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VW buggy, Porsche 911 Hybrid, Shell chargers, Tesla profits: Today’s Car News

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model X
Tesla reported profits, and revealed new model lineups for its Model S and Model X—and another price cut. Volkswagen announced it will build a concept electric dune buggy for the Geneva auto show. Details of the upcoming Porsche 911 Hybrid have emerged. And Shell has bought its first charging network in North America. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Profit reports are key, especially for a company like Tesla that has built a following of evangelists hoping to change the world, but whose ability to survive hinges on shoring up its shaky finances. In its most recent quarterly earnings call, Tesla revealed that it turned a profit and built up its cash reserves in the last quarter of 2018, while producing more cars than ever before.

The company also cut prices and introduced new base versions of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV with shorter range batteries limited by software, not cells.

VW will add to its portfolio of throwback electric models, at least in concept, with a new concept version of the classic Meyers Manx dune buggy based on the company's new “affordable electric” MEB architecture. It will reveal the concept at the Geneva auto show in March, and is considering putting it into production.

U.S. charging network operator Greenlots announced it has been bought by oil giant Shell. Shell has been gradually expanding into the electric-car charging business, but Greenlots chargers will be its first in the U.S.

Details have leaked out about two new hybrid systems that Porsche plans to put in its new 911. Unlike Porsche's other models, however, neither will plug in.

The Chinese company that builds electric Saabs, NEVS, bought a large stake in Swedish exotic carmaker Koenigsegg, which leads to speculation about more upcoming electric supercars.

Finally, there could be some consolation this weekend for fans whose team loses the Superbowl. Ride sharing service Uber is offering free rides in Los Angeles or Boston if their team loses the big game.

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Top Employer’s recognition for SEAT comes as a beacon for attracting external talent

MARTORELL, 31-Jan-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — SEAT’s recognition as a Top Employer in Spain consolidates the company’s commitment to the professional development of its more than 15,000 employees.

Top Employer has given the car maker its seal of approval for the fifth year in a row making SEAT one of the best companies to work for in Spain.

SEAT is the largest employer in the automotive sector in Spain. Some 97% of the workers have an open-ended contract with SEAT. Balancing work and private life, talent recruitment policies, specialised training in Industry 4.0 or the health and well-being service provided to all the professionals are examples of the company’s commitment to quality employment and attracting talent.

SEAT has worked over the past years to improve its human resources policy whereby working conditions, flexibility, career growth and employee well-being are at the core of every initiative.

Top Employer’s certificate evaluates businesses all over the world that offer the best working conditions and are the most attractive for employees.

In the Spain’s automotive sector, SEAT was the first company to receive this distinction.

SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros:

“in a context where the sector’s professional profiles are going to change, the acknowledgement as Top Employer strengthens us on two fronts – firstly, it is a recognition to the entire workforce, so they can be even prouder to be working for SEAT and feel that their future lies with the company; and secondly, it is a beacon to attract external talent with different profiles, who might otherwise not consider they could have a prosperous career at a carmaker whose business model is undergoing a deep transformation.”

SEAT’s labour relations framework has been established by its collective bargaining agreement, signed back in 2016 and is notable for its flexibility and modernity.

Enhancements are made to the variable remuneration system and new measures have been put in place to boost competitiveness and make the company ready for the production increases that have taken place in recent years. The agreement consolidated the variable remuneration system, added an increase in several salary concepts and extended the social benefits provided to the workforce, such as the possibility of having more paid leave.

In addition SEAT has also implemented a new Employer Branding strategy with several initiatives to attract and retain talent. One of the most prominent was SEAT DisrUP. The event aims at connecting with the most promising talent by inviting young people to reflect on and come up with mobility solutions for users in large urban areas. All these initiatives are included in the SEAT Talent Xperience project that the company is promoting to attract professionals with a technical and digital profile to face the company’s future challenges.

In recent years, SEAT has invested close to 17 million euros annually in continuous training for its workforce. SEAT has implemented a training programme focusing on the future challenges posed by Industry 4.0, aimed at the entire workforce. To date, more than 2,000 employees have followed the programme.

SEAT’s worker healthcare and well-being service, spearheaded by the CARS Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre, provides all SEAT employees with advanced preventive, healthcare and rehabilitation services in areas ranging from orthopedics, cardiology, gynecology and mental health to image diagnostics, physiotherapy, fitness and rehabilitation.

In 2018, more than 70,000 treatments were performed in these facilities for SEAT employees.

