Volkswagen Industry News Cars

If there’s one brand that’s catapulted EV ambitions within the Volkswagen Group, it has to be Porsche. While Audi may have been the first to bring their e-Tron to market, it wasn’t until the Taycan came along that several brands within the VW Group started making the shift to electric mobility.

It looks like the last hour has come for the manual transmission at Volkswagen. Since VW is basically on the road to electro-mobility and is saying goodbye to the combustion engine, it is also inadvertently saying goodbye to the manual transmission.

Alfa Romeo, as a brand has been dying for years, and it seems that no matter what happens, things just keep getting worse. The move from bad to worse seems to have started right around the time that the revival of both the 8C and GTV nameplates was cancelled, right around the same time that FCA – before the Stellantis merger, of course – started skinning it to the bone as the 4C Spider landed on the chopping block. By 2020, the Giulietta was discontinued and we were promised a new compact electric SUV in 2020. Now, under new leadership, Alfa Romeo is discontinuing the Giorgio platform, and more recently announced a plan that included delaying models like the Tonale and raising prices – a weird move for a company that can’t sell vehicles to save its life. Things could have been a lot different if FCA sold Alfa to Volkswagen. In fact, the opportunity was there twice in the same decade.

Recently, a new consortium offered close to $9.2 billion in order to buy Lamborghini off VAG. Theoffer was turned down and a new offer was made. That offer, too, was apparently turned down, but that doesn’t mean the German concern is not in the midst of deciding what to do with its assets. Bugatti has enjoyed a good run under VAG ownership and the French manufacturer continues to come up with limited editions based on the Chiron. With that being said, it appears not all is as good as it looks on the outside. Volkswagen Audi Group is currently debating on whether Bugatti should continue to be a part of the company’s portfolio or not and a certain Croatian manufacturer might take the opportunity.

When Volkswagen introduced the new 2020 Mk.8 Golf, we got to feast eyes on the Golf GTI, GTD, and GTE, a blend of trims that pretty much covered every desire imaginable. Later we got to lay eyes on the 2021 VW Golf R and Golf GTI Clubsport. I don’t need to tell you why any of these models is special, but did you know that only the Golf GTI and Golf R are sold here in the United States? That’s right! Outside of these two models, the rest of the Golf lineup is a forbidden fruit. It might seem a little early to think about the next-gen Golf considering the 8th generation is still practically brand new, but will there be another generation? And, what happens after that? Well, with the way the automotive industry is changing, that’s a very good question.

Automakers are coming up with multiple ways to counter range anxiety. Other than developing batteries that offer more miles per charge and fast charging options, there are portable chargers that can be hitched to the back of your ride, too.

Now, Volkswagen has developed a mobile charging robot that can walk up to an EV on its own, charge it up, and walk out of there without any human intervention.

Volkswagen and Tesla have been having some sort camaraderie for quite some time now that seems a little more than just healthy, mutual respect. Recently, Elon Musk test drove the Volkswagen ID.3, and now, VW’s CEO, Herbert Diess, took a drive in the Tesla Model Y. This leads to speculations if Tesla and Volkswagen are joining forces, but the German automaker’s CEO put an end to the rumors saying there is no deal between the two companies. But, could the two giants tag-team EVs in the future?

There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a rather massive monkey wrench into the engine that is the auto industry. It’s been so bad that every time we turn around, we hear about another automaker that’s drastically down on sales. Now, a new study from German website Handelsblatt, paints a crystal clear picture of how automakers are weathering the COVID storm, and I can tell you know, it’s not pretty. In fact, some German brands are really taking up the tailpipe.

The Ford-Volkswagen alliance has been brewing for a couple of years now. Things started looking stale in between, but it looks like everything is getting back on track.

According to Ford Authority, the alliance between the two automakers is expected to be finalized by the end of June. Also, the German automaker’s board has approved several projects, one of which is a new Ford electric vehicle that will be underpinned by Volkswagen’s MEB platform. Do you think it will be a badge-engineered ID.4 crossover?

The COVID-19 pandemic is in full blast and many countries have closed borders and asked citizens to stay home to help contain the spread. All sorts of companies around the world are joining these efforts with new logos that promote social distancing. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volkswagen are among them, having launched redesigned logos on social media platforms.

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, several automakers have made updates to their logos to promote social distancing, regarded by doctors and health experts as one of the key ways in preventing the spread of the virus.

Volkswagen, Audi, and most recently, Mercedes-Benz, have taken to social media to promote social distancing. To slam the point home, all three German brands unveiled modifications to their logos to reflect the social adjustments we all have to make as a society to stop the virus in its tracks. Across the board, the message is clear: if you don’t want to spread the virus, keep your distance from everyone else.

With EVs and Hybrids slowly starting to take over, the manual transmission that once widely served as the standard for entry-level models has now become an expensive option and sought-after commodity for sports cars and hot hatches. We’ve explained why the manual transmission is living on borrowed time and even gone into depth on how BMW is slowly moving away from the manual transmission too. Meanwhile, other automakers like Porsche are trying to remain true to their manual roots. The continuity of the manual transmission is a mixed bag, no doubt, but as it turns out, Volkswagen is going to go the route of Porsche, which is now even offering certain trims of the 911 with a manual, by keeping the manual transmission on the cars as long as there is a demand for it.

