DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ I drove the hottest Chinese EV in Europe — and America is definitely missing out
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Alex Goy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

(And in other places, like North America, the MG brand is known for tiny vintage sports cars and little else.) The 2024 MG MG4 XPower. Alex GoyMG decided to send me the MG4 XPower, the fastest one you can get, as I am a hooligan. The interior of the MG MG4 XPower. Driving the MG MG4 XPower on the road.

Persons: It's, MG4 XPower, Alex Goy MG, you'd, there's, XPower, Alex Goy, Apple CarPlay, Uber, MG's, it's Organizations: Service, SAIC, TF, Business, MG4, Audi, EV, MG Locations: North America, United Kingdom, it's, Europe, It's, America, London

Volkswagen has said that cost-cutting plans would include focusing on fewer high-volume models as well as streamlining production of VW passenger cars, SEAT/CUPRA and Skoda. The Volkswagen brand has the company's highest sales volume by far, but margins traditionally lag behind luxury Audi and Porsche vehicles. A Volkswagen brand spokesperson confirmed that talks began with workers in early October and that it would not comment further on the timeline or content of discussions. Labour representatives, including the head of Volkswagen works council Daniela Cavallo, make up half of the company's supervisory board per German corporate governance law for large firms. A works council spokesperson confirmed a first meeting had taken place but declined to comment further on the timeline.

Persons: Matthias Rietschel, carmaker, Arno Antlitz, Brand, Thomas Schaefer, Daniela Cavallo, Cavallo, Victoria Waldersee, Christoph Steitz, Rod Nickel Organizations: Volkswagen Group, REUTERS, BERLIN, Volkswagen, VW, SEAT, Skoda, Porsche, Labour, Thomson Locations: Zwickau, Germany

☆ Gas prices are less of a factor behind consumers switching to EVs, Barclays says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Barclays study focuses on consumers purchasing Tesla EVs rather than other makes. "[I]n previous years, consumers who bought EVs were spending more on gas prior to their purchase than consumers in recent years," Zhu said. "This suggests that new EV buyers are willing to buy an EV even at lower levels of gas expenditure, and that EV demand will stay higher than before even if gas prices decline." "Our U.S. Barclays credit card data show consumers with lower gas expenditures are now more willing to buy EVs than previously," Zhu said. "In recent years, EV buyers were already spending less on gas prior to their EV purchase than EV buyers in previous years."

Persons: Joy Zhu, Tesla, Zhu, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Barclays, U.S, EV, Volkswagen, Volvo Locations: Germany

☆ Volkswagen to temporarily pause production of two EV car models due to drop in demand -spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A Volkswagen logo is seen during the New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 5, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Volkswagen AG FollowFRANKFURT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will suspend production of ID.3 and Cupra Born electric cars at its Zwickau and Dresden plants in Germany in the first two weeks of October due to weaker demand, a spokesperson for the carmaker said on Tuesday. Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, writing by Emma-Victoria Farr, editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David, Dee, Delgado, Ilona Wissenbach, Emma, Victoria Farr, Susan Fenton Organizations: New York, REUTERS, FRANKFURT, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Zwickau, Dresden, Germany

☆ Munich car show shines spotlight on China competition in EV race
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Renault wallbox charging station is used by a Renault Captur hybrid car at a dealership in Les Sorinieres, near Nantes, France, October 23, 2020. About 41% of exhibitors at this year's event are headquartered in Asia, with the number of Chinese companies having more than doubled, including players across batteries and EV production such as BYD, CATL and XPeng. "Europe needs to stop being naive from a macroeconomic point of view in the face of China," Gilles Le Borgne, Renault's (RENA.PA) engineering head, told journalists on Sunday, pointing to the country's control of the full battery supply chain. Chinese and German players, including top German carmakers and suppliers and China's LeapMotors and Horizon Robotics, will also speak at a Chinese EV conference set for Wednesday and Thursday for the first time outside China as part of the IAA. ($1=0.9273 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Gilles Gillaume and Christina Amann; Editing by Friederike Heine and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Gilles Le Borgne, Fabian Brandt, Oliver Wyman, Victoria Waldersee, Gilles Gillaume, Christina Amann, Friederike Heine, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Renault, REUTERS, Rights, Horizon Robotics, EV, IAA, Mercedes, Benz, BMW, Klasse, Volkswagen, Thomson Locations: Les Sorinieres, Nantes, France, Asia, Europe, China

☆ VW cuts 2023 deliveries outlook, aims to boost cash flow
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Supply of key components such as semiconductors had improved but transport and logistics delays weighed on the first half, Volkswagen said. Still, it expected significantly shorter waiting times in the second half and said demand was stable with order books full at 1.65 million vehicles. Reuters GraphicsWorldwide, the Volkswagen Group delivered 2.3 million vehicles in the period from April to June, 18% more than in the same period last year. The focus for the second half is now on strengthening net cash flow," said Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz. In May, Volkswagen said it had sold its shares in Volkswagen Group Rus to Art-Finance, which is supported by autodealer group Avilon.

