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☆ VW to speed up electric shift in five-year plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will speed up its shift to electric cars and revamp its software strategy in a five-year investment plan presented by management to the supervisory board on Friday, the automaker said in a statement. Bosses discussed how to rejig the German group's production network to accelerate the move to cleaner driving, the statement said, without elaborating. Full details of what was discussed will be presented at the company's annual media conference on March 14. A spokesperson for the works council denied the Handelsblatt report, saying jobs in Hannover were guaranteed under an agreement with the company until 2029. Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ VW Says 2022 Sales and Profit in Line With Forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN— Volkswagen AG said Tuesday that 2022 sales and operating earnings were largely in line with forecasts, but that cash flow, a key measure for investors, fell short of expectations as supply-chain woes led to higher unsold inventory at the end of the year. VW and other auto makers have struggled over the past year with continued disruptions to supply chains in the wake of the war in Ukraine and amid a resurgence in Covid-19 infections in China that hit supply chains, making it difficult to maintain production at constant levels.

☆ U.S. Treasury makes more Tesla, Ford, GM EVs eligible for tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The move is a win for Tesla, GM, Ford and other automakers which had pressed the Biden administration to change the vehicle definitions. The decision raises the retail price cap to $80,000 from $55,000 for GM's Cadillac Lyriq, Tesla's five-seat Model Y, Volkswagen's ID.4, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Escape Plug-in Hybrid. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted last month the EV tax rules were "messed up." The five-seat version of the Tesla Model Y is not considered an SUV, while the Model Y seven-seat version is and can qualify for the credit. The Treasury said the revised definition will apply to all buyers of EVs since Jan. 1.

☆ The generative AI boom is bringing San Francisco’s tech scene roaring back to life
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Techies fled from San Francisco during the pandemic, and its resurgence stalled for a while. It's just south of Japantown, mere blocks from San Francisco City Hall, and north of the Mission District. Someone even said it would be "irresponsible" to not work on generative AI in San Francisco. There aren't any skeptics in the space yet, and the majority of generative AI investments land in the Bay Area. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ VW's Skoda Auto cuts production due to chip shortage - trade unions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PRAGUE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Czech subsidiary Skoda Auto is cutting production this week due to chip shortages, trade unions at the carmaker said. Some shifts will be cancelled in the production of the Octavia, Enyaq, Fabia, Scala and Kamiq models, the unions said. "After optimistic first weeks of the year, the production situation has been worsening again," the unions said in weekly bulletin Skodovacky Odborar. Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ These are the 11 cheapest electric cars you can buy in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

We've found the 11 cheapest new EVs you can buy in 2023. Chevrolet Bolt EVThe 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV. ChevroletRetail price: $27,800EPA-estimated range: 247 milesQualifies for EV tax creditChevy recently introduced a big brother for the Bolt EV, the Bolt EUV. MazdaRetail price: $34,110EPA-estimated range: 100 milesMazda's first electric model disappoints in the all-important range department. KiaRetail price: $39,550EPA-estimated range: 253 milesThe Kia Niro gets bold new looks for the 2023 model year.

☆ Consumer Reports calls Ford’s automated driving tech much better than Tesla’s
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And in a recent ranking by Consumer Reports, which tested ADAS from 12 different carmakers, Tesla’s ranked seventh. GM’s Super Cruise, which ranked second, is the only other system tested by Consumer Reports that works this way. Ford’s driver monitoring technology is one of the major reasons that BlueCruise ranked so highly in Consumer Reports’ testing. Kia and Genesis did not immediately respond to requests from CNN Business for comments on Consumer Reports’ assessments. For the most part, vehicle owner’s manuals were of little use in learning how to use the systems, Consumer Reports said.

☆ German exports to Russia plunge to lowest in two decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

German exports to Russia slumped by 45% year-on-year to 14.6 billion euros ($15.9 billion) in 2022, according to preliminary data from the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. Imports from Russia, however, grew by 11% to about 37 billion euros due to high oil and gas prices, the group said in its report. Germany's trade deficit with Russia climbed to a record level of around 22 billion euros as a result, the group's executive director Michael Harms said. The plunge in exports to Russia was most visible in motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as electrical engineering products, Harms added, while pharmaceutical products and agricultural machinery, sectors which have been excluded from European Union sanctions, remained the top exports. "The outlook for export business with Russia remains bleak," Harms said, adding that goods exports to Russia were likely to settle at a low level in 2023.

