Tag: VW

UPDATE 1-End of the road for Volkswagen’s self-driving Aurora deal

FILE PHOTO: The logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is seen at the Volkswagen (VW) automobile manufacturing plant in Puebla near Mexico City September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Imelda Medina BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen has ended its partnership with self-driving car software firm Aurora, two days after the Silicon Valley start-up said it would build autonomous platforms for… Continue reading UPDATE 1-End of the road for Volkswagen’s self-driving Aurora deal

Volkswagen concludes partnership with self-driving start-up Aurora, in talks with Ford

Julian Stratenschulte | picture alliance | Getty ImagesVolkswagen has ended its relationship with Amazon-backed self-driving start-up Aurora, and is now considering partnerships with Ford and competitor Argo AI, CNBC has confirmed.
Three people familiar with the matter first told the Financial Times that after a trial run that lasted a few months, the German automaker declined to renew the 2018 contract with Aurora. A new deal with Ford, however, could be reached by summer, according to the FT.
“The activities under our partnership have been concluded,” a Volkswagen spokesperson told CNBC.
Volkswagen previously sought to acquire Aurora following General Motor's acquisition of Cruise and Ford's $1 billion commitment to Argo AI.
Aurora on Monday announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler to develop self-driving vehicles for corporate clients. The start-up also raised more than $530 million in an Amazon-led funding round in February, valuing the company at more than $2.5 billion.
Ford did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Aurora will continue to use the VW e-Golf in development of its driverless vehicle systems, the company confirmed. Aurora also characterized the end of the partnership as amicable, and said there was potential to work together again down the line.
“Volkswagen Group has been a wonderful partner to Aurora since the early days of development of the Aurora Driver. As the Driver matures and our platform grows in strength, we continue to work with a growing array of partners who complement our expertise and expand the reach of our product,” an Aurora spokesperson told CNBC.
Volkswagen and Ford announced plans in January to partner up on the development of light commercial vehicles, and said they were considering other projects. Volkswagen has also committed over $50 billion to develop more than 50 pure battery-electric vehicles by 2025, to be sold through brands like Porsche and Audi.

End of the road for Volkswagen’s self-driving Aurora deal

BERLIN, June 11 (Reuters) – Volkswagen has ended its partnership with self-driving car software firm Aurora, two days after the Silicon Valley start-up said it would build autonomous platforms for commercial vehicles with Fiat Chrysler . “The activities under our partnership have been concluded,” a VW spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday following an… Continue reading End of the road for Volkswagen’s self-driving Aurora deal

Bernstein says Tesla won’t be bought: ‘We struggle to see it being sold as a going concern’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory groundbreaking ceremony in Shanghai, China, January 7, 2019.Aly Song | ReutersIt's looking less and less likely that Tesla will find a buyer to save it from its financial struggles and offer it a source of new funding, Bernstein told clients on Monday.
European autos analyst Max Warburton wrote in a note that while Volkswagen's CEO may take a look, there really wouldn't be much support for a bid to acquire any of Tesla's assets.
“What assets are attractive? Tesla no longer has genuinely differentiated tech. The production plant is sub-par. The Gigafactory is probably not essential (and may be claimed by Panasonic),” Warburton wrote. “The brand still has value, albeit one that is declining fast. The Supercharger network also has some value. Perhaps these get picked up. But at what price?”
VIDEO7:0807:08Technician: Tesla so bad, it's worth buying nowFast Money “We struggle to see it being sold as a going concern,” he added.
Tesla used about $950 million of cash in the first quarter (for a combined $5 billion of cash burn since 2017), prompting renewed concerns over its long-term financial health. A few weeks ago, Tesla managed to raise $2.35 billion in new capital, with $750 million of common stock and $1.6 billion from convertible bonds. Others have suggested that another technology company, like Apple, could swoop in and buy Tesla when its assets cheapen.
Roth Capital Partners analyst Craig Irwin told CNBC last month that the electric car company could have sold to Apple six years ago at $240 per share. The stock is down 48% over the last six months at $185.16 a share.
Even though Warburton isn't Bernstein's Tesla analyst, he does cover a number of European auto companies that could be in for a pop if Tesla fails. The Palo Alto, California-based automaker has put “huge pressure” on the valuations of traditional equipment manufacturers in Europe as Tesla's initial success suggested that the barriers to entry in the electric vehicle market weren't as onerous as once thought.
“Its technology seemed ahead of all other OEMs — damaging the Germans' relative brand position. Tesla took market share from the German OEMs in the US, UK and some other regions,” Warburton wrote.
But “financial failure of Tesla would force a change in investors' views of traditional OEMs. It would show how difficult it is for a new entrant to succeed,” he added. “Most important: it would change views on the size and growth rates of the EV market.”
Bernstein's main Tesla analyst, Toni Sacconaghi, has a market weight rating on shares of Tesla.