Persons: DAX, Arno Antlitz, Cupra, Miranda Murray, Rachel More, David Goodman Organizations: VW, BERLIN, Volkswagen, Benz, Renault, Graphics Worldwide, Volkswagen Group, VW Commercial Vehicles, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Rus, Art, Finance, Victoria, Thomson Locations: Kaluga

☆ Volkswagen passenger cars targets 10 billion euros of efficiency gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, June 14 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) passenger car brand will implement savings and cost-cutting measures amounting to 10 billion euros ($10.83 billion) by 2026 to hit a return on sales target of 6.5%, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. "The Volkswagen Group is focusing even more strongly on profitability and cash flow," Antlitz said in his post. Antlitz's statement came after Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer told workers in an internal memo in mid-May it was planning an overhaul at its core brand to put it on more solid footing. Volkswagen is due to present new financial targets and an updated corporate strategy for the entire group at a capital markets day next Wednesday. The carmaker's supervisory board was due to discuss on Tuesday cost-cutting measures across the Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Cupra brands to achieve that goal, a source told Reuters.

Persons: Arno Antlitz, Antlitz, Thomas Schaefer, Schaefer, Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz, Miranda Murray, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Skoda, SEAT, Volkswagen, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Spain

☆ Volkswagen supervisory board to discuss savings programme on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 12 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) supervisory board will meet on Tuesday to discuss a planned savings programme ahead of its capital markets day on June 21, two sources close to the company said on Monday. The board will discuss cost-cutting measures amounting to at least 3 billion euros ($3.22 billion) across the Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Cupra brands, said one source. Germany daily Handelsblatt, which first reported on the savings programme, reported that Chief Executive Oliver Blume wants to curb duplicate development work and better utilise German plants, particularly at Audi and Volkswagen. Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer said in an internal memo in May that the brand was targeting a 6.5% return on sales, compared to 3% achieved in the first quarter of this year. The Volkswagen brand must act," he wrote at the time.

Persons: Oliver Blume, Arno Antlitz, Thomas Schaefer, Jan Schwartz, Miranda Murray, Victoria Waldersee, Susan Fenton Organizations: Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Group, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany

☆ Amid risk of stalling in EV race, Spain's rebooted aid scheme gets warm reception
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Madrid will launch a new, more flexible version of the PERTE scheme around July, worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) after last year's initial funding round flopped, with only 27% of an earmarked 2.9 billion euros allocated. Stellantis already manufactures EVs in Spain and received 67 million euros from the first PERTE, but could request more funds to boost production. Griffiths said using the EU funds is "essential" for Spain's future as some investments would otherwise be non-viable. Unlike Germany, Europe's leading car producer, Spain lacks a domestic manufacturer to champion the EV cause. In last year's PERTE round, VW-SEAT received the highest payout, of 357 million euros, but had hoped for more.

☆ VW aims to produce 3 mln small EV cars in 2025-2030 in Spain, SEAT chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Imelda MedinaBARCELONA, March 22 (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to produce 3 million small electric vehicles at its two plants in Spain between 2025 and 2030, Wayne Griffiths, the chairman of VW's Spanish unit SEAT, said on Wednesday. The German car maker is pushing the electrification of its production and plans to build a battery plant in Spain. Griffiths said SEAT aims to assemble 500,000 electric cars a year in the medium-term at SEAT’s plant in Martorell, outside Barcelona. Not cutting jobs at the plant is SEAT's priority, he added. Reporting by Joan Faus and Inti Landauro; editing by Emma Pinedo and Jason Neely, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen says all brands have halted paid activities on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Volkswagen logo is pictured in a production line at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany March 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fabian BimmerBERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) brands have halted all paid activities on Twitter until further notice, a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Volkswagen said all the brands had followed the advice, while Audi had opted to halt organic activities, such as direct posts, and only respond to questions from clients on the website. WirtschaftsWoche had previously reported that Audi had halted all activities on the social media platform, citing company sources. "We are monitoring the situation closely and will decide on the next steps depending on developments," an Audi spokesperson added in an emailed statement to Reuters.

☆ Volkswagen tells brands to pause paid advertising on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A Volkswagen logo is seen on one of the German automaker's cars in a street in Sydney, Australia, October 8, 2015. REUTERS/David GrayHAMBURG, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) on Friday said it has recommended to its brands to pause paid advertising on Twitter until further notice in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of the social media platform. "We are closely monitoring the situation and will decide about next steps depending on its evolvement," Europe's top carmaker said in a statement. The comments by Volkswagen group, which covers the VW, Seat, Cupra, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati and Porsche (P911_p.DE) brands, echoes similar remarks from other firms, including GM (GM.N) and General Mills Inc (GIS.N). Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Christoph SteitzOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen sells WeShare to Berlin-based carsharing service
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) said on Tuesday it would sell its carsharing service WeShare to Miles Mobility, under a deal that sees the Berlin-based competitor order more than 10,000 electric cars from the Audi, Seat/Cupra and VW brands. Volkswagen said it would not disclose the selling price as per the agreement. Reporting by Jan Schwarz, Writing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Cupra"

13 mentions found