Ferdinand Piech, former Chairman of the executive board of VW and, later on, of the supervisory board of Porsche SE, the principal shareholder of VW, has died on Sunday at the age of 82 according to German tabloid Bild. Piech has been a central figure in the automotive industry for decades, known for his no-nonsense style and his ability to push through and introduce models that have become highly influential over time, as well as massively popular. He is known for his involvement in projects such as the Audi Quattro, that spearheaded a whole lineup of AWD cars from the Ingolstadt brand as well as adding Porsche to the Volkswagen Group and bringing VW back on profitable ways in the new millennium.

It hasn’t even been two months since the passing of legendary automotive executive Lee Iaccoca, the key figure behind the birth of the Ford Mustang and Chrysler’s revival during his tenure as the company’s CEO, and the automotive world has now lost another larger-than-life figure in Professor Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche, and one of the most influential figures in the modern automotive landscape. While ousted from the top of the VW Group four years ago, his legacy will live on, as will the emblematic models that he engineered and helped bring to life.

The way things are going, Volkswagen should be renamed as Volkscandal. Instead of focusing on rebuilding the “Volks’" trust after the Dieselgate fiasco, the German automaker continues to roll on the same saga. This time, the company has sold Pre-production prototypes that didn’t meet regulatory approval in the U.S. and Europe. Dear VW, why would you want to continue working unethically despite being one of the world’s largest carmakers?

Finally, Volkswagen has made the announcement. After investing billions of dollars into electrification already, the German automaker said that the next generation of its cars will be the last with internal combustion engines, which will be phased out completely by 2026.

Last week Bloomberg published a report that the Volkswagen Group and the Ford Motor company are looking to collaborate to create self-driving vehicles in order to reduce development costs on both sides. It was definitely a change as the two companies’ initial tie-up announcement was only supposed to involve commercial vehicles - now it could be expanded with electric vehicle platform sharing too.

Ford and Volkswagen had signed the Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year that laid the foundations of a strategic partnership between the two. But what started off as an alliance to focus on jointly developing an array of commercial vehicles, has turned into rumors of a full-fledged merger.

Updated 10/23/2018: Ford has reached out to us directly and has provided new information regarding a supposed merger. According to Jennifer Flake, from Ford Communications, "If the talks proceed fully, this would be a strategic alliance - full stop. There is no potential merger."

Technology is evolving at an insane pace in the automotive world. With some new tech added to our cars literally every day, it’s no more a buy-off-the-counter scene for automakers. That is one of the many reasons why automakers and technology companies are collaborating, the latest of which are Volkswagen and Microsoft.

Volkswagen breaks new ground with its foray into the virtual world as an avenue to test its new driver assistance systems faster while also reducing expenses. Is it a double-edged sword, though?

As automakers worldwide make leaps and bounds towards a brave new world of automation, green energy and efficiency, German manufacturer Volkswagen set about trying a new way of testing its driver assistance systems that will be part of the new I.D. lineup of vehicles. Lengthy real-world tests where prototypes are taken out on the open road or on test facilities will be a thing of the past, thinks Volkswagen, who wants to replace all of that with virtual simulations. They should, in theory, be programmed to feature as many scenarios as needed to get the systems through their testing phases.

The process to move testing from the real-world to a computer-generated virtual one is complicated, but Volkswagen is already trying out the idea with virtual parking simulations where all the parameters can be altered to suit the needs of those conducting the experiments. This all sounds great, but can computer-generated simulations, regardless of computing power and intricacy, really provide the same randomness that actual testing on the open road gives? Will cars that go on sale with systems that went through virtual testing be as well prepared as those that had a bigger chunk of their testing done on the roads? Volkswagen did not officially say they plan to eliminate real testing from the procedure of introducing new driving assistance systems, so we have to wait and see.

Read on to learn more about Volkswagen’s new virtual testing and more

Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, is usually utilized for the rapid production of prototypes and specialty parts. Now, however, Volkswagen claims a breakthrough development has readied this cutting-edge technology for mass production, opening up a slew of customer customization opportunities.

Continue reading for the full story.

In a surprising move, Ford and the Volkswagen Group announced today that they are seeking a strategic alliance to increase competitiveness in the segment of commercial vehicles. Representatives of both companies addressed the public explaining that the potential alliance will enable them “to better serve the evolving needs of customers globally.”

For a while now the word has been that Apple dropped the idea of building its own self-driving car in order to develop software that it could license to other companies. Of course, that’s a hard pill to swallow considering the stance it takes will all of its software and it’s hardware exclusivity. Now, word has it that Apple has joined forces with Volkswagen which includes a deal to turn some of VW’s T6 Transport vans into self-driving pods to haul around Apple employees.

It hasn’t even been a week since Opel announced it would skip the Paris Motor Show, and here we are telling you that Volkswagen has withdrawn its interest in the show as well. That brings the number of manufacturers skipping this year’s show in Paris to nine. Volkswagen joins Ford, Volvo, Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Opel, Mazda, and Subaru. It’s a surprising blow to the show considering Volkswagen is the top-selling car brand in Europe, but the brand believes it has justification.