Audi E-tron recalled for battery seal, potential “thermal event”

Audi confirmed Monday that it is recalling 1,644 E-tron electric SUVs, including 544 vehicles that have been delivered to customers, due to an issue with the battery pack’s seal that it says could lead to “a short circuit or thermal event.”

Audi is not aware of any such shorts or thermal events, it says, insisting that the move to recall its first electric car was made “out of an abundance of caution.” According to Audi, there have only been five cases globally of the battery warning light illuminating that are related to this potential pack-seal issue.

The cause isn’t related to the cells or modules themselves in the Audi E-tron battery pack. Specifically, a defective grommet could leave a portion of the battery’s seal vulnerable to a breach, where moisture could enter the pack.

2019 Audi e-tron battery pack

Moisture entering the pack could lead to corrosion, and the increased chance of a short over time. It could also lead to the increased chances of a fire during a thermal runaway issue within the pack—the most likely after a severe collision.

Provided the yellow battery warning light on the instrument panel hasn’t signaled an issue, the vehicle is safe to continue driving until Audi is ready with a remedy for the affected vehicles—expected to arrive in August.

The warning light is something to take very seriously, however: “Should a yellow battery warning light appear, appropriate actions should be taken to stop and park the vehicle in the open, do not charge and contact roadside assistance to make arrangements to have the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection/service without delay,” instructs Audi.

2019 Audi E-tron

Audi says that E-tron vehicles that are unaffected by the recall remain available for delivery, and their reservation system remains open. As of the time this was published, recall documents hadn't yet been posted by the federal government.

The company has been proactively reaching out to customers over the past week. If customers do see the warning light, or if they choose not to drive their vehicle affected by the recall, Audi will pick up their vehicle at a place of their choice and replace it with an unaffected E-tron whenever possible. Otherwise it will substitute in an ICE vehicle as well as an $800 cash card to help cover the higher fuel expenses and any additional expenses the owner may incur.

The “abundance of caution” statement speaks volumes about the approach for battery packs being taken by Audi, and by Volkswagen and the entire VW Group. While Audi may have already encountered issues with LG Chem in cell supply, it’s treating the battery pack, its energy and power management, and its cooling to be an entirely proprietary component designed and engineered in-house—a choice that’s likely given Audi an advantage in troubleshooting and fixing issues like this when they arise.

Audi recalls its electric SUV over battery fire risk

Audi today issued a voluntary recall in the U.S. for the E-Tron SUV due to the risk of battery fire. An Audi spokesperson told Bloomberg that no fires had been reported over the 1,644 E-Trons Audi has sold. According to the recall, Audi found moisture can seep into the battery cell through a wiring harness.… Continue reading Audi recalls its electric SUV over battery fire risk

JCT600 to open new Mitsubishi dealership in Bradford

JCT600 has appointed a new Mitsubishi Motors dealership in Bradford. The dealership will be fully open from 1 July, but a pop-up sales office is currently open for enquiries. Located at 99 Sticker Lane, the addition of a Mitsubishi Motors dealership will expand customer choice with a full range of cars, SUVs and pick-up trucks… Continue reading JCT600 to open new Mitsubishi dealership in Bradford

Tesla opens first 250-kw charging stations at Fremont factory

With Tesla's Supercharger fast charging network, Tesla vehicles can now be charged faster than any other currently available electric car.

That status comes courtesy of eight new Version 3 Superchargers that the company opened at its Fremont, California, factory, which can charge a Model 3 at up to 250 kilowatts. That can give the car, which is rated at 3.86 miles per kilowatt-hour (or 130 mpg equivalent, for a typical Long Range Model 3,) up to 180 miles of charge in as little as 15 minutes.

Of course, it comes with a few caveats, primarily that it only works for the Model 3, and only for drivers who are within range of those eight Superchargers in Fremont. The company opened the Superchargers to some Tesla drivers in its Early Access test program in March, but as of Friday it has enabled any Tesla driver to use them.

Tesla plans to begin rolling out the fast Version 3 Superchargers across the country.

Other Tesla models still get a faster charge on the new Version 3 Superchargers, just not as fast. With both lower charging speeds and lower efficiency ratings (fewer miles from the same number of kilowatt-hours), the Model S can refill about 130 miles in 15 minutes, and the Model X about 115. That's still faster than cars can recharge at standard (V2) Supercharger stations.

Tesla's goal, the company said in a blog post, is to reduce wait times at existing Supercharger stations by charging each car more quickly. (The company has also instituted new idle-time fees for cars that remain parked and plugged in at Superchargers once their batteries are full.)

Other networks include even faster chargers, such as Electrify America and EVgo, both of which have installed several 350-kw DC fast chargers on their networks. However, no other cars today are designed to accept such a fast charge. The fastest, so far, is the Audi E-tron quattro, which can charge at a maximum of 150 kilowatts.

The first new electric car that will be able to take advantage of the new 350-kilowatt speed will likely be the Porsche Taycan, which is due out at the end of the year. In the meantime, Model 3 owners can rejoice that their cars can charge faster than any other car on the road—as long as they're in Fremont.