☆ Volkswagen's adaptive cruise control system attempted to accelerate one owner's car to 100 miles-per-hour in a 30 zone, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two Volkswagen Tiguan owners told the Times of London about problems with adaptive cruise control. "I thought the car was trying to kill me," said one man, whose car tried to accelerate to 100 miles-per-hour. In a statement sent to Insider, Volkswagen noted that the adaptive cruise control system is "certainly not designed to create a fully autonomous vehicle nor supersede the responsibility of the driver." According to Volkswagen's website, adaptive cruise control works with front assist's radar sensors which detect if you're too close to a vehicle in front. ACC also uses front and rear cameras, as well as GPS information, to work out the road's speed limit.

☆ Carl Hahn Boldly Advanced Volkswagen’s Global Reach
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( James R. Hagerty | William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Carl Hahn used his morning commute to test drive VW cars rather than relying on a chauffeur. Carl Hahn helped sell Americans on the Volkswagen Beetle in the 1960s and later, as head of the German auto maker, expanded boldly into manufacturing in China, Spain and Eastern Europe. After earning a doctorate in economics in Switzerland, the German-born Mr. Hahn worked in Italy and France. He joined VW in 1954 as an assistant to the chief executive officer, Heinrich Nordhoff. He was sent to head VW’s U.S. unit in 1959 and used clever marketing to expand sales of the Beetle, soon embraced by the peace-and-love generation.

☆ The Man Who Drove the VW Beetle’s American Invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Ben Cohen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When he came to the United States as a young Volkswagen executive, Carl Hahn inherited an undesirable office and a job that seemed impossible: make the Beetle huge. He was an outsider with fresh eyes who saw that he couldn’t beat American companies with much bigger head counts and budgets. The only way to win was for the German car maker to play another game altogether.

Now, Chief Executive Elon Musk is using that superior profitability as a weapon in the EV price war he started. That emboldened automakers to push EV prices higher. Vietnamese EV startup Vinfast said Thursday it will use price promotions to fight back against Tesla. Chinese EV market leader BYD Co Ltd(002594.SZ) announced price increases effective Jan. 1 after Beijing phased out EV subsidies. However, BYD's gross margins of $5,456 per vehicle give it more headroom in a price war than VW, Toyota or GM.

☆ Why some cars from the 1990s are soaring in value
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Not that long ago, cars from the 1990s were just used cars. In addition to insuring collectible cars, Hagerty also owns the auction company Broad Arrow. Values for 1990s-era collectible cars have risen by an average of 78% over the past three years, “which is huge,” Rabold said. Cars from the ’90s have at least some modern comfort and safety features, and even relatively inexpensive cars can have respectable power and performance. We’re talking about “collectible” cars.

☆ VW Posts Lowest Sales in Over a Decade on Supply-Chain Issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN— Volkswagen AG reported its lowest sales in more than a decade, but said it was confident business would improve this year as supply-chain blockages ease and semiconductors become more easily available. VW, which also includes passenger-car brands Skoda and Seat, luxury-car maker Audi, and sports-car maker Porsche AG, said Thursday that global sales dropped 7% to 8.3 million vehicles, as supply-chain constraints shut down some factories in Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 measures in China.

☆ Volkswagen Group deliveries lowest in over a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Buzz, a fresh take on the iconic vehicle of the Volkswagen brand, during its world premiere in Paris, France, March 9, 2022. Group sales rose 14.3% in the fourth quarter, but the outlook for 2023 remains clouded by weak economies and supply chain shortages, extended executive sales committee member Hildegard Wortmann said. Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley weathered 2022 better than Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Skoda, with deliveries down around 4% at the premium brands and down 9% for mass-market vehicles. Group deliveries fell 7% versus 2021. The Volkswagen Group's deliveries were up 12% in the second half of the year, but the full-year figure was dragged down by a drop of over a fifth in the first half.

☆ German premium car brands handled supply chain woes better than VW
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] The new hybrid-electric BMW XM is displayed at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. Though the fourth quarter provided universal relief for the carmakers, China's extensive lockdowns early in the year were particularly hard on sales volumes. Audi's deliveries fell 3.9% to 1.61 million, with Europe the only region to register marginal growth after an 18.7% jump in German sales. That compared with only a 1% drop in Mercedes-Benz total sales and its 143% leap in deliveries of electric and hybrid vehicles. The Volkswagen brand fared worst year on year, with a 6.8% fall in sales attributed to supply chain issues affecting all model types.

