biggest factory outside the United States is in Shanghai. In 2022, more than half of the vehicles Tesla delivered were made in China.

Persons: Berlin CNN — Tesla, Tesla, China’s, Warren Buffett Organizations: Berlin CNN, Tesla, CNN, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group, Reuters, Tesla’s Locations: Berlin, German, Wolfsburg, United States, North America, Canada, Shanghai, China

☆ Tesla Wants to Double the Size of Its European Assembly Plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla wants to double the production capacity of its assembly plant outside Berlin to one million electric vehicles a year, a move that would make it the largest car plant in Europe at a time when German automakers are struggling to keep pace in the transition to electric vehicles. Since it began production in Grünheide 16 months ago, Tesla has disrupted the German automobile landscape. Over the first half of this year, for the first time, it eclipsed Volkswagen in electric vehicle sales. Volkswagen and other German automakers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have spent years fumbling their attempts to produce electric cars that can compete with Tesla in price and popularity. Across the continent in June, new registrations of electric cars increased more than 66 percent from a year earlier, outselling diesel cars for the first time, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Tesla, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association Locations: Berlin, Europe, Grünheide, Wolfsburg

☆ Volkswagen Replaces Audi Chief Amid Pressure to Electrify
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsVolkswagen is replacing the chief executive at its luxury brand Audi, naming Gernot Döllner to take over from Markus Duesmann, as the company seeks to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles. Mr. Döllner, who has served as Volkswagen’s leading strategist, will start his new role on Sept. 1, Audi said in a statement on Thursday. Audi, although profitable, is struggling to convert to battery power and compete with the growing threat from Chinese carmakers. Herbert Diess, Volkswagen’s chief executive before Oliver Blume took over in September, brought Mr. Duesmann to Audi from BMW three years ago, with the hope that he could help the brand innovate and strengthen sales of its electric models. Audi is now working on its final generation of combustion engine models and plans to bring 10 new electric models to its lineup, ahead of plans to produce only E.V.s beginning in 2026.

Persons: Markus Duesmann, Döllner, Herbert Diess, Oliver Blume, Duesmann Organizations: Volkswagen, Audi, BMW

☆ Volkswagen’s EV sales surge 42% despite slump in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Volkswagen says it won’t cut prices to hold onto market share in China, where sales of its electric vehicles plunged in the first quarter amid intensifying competition. Europe’s largest carmaker said Thursday that it delivered 141,000 electric vehicles in the first quarter — a 42% increase on the same period last year and accounting for 7% of total deliveries. The automaker’s earnings were helped by a recovery in sales volumes in Europe and North America, which offset a decline in China. Volkswagen’s first-quarter revenue climbed 22% on the previous year to €76 billion ($84 billion). Operating profit declined to €5.7 billion ($6.3 billion), from €8.3 billion ($9.2 billion) in the prior period, as a result of the effects of commodity hedging.

☆ Former Audi Chief to Plead Guilty in Emissions Scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jack Ewing | Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rupert Stadler, the former chief executive of the automaker Volkswagen's Audi division, has agreed to plead guilty to charges in Germany related a vast emissions cheating scandal, becoming the highest-ranking executive to be convicted in the case, which changed the direction of the car industry. Mr. Stadler, 60, who was also a member of Volkswagen’s management board, was accused of allowing diesel cars made by Audi to remain on sale even after the parent company admitted in 2015 that millions of its vehicles were equipped with software designed to mask excess emissions. The scandal cost Volkswagen tens of billions of dollars in fines, legal settlements and lawyers’ fees and had a lasting impact on the auto industry. It inspired European lawmakers to impose much tighter limits on auto emissions, accelerating a transition from internal combustion engines to electric cars. Volkswagen became one of the first big German automakers to invest heavily in battery power, which executives saw as a way to restore the company’s tarnished reputation.

☆ Canada Lands Volkswagen Battery Plant With Billions in Subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ian Austen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Volkswagen’s first North American battery plant for electric vehicles will be built in Canada, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian politicians made it clear on Friday that the country had effectively been in a bidding war with the United States. “Everyone wanted this.”Volkswagen announced last month that it would put its first battery plant outside Europe in Canada, but provided few details. On Friday, Canada and the province of Ontario said they would give the company a combined 1 billion Canadian dollars — about $750 million in U.S. currency — to construct the factory, which will cost 7 billion Canadian dollars overall. A separate agreement will provide 8 billion to 10 billion Canadian dollars in subsidies over the next decade to match benefits that Volkswagen would have received under the Inflation Reduction Act if it had put the factory in the United States. That amount is tied to battery production.

☆ Volkswagen to invest $193 billion to hit EV target, picks Canada for battery cell plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Volkswagen plans to invest 180 billion euros ($193 billion) over five years in areas including battery production and the sourcing of raw materials in a bid to cut electric vehicle costs and protect its market share, it said Tuesday. Over two-thirds of the company’s five-year investment budget is allocated to electrification and digitalization, including up to 15 billion ($16 billion) for batteries and raw materials. Volkswagen board member Thomas Schmall Ronny Hartmann/AFP/Getty Images/FileOn Monday, board member Thomas Schmall also announced that Volkswagen’s first North American battery cell factory would be in Canada, with production starting in 2027. The carmaker is still aiming to bring an affordable EV — costing around 25,000 euros ($26,795) at today’s prices — to market by 2025. The most likely actual stock market candidate is battery unit PowerCo.

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