Tag: VW

Lamborghini’s first hybrid supercar is the 819HP Sián

Even Lamborghini can’t resist the pressure to electrify its lineup, although it’s definitely not following a conventional route. The Italian automaker has introduced the Sián (“flash” or “lightning” in Bolognese dialect), its first hybrid car, and the emphasis here is on raw performance over eco-friendliness. The coupe mates a 785HP V12 engine with a 34HP… Continue reading Lamborghini’s first hybrid supercar is the 819HP Sián

German carmaker Audi misses deadlines for engine software updates: reports

BERLIN, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — Volkswagen subsidiary Audi has missed several deadlines and even failed to “submit all necessary paperwork” for most of the affected diesel cars, the German business newspaper and broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk reported on Tuesday.
Citing from a government response to a parliamentary inquire by Germany's Green Party, Handelsblatt and Bayerische Rundfunk reported that Audi was considerably behind schedule in removing software manipulations of Euro 6 and Euro 5 diesel vehicles.
According to the reports, Audi failed to provide application documents for many of Audi's car models and necessary software updates could not be approved by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).
Audi's A8 luxury sedan with a 4.2-liter Euro 6 engine is also affected. The KBA had ordered a recalled of the car about two years ago, after the Environmental Action Germany (DUH) had found the highest nitrogen oxide values it ever measured for a Euro 6 vehicle.
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VW paying drivers $97M for overstating fuel economy, must forfeit emissions credits

In the shadow of the diesel scandal, and just before the official reveal of its first mass-market electric car next week, Volkswagen is facing yet another public reprimand: It’s being ordered by the EPA to revise its fuel economy estimates applying to about 98,000 vehicles.

And in a separate settlement coinciding with the Friday announcement (pending court approval), VW will pay drivers a total of $97 million—ranging from $5,40 to $24.30 for each month the affected vehicle is owned or leased.

2014 Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition

The issue, over a software routine that shifted the transmission in a more efficient manner than normal when it was being run in an emissions test, affects some of the most exclusive and expensive gasoline-powered vehicles in the Volkswagen Group, including 2013-2016 Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur models, the 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne, as well as 2013-2016 Audi models that include the 4.0-liter V-8 or 6.3-liter W-12 engines. It also includes the 2013-2014 Volkswagen Touareg (VR6) and all-wheel-drive (4Motion) versions of the 2017 Tiguan crossover.

For under-reporting the numbers, VW is also being required by the EPA to forfeit its emission credits earned for federal light-vehicle greenhouse-gas standards, as it has understated greenhouse-gas emissions by about 220,000 metric tons. It works out to be about 1 mile per gallon across the affected vehicles.

The issue, as described by the EPA, sounds awfully familiar: “This software causes the transmission to shift gears during the EPA-prescribed emissions test in a manner that sometimes optimizes fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the test, but not under normal driving conditions.”

In Volkswagen’s diesel scandal, “defeat device” engine software controls were using a set of variables to determine when a vehicle was being run in an emissions test; in some situations when it wasn’t, the software allowed relaxed emissions controls permitting many times higher NOx emissions.

2014 Volkswagen Touareg R-Line

The new round of ordered adjustments don’t have anything to do with diesel. And owners of the affected vehicles should note that the they're well within allowed emissions in either of its modes of transmission operation.

The EPA is working with the Department of Energy to update values for the affected vehicles at FuelEconomy.gov, and changes will be made by September 6, 2019.

See below for the chart of adjustments by model, as published by the U.S. EPA:

Brand
MY
Model
Engine
Transmission
Old Label Values
New Label Values
Combined
City
Highway
Combined
City
Highway
Audi
2013
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
16
13
21
15
13
20
S8
4.0L V8 TSI
Auto(S8)
19
15
26
18
15
26
Audi
2014
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
16
13
21
15
13
20
RS7
4.0L V8 TSI
Auto(S8)
19
16
27
19
15
27
S8
4.0L V8 TSI
Auto(S8)
19
15
26
18
15
26
Audi
2015
A8L
4.0L
Auto(S8)
22
18
29
21
18
29
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
17
14
22
16
13
22
RS7
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
25
18
14
25
S8
4.0L
Auto(S8)
20
17
27
20
16
27
Audi
2016
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
17
14
22
16
13
22
RS7
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
25
18
14
25
S8
4.0L
Auto(S8)
19
15
25
18
15
25

Bentley

2013
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
24
18
14
24
Continental GTC
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
17
13
24
Bentley
2014
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
24
18
14
24
Continental GTC
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
17
14
23
Flying Spur
6.0L W12
Auto(S8)
15
12
20
14
12
20
Bentley
2015 – 2016
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
19
15
25
18
15
25
Continental GT Convertible
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
16
13
23
Flying Spur
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
17
13
24
6.0L W12
Auto(S8)
15
12
20
14
12
20
Bentley
2017
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
19
15
25
18
15
25
Continental GT Convertible
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
16
13
23
Porsche
2013
Cayenne
3.6
Auto(S8)
19
17
23
19
16
23
Cayenne GTS
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
21
16
14
20
Cayenne S
4.8
Auto(S8)
18
16
22
18
15
22
Cayenne Turbo
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
22
17
14
21
Porsche
2014
Cayenne
3.6
Auto(S8)
20
17
23
19
17
23
Cayenne GTS
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
21
16
14
20
Cayenne S
4.8
Auto(S8)
18
16
22
18
15
22
Cayenne Turbo
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
22
17
14
21
Cayenne Turbo S
4.8
Auto(S8)
16
14
20
15
13
20
Porsche
2015
Cayenne S
3.6
Auto(S8)
20
17
24
19
16
24
Porsche
2016
Cayenne
3.6
Auto(S8)
21
19
24
20
17
24
Cayenne GTS
3.6
Auto(S8)
19
16
23
18
16
23
Cayenne S
3.6
Auto(S8)
20
17
24
19
16
24
Cayenne Turbo S
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
14
21
16
14
21
Volkswagen
2013 – 2014
Touareg
3.6L VR6 FSI
Auto(S8)
19
17
23
19
16
23
Volkswagen
2017
Tiguan 4MOTION
2.0L TFSI
Auto(S6)
21
20
24
21
20
23

