Vokswagen sent out a press release this morning with new images to tease an upcoming electric plug-in hybrid SUV concept to be unveiled at the Beijing Auto show next week.
Volkswagen recently confirmed (via Autoblog) that it is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 e-Golf vehicles manufactured between May 21, 2014 and March 1, 2016. We are talking about 5,561 units potentially affected. The problem is in the battery management system (BMS) which can falsely detect an electrical surge and shutdown the electric drive as a result.
The fix is fairly simple: a visit at your local dealership for a BMS software update. Expand Expanding Close
Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and 38 company and environmental group leaders signed a letter proposing that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) lets VW off the hook in California for having cheated on reporting emissions in its diesel cars and in return, VW would be forced to significantly invest in electric vehicles or other zero-emission vehicles manufacturing in the state.
According to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag (via Reuters), the EPA, potentially inspired by the proposal, asked Volkswagen to manufacture electric vehicles at its Tennessee plant as part of the current negotiation over the fix of the more than 500,000 diesel vehicles in violation of pollution limits in the US. Expand Expanding Close
Autocar is out with a new report today claiming inside information on Volkswagen’s first electric car to be built on the new MEB platform. MEB is the platform unveiled at CES last month and showcased in the company’s microbus concept: BUDD-e.
The platform will allow VW to bring to market electric vehicles made to be electric from the ground up. It is based on the now familiar concept of a large battery pack extending flat between the axles. Expand Expanding Close
Since the “Dieselgate” scandal, the Volkswagen group has promised to introduce several new electric vehicles in the coming years. CEO Matthias Müller is said to announce a new strategy this summer that will see the company bring to market 20 new electric vehicles (all-electric or plug-in hybrid) through the group’s 12 brands by the end of the decade.
The company also plans to build on its current limited lineup of electric cars, including the e-Golf, which should see a significant increase in range with the introduction of its next generation. Expand Expanding Close
Britain’s Car Magazine reports that Volkswagen’s BUDD-E electric vehicle has got the green light to go into production for 2020.
Volkswagen’s all-electric BUDD-e concept will make the jump into serial production, CAR understands. The VW BUDD-e concept, first seen at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), is an ultramodern take on the VW ‘Microbus’ theme, built upon Volkswagen’s upcoming MEB modular electric platform. Dr Volkmar Tanneberger, head of electronic development and the driving force behind the BUDD-e concept, told CAR magazine’s Ben Barry: ‘[The] basic idea is to develop a modular toolkit and take this flat battery idea into serial production, one motor on the front, one on the rear. The California [camper van] and Transporter [panel van and minibus line] will continue separately as combustion engines.’ ‘You will see a car that looks a lot like this, on the MEB platform, reach production. I can’t say exactly when, but 2020 or thereabouts,’ says Tanneberger.
I’ve got mixed feelings about this. On one hand, the more electric vehicle options the better and we all know that the electrical vehicle market is lacking in van options. Also, it is clear from the popularity of the amazing eSamba project that there is a huge market for electric VW Busses.
The Volkswagen Group confirms this week that CEO Matthias Müller will introduce a new strategy for the company this summer and it will include plans to introduce 20 new electric vehicles through the group’s brands by the end of the decade. Expand Expanding Close
At the Detroit Auto Show this week, Volkswagen debuted the second generation concept of what it calls an ‘extreme off-road’ vehicle, the Tiguan GTE. Expand Expanding Close
VW head of electronic development Volkmar Tanneberger was at CES last week and revealed that the next generation all-electric e-Golf will see a roughly 30% increase in range, which should bring it to about 108 miles on a single charge. Expand Expanding Close
At CES in Las Vegas last night, Volkswagen unveiled its latest all-electric concept vehicle: BUDD-e, a battery-powered microbus. BUDD-e is the first vehicle designed on Volkswagen’s new electric platform called MEB, which is short for Modular Electric Toolkit.
BUDD-e is still an early concept, but the company says that the technology it’s showcasing should give a good idea of VW’s electric vehicles in 2019. Expand Expanding Close
Due to Volkswagen’s and the Environmental Protection Agency’s incapacity to come to deal after discussions over how to fix the cars affected by the emissions tests cheating, the U.S. Department of Justice officially sued the German automaker on behalf of the EPA in federal court on Monday. Expand Expanding Close
Volkswagen’s Chairman of Passenger Cars Dr. Herbert Diess is scheduled to give a talk and unveil a new electric vehicle concept at the upcoming CES 2016. The company released a teaser picture (see above) for the concept and rumor has it, it could be a new electric version of VW’s flagship Type 2 minibus. Expand Expanding Close
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced that during the keynote address of Volkswagen’s Chairman of Passenger Cars Dr. Herbert Diess at the upcoming CES 2016, he will unveil a new all-electric concept car.
Diess is scheduled to deliver a keynote address about “electric mobility driving the automotive market” on January 5 at the Cosmopolitan’s Chelsea Theater. Expand Expanding Close
Dieselgate is starting to significantly impact Volkswagen’s sales in the US. The company published its November reports this week (see below) and the company suffered a 24.72% average decrease across all models.
The all-electric e-Golf is one of the rare model bringing the average up, but sales haven’t really increased since the scandal. They delivered 472 e-Golf units in November, up from 119 during the same period last, but it was the first month of availability in 2014. For a better comparison, VW delivered 596 e-Golfs in October. Expand Expanding Close
Volkswagen announced today that the Golf GTE Sport plug-in hybrid will make its North American debut at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, which starts November 19. Although the vehicle is still only in its concept phase, considering the “Dieselgate” situation, some expect VW to accelerate its electric car projects in order to compensate for the recent scandal, which could lead to the potential commercialization of the GTE Sport. Expand Expanding Close
Volkswagen’s new board of management issued a new statement this morning highligting its new strategy to come out of the emission scandal. CEO Dr. Herbert Diess about the announcement:
“The Volkswagen brand is repositioning itself for the future. We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus, and we are creating room for forward-looking technologies by speeding up the efficiency program.”
On top of obviously changing its diesel strategy to now comply with American and European standards, the company plans on making significant investments in electric vehicles. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is currently traveling across Europe to meet with Tesla employees and European politicians. During a press conference in Belgium, he briefly commented on the current Volkswagen scandal and cheating on emission-tests:
What Volkswagen is really showing is that we reached the limit of what is possible with diesel and gasoline.
If you need to cheat in order to pass emission tests with diesel and gas, maybe you should use something else? We expect Musk would prefer if manufacturers would use electric powertrains, like Tesla Motors…
At the Frankfurt Motor Show this week Volkswagen introduced its first plug-in hybrid SUV: the Tiguan GTE. The German automaker revisited each trim of the gas-powered Tiguan and unveiled a new plug-in one, although unfortunately only as a “concept”.
The GTE is equipped with a 13 KWh lithium-ion high-voltage battery pack allowing for an all-electric range of 50 km (31 miles), then the direct-injection gas engine takes over. Expand Expanding Close
Last month we showed you drawings of Audi’s new all-electric SUV concept and yesterday we published more advanced renderings, but today the company finally unveiled the vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show and we get some pictures.