SOURCE: SEAT

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SEAT named leader in digital transformation by Financial Times study – SEAT has been acknowledged as a leader in digital transformation by a study carried out by the prestigious British daily the Financial Times. This publication, together with Google, Nesta and The Innovation Foundation, selected 100 organisations, people and companies from 4,000 entrie…

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VW’s Porsche informs authorities of possible issue with emissions

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Volkswagen is seen at their plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s Porsche unit said on Thursday it had informed German authorities of potential issues with its emissions data, following a report in Germany’s Der Spiegel that the figures for its 911 models… Continue reading VW’s Porsche informs authorities of possible issue with emissions

Office insights

The Porsche Newsroom is a service provided by the Porsche Communication for journalists, bloggers and the online community. The official website of Porsche AG can be reached at www.porsche.com © 2019 Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.*The data presented here was recorded using the Euro 5 test procedure (715/2007/EC, 692/2008/EC, 566/2011/EC and ECE-R 101) and the NEDC (New… Continue reading Office insights

Winner: New Audi Q3 Wins Readers’ Choice of “Best Cars”

The new Audi Q3 has established itself as a winner right off the bat: It took home the first prize in the “compact SUV/off-road vehicles” category in the readers’ choice of “Best Cars 2019” by German technical magazine “auto motor und sport.” “This award is important to us because it confirms how well the concept… Continue reading Winner: New Audi Q3 Wins Readers’ Choice of “Best Cars”

Volkswagen confirms electric dune buggy concept for Geneva auto show

Volkswagen Geneva Show Electric Buggy concept
A VW beach buggy made for blasting over the sand may ride again.

Volkswagen confirmed on Wednesday that it will show a concept electric dune buggy at the Geneva auto show in March.

Rumors circulated in December that the brand was considering such a move.

READ MORE: Fun revival: Electric dune buggy could join VW I.D. line

According to Autocar magazine in Britain, which originally broke the story back in November, the electric Buggy concept will be based on Volkswagen's new MEB electric-car architecture designed for affordable electric cars. Rumors peg it as rear-wheel drive, the basic format of the MEB platform, but the platform will also support all-wheel drive with a second motor up front.

Volkswagen Geneva Show Electric Buggy concept

Along with two other retro-styled models, the ID Buzz microbus and a rumored electric reincarnation of the original Beetle—only with four doors—the dune buggy concept is designed to bring attention to VW's new lineup of electric cars.

Volkswagen plans to build 15 million cars on the affordable MEB platform (and several more electric models on more expensive platforms.) It has also announced that it will build electric cars in the U.S. at its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. That's likely to include the ID Buzz, though it's not clear if the buggy will make it stateside—or into production at all.

READ MORE: Volkswagen details the foundation for 10 million electric vehicles

Auto show concept cars, such as the as-yet-unnamed buggy set to debut in Geneva, often represent trial-balloons for automakers considering whether to put real versions of the cars into production. A Volkswagen source told Autocar that the buggy is under “active consideration” for production.

VW beach buggies became famous in the 1960s and '70s as fiberglass-bodied independent conversion kits based on shortened floorpans of original Beetles. They were lightweight and quick and developed a reputation for being faster on rough, loose surfaces than Jeeps and pickups designed to go off-road.

CHECK OUT: Volkswagen will make electric cars in Tennessee, at expanded plant

Volkswagen practically confirmed it was thinking of building such a car in early December when it included a silhouette of an open-topped dune buggy driven by Santa Claus on its corporate holiday card.

If a new model hews too closely to the original, with no doors, windows or real top, it's unclear how many markets such a car could be sold in without violating safety standards. Or, Volkswagen designers could find creative solutions, as Jeep has with the Wrangler, to give it relatively modern safety features with looks reminiscent of its minimalist predecessors.

We can't wait to find out at Geneva.

Shell acquisition of charging network Greenlots points to juice as the new gas

Shell charging station in Britain (higher res)
Electric cars are getting the attention of oil companies.

On Wednesday, one of the largest fast-charging networks in the U.S., Greenlots, announced that it had been bought by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell—via the subsidiary Shell New Energies US LLC.

Greenlots includes more than 350 mainly DC fast charge stations across the U.S., the kind electric cars drivers are meant to visit occasionally when they need a quick charge to complete a long trip—kind of like using a gas station.

CHECK OUT: Shell buys its first electric car charging station firm in Europe

For now, that doesn't mean that DC fast chargers are going to appear at every Shell gas station. Greenlots operates chargers along highways, often at public rest areas, especially up and down the East Coast, in the Pacific Northwest, and California.

The company recently signed an agreement with Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America to manage EA's installations along highways. So far, most Greenlots chargers are operated through a cell-phone app were users create an account and put in their credit cards, or via membershiop. Electrify America has agreed to make all its chargers credit-card accessible.

The initial announcement of the purchase, for an undisclosed amount, did not speculate about what a future Shell charging-station network might look like in the U.S. In a statement, Shell called the purchase the “foundation for Shell's continued expansion of electric mobility solutions in North America.” Executive Vice President for New Energies, Mark Gainsborough, said, “This latest investment in meeting the low-carbon energy needs of US drivers today is part of our wider efforts to make a better tomorrow. It is a step towards making EV charging more accessible and more attractive to utilities, businesses and communities.”

READ MORE: Oil companies fight back for charging dollars

Perhaps in part borne of a culture bred in Shell's home country of the Netherlands, the company has long been one of the oil giants most interested in investing in alternative energy sources. Shell already bought the New Motion charging network in Europe and recently bought one of Britain's largest utilities.

The company also operates Shell Recharge Plus, which helps electric-car drivers in California minimize charging during times of peak demand on the power grid, and with the lowest possible fees.

Shell has also been an early investor in developing hydrogen filling stations and supplies for fuel-cell cars in the U.S.

Shell Acquires Greenlots To Accelerate EV Efforts

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SEAT, awarded as the largest industrial exporter in Spain

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