☆ This restaurant started as a Mexican beach-side taco stand in a $3,000 VW bus—soon, it could come to a block near you
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Today, it's a fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain with 15 locations across New York, Miami and Washington, D.C. That's a far cry from Tacombi's beach days, which started when Wolos bought his 1963 green VW "bus" in Mexico City for $3,000. Wolos converted the van into a mobile restaurant where he sold his first tacos, he told Total Food Service in November. He wrote a business plan for a restaurant chain concept called "Taco Rex" where he'd sell Mexican food that was, to him, actually Mexican. "I saw that Taco Bell, Chipotle and Old El Paso and all these legacy brands of Mexican food weren't connecting people to this side of Mexico."

☆ VW's CARIAD software chief promises progress one jump at a time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Joseph White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A technician works on the final inspection of an electric Volkswagen ID. REUTERS/Matthias Rietschel/DETROIT, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s software division, CARIAD, has emerged from a review ordered by VW's new chief executive with a plan to work toward a unified software architecture for future vehicles one jump at a time, according to CARIAD chief Dirk Hilgenberg. “I call our program 'triple jump',” Hilgenberg told Reuters at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas. “You do one jump after another.”The next key step will be the launch of the Porsche Macan SUV in 2024, which will have VW’s new premium software architecture. Volkswagen's current status is in-between: Software now deployed allows its "ID" electric vehicles to be updated remotely, with a fix for what Hilgenberg called “teething problems”.

☆ My mom bought a 1976 Volkswagen bus for $2,500 on eBay over a decade ago. Here's how it's skyrocketed in value thanks to a cult following.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

My mom bought a '76 VW bus on eBay for $2,500 a decade ago. "I always wanted a VW bus. The seemingly universal love for Volkswagen vans didn't happen right away — the cars were introduced in the 1950s to transport workers and materials. Now, social-media trends surrounding the hashtag #vanlife have reinvigorated the VW bus and the kind of life it represents. Every now and then, we'll find sticky notes tucked into the windshield wipers from people offering to buy it.

☆ GM wants U.S. Treasury to reconsider tax credits for Cadillac Lyriq EV
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) said Friday it wants the U.S. Treasury to reconsider classification of GM's electric Cadillac Lyriq to allow it to qualify for federal tax credits. The Treasury and Internal Revenue Service did not classify the Lyriq as an SUV, meaning its retail price cannot be above $55,000 to qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits. Legislation approved by Congress in August reformed the EV tax credit and lifted the 200,00-vehicle per manufacturer cap that had made Tesla (TSLA.O) and GM ineligible for EV tax credits effective Jan. 1. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted this week the EV tax rules were "messed up." Last month, Treasury said it would delay until March releasing proposed guidance on required sourcing of EV batteries.

Automakers from Sony Honda to Hyundai are introducing ways at the CES 2023 technology trade show this week to reshape the in-car entertainment experience, including offering video games during the rides. "This is a field which can be deployed very quickly," Dirk Hilgenberg, head of Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE) CARIAD software unit, told Reuters at CES. In December, Tesla issued a "holiday update" to its software to add access to 1,000 PC games through the Steam platform. Still, these are features that consumers are demanding, so VW is at CES seeking partnerships. "We will see the content ... which is provided by software enabled functionality will be a decisive factor for buying."

☆ Volkswagen unveiled its latest electric car at CES 2023. Here's our first look at the ID.7 sedan.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

VW hasn't said how much the ID.7 will cost or when it'll go on sale. We should learn more — and get a better, un-camouflaged glimpse at the ID.7 — closer to when it goes on sale. The Volkswagen ID.7 electric sedan.

☆ The tech startup playbook to follow when money is tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Raising capital via venture debt will be key for many startups in 2023 PM Images/Getty Images1. This is the startup playbook to follow when money is tight. Instead of getting money from investors, they're taking out multiyear loans. But investors got scared in 2022 when the tech industry started to wobble. Odds and ends:The Volkswagen ID.7 electric sedan.

☆ Volkswagen is set to reveal its next electric car at CES — here's what we know so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Volkswagen will unveil its next electric car on Tuesday. VW sells five electric models around the globe. Last summer, the brand revealed the ID.Aero show car, a concept version of its first fully electric sedan. Volkswagen unveiled the ID.Buzz electric minivan to much acclaim in 2022. Volkswagen has pursued an aggressive EV strategy in recent years and it currently sells the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, ID.6, and ID.Buzz models globally.

An image of new Twitter owner Elon Musk is seen surrounded by Twitter logos in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland on 08 November, 2022. On Sunday, Twitter's new owner and CEO Elon Musk posted an informal poll of users of the social media platform asking if he should step down as head of the company. In court in November, Musk said, "I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time." "The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive," he wrote. Tesla's largest retail shareholder, Leo Koguan, wrote in a tweet on Dec. 14, that "Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO."

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