Aptera return, Polestar factory, Bollinger progress, Tesla insurance: The Week in Reverse

What ingredient for electric-car batteries is currently in a state of oversupply?

And which electric-vehicle brand from the past dusted off the mothballs and claimed a 1,000-mile range?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending August 30, 2019.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (r.) and Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong in Shanghai July 10, 2018

On Friday we brought you some reassuring news about Tesla. It has gained a purchase tax exemption on all of its vehicles—although it could still be facing some tariff trouble over the Model S, Model X, and others that it might import from the U.S.

That was just some of the news we brought you this week from China, the world’s largest vehicle market (and EV market). Nio, which has planned to enter the U.S., is offering free battery swapping in its home market. And Polestar, the electrified performance brand related to Volvo, is asserting more independence by ramping up its own factory in China.

Polestar 1 production at plant in Chengdu, China

Meanwhile back in the U.S., Polestar will be considered a standalone automaker for federal EV tax credit eligibility. And we looked ahead about a month to October 1, when GM—with all of its brands counted together—will be faced with another drop in the amount buyers of eligible vehicles like the Chevy Bolt EV can claim.

In California, the biggest electric-car market in the U.S., Tesla launched a new insurance product—although it doesn’t appear to be quite as data-driven as Elon Musk suggested several months ago.

Design for new Aptera electric car, Aug 2019

Before Tesla was taken all that seriously, a completely different electric-vehicle idea was gaining traction. Ten years later, Aptera is returning with essentially that same idea, but with modern battery tech and a range of up to 1,000 miles.

Lincoln is seeking to bolster its demographics by making the most luxurious model in its Aviator SUV lineup a robust plug-in hybrid—albeit a sort of placeholder in the lineup. Meanwhile the closely related Ford Explorer Hybrid, which skips the plug-in range, has been rated at up to 28 mpg, according to the EPA

2020 Ford Explorer hybrid

Also later in the week we considered several future vehicles, through the spy shots of our partner site, Motor Authority. A Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid could take some of the brand’s experience with the Prius Prime and expand it to one of the most popular vehicle segments. And the Volkswagen ID 4X—the ID Crozz as we knew it as a concept—could also arrive in that same popular size class as the RAV4.

With the Frankfurt auto show just a couple weeks away, several more concept-car teasers gave us some glimpses of the future. An Audi AI:Trail concept could show how autonomous driving and off-roading could coexist, while Lexus might finally enter the electric vehicle fold with an urban EV.

Bollinger motors preparing B1 and B2 prototypes – August 2019

Bollinger Motors isn’t headed for mass production, hasn’t gone with outside investors, and isn’t aiming to make passenger vehicles. It is planning to show the production-intent prototypes of its B1 electric SUV and B2 electric pickup at an event in Michigan September 26.

Battery suppliers are facing an unexpected glut of lithium, although other problematic materials like nickel and cobalt will likely keep battery prices from falling any faster than already anticipated.

And on the subject of battery suppliers—and coming back full-circle to China—we started the week off with the news that Tesla has chosen LG Chem to be its primary supplier for vehicle production in China.

Daimler parks thousands of cars on the old airfield

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If you buy Huracan EVO, Lamborghini will ship bags

Hannah Elliott Published 12:01 a.m. ET Sept. 2, 2019 Lamborghini knows its cars are logistically, uh, challenging. It’s the first thing Stefano Domenicali notes as we meet on a hidden back patio in the the late-afternoon sun. At 54, the Bolognese CEO is cheery and relaxed, wearing an open-collar shirt and stylish trainers — unusually… Continue reading If you buy Huracan EVO, Lamborghini will ship bags

VW to deploy 4,000 charging points at German workplace sites

Volkswagen plans to install around 4,000 charging points at its German company facilities by 2025, beginning with 60 points recently installed for employees at a component plant in Braunschweig. The company will invest some €250 million ($276.5 million) to expand the charging infrastructure at its European sites, aiming to add around 36,000 new charging points… Continue reading VW to deploy 4,000 charging points at German workplace sites

Here’s how the Fca system eliminates assembly line damage

«The Eaws system was applied for the first time in 2008 by Marchionne’s Fiat in Pomigliano, inserting it into the specialist work contract – Caragnano continues – and transformed the group’s Cinderella plant into an international benchmark for the sector (with peaks of increases of 35% productivity, according to unofficial estimates, ed.). So much so… Continue reading Here’s how the Fca system eliminates assembly line damage