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Audi rolls out new A6 L E-Tron hybrid for China

Audi is expanding its range of hybrid models with the introduction of the A6 L E-Tron at the Shanghai Motor Show. It's earmarked specifically for the Chinese market and is based on the long-wheelbase A6 L already produced there. The new E-Tron model marries a 2.0-liter turbo four good for 211 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque to an electric motor with 122 hp and 162 lb-ft integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission. A lithium-ion battery pack provides 14.1 kWh power. Mounted in the trunk, it limits cargo capacity to 11.9 cubic feet. The system produces net output of 245 hp and 369 lb-ft – enough to send the long-wheelbase hybrid to 62 miles per hour in 8.4 seconds en route to a top speed of 130 mph. All the while, it'll return 106.9 miles per gallon by the Chinese standard, traveling over 30 miles on electric power alone (at speeds of up to 83.9 mph) and up to 546.8 miles without needing to stop. The A6 L E-Tron is one of three new hybrids Audi is showcasing in Shanghai this year, alongside the Q7 E-Tron and Prologue Allroad concept. Ingolstadt, 2015-04-16 The new Audi A6 L e-tron for China - First Audi plug-in hybrid model from Chinese production - Output of 180 kW (245 hp) with extremely low consumption - 50 km (31.1 mi) electric range and total range of 880 km (546.8 mi) With the A6 L e-tron, Audi is taking an important step toward even greater fuel efficiency in China. The sedan has been developed specifically for the Chinese market. Its plug-in hybrid drive with 180 kW (245 hp) provides for powerful performance. The model consumes on average just 2.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (106.9 US mpg). After launching the e-tron era in China with the imported A3 Sportback e-tron* in 2015, Audi is taking the next step with the local production of the A6 L e-tron beginning in 2016. The model is based on the long version of the Audi A6, which is already built in China, and is configured as a highly efficient parallel hybrid, meaning that its two drives are arranged one directly behind the other. The 2.0 TFSI is a state-of-the-art, four-cylinder, gasoline engine producing 155 kW (211 hp) and 350 Nm (258.1 lb-ft) of torque. The disk-shaped electric motor provides 91 kW and 220 Nm (162.3 lb-ft) of torque. Together with a decoupler, this is integrated into the eight-speed tiptronic transmission, which transfers the power to the front wheels. System output is 180 kW (245 hp); maximum system torque is 500 Nm (368.8 lb-ft).

Audi revising own history in light of 'shocking' study of Nazi-era activities

Daimler opened up its archives for research into its Nazi affiliations for one book published in 1990 and another in 1998. The Quandt family behind BMW had its public catharsis in 2007. The ties between the National Socialists and the Porsche and Piech families have almost rendered the Volkswagen Beetle some kind of cult tchotchke of the Third Reich. And it's not just automakers called in for cleansing: Deutsche Bank credit helped build Auschwitz, Hugo Boss made Nazi uniforms, patriarch of food and frozen pizza giant Dr. Oetker volunteered for the Waffen-SS. As one historian said, for any business that wanted to stay in business during the war, "no company was really clean. Everyone had to resort to slave labor when their own workers were fighting at the front."
Audi is the latest to go public with findings from an in-depth study of the Nazi-affiliated past of Auto Union, its predecessor company, and the "Father of Auto Union" Dr. Richard Bruhn, the man who headed it pre- and post-war. Commissioned by Audi, written by Audi's history department head Martin Kukowski and University of Chemnitz historian Rudolf Boch, its findings are just as severe as those already heard so often over the past 20 years. Among other discoveries, the study found that not only did Brun manage the use of more than 3,700 forced labor camp workers from seven SS-run camps, 16,500 forced laborers that didn't live in camps worked in two more factories; Bruhn wanted even more laborers but couldn't get them because of the battlefield situation; and that Auto Union had "moral responsibility" for roughly 4,500 workers killed at the Flossenbürg concentration camp. The study found that disabled workers were routinely sent to the camp and executed there.
Audi works council head Peter Mosch said, "I'm very shocked by the scale of the involvement of the former Auto Union leadership in the system of forced and slave labor. I was not aware of the extent." The company is figuring out how it will respond to the findings, so far working on changing the online profile of Dr. Bruhn on its history pages on Audi sites around the world, and considering stripping Brun's name from the street that bears it and from company offerings like pension plans. If you can read German or can work Google Translate, Wirtschaftswoche has a long piece on the study and its conclusions.

Formula E is on track financially, with NYC race coming up

LONDON - Formula E could be breaking even already were it not investing for the future, chief executive Alejandro Agag said on Monday after the electric motor racing series reported continuing losses in its latest annual accounts. Accounts filed at Companies House showed Formula E Operations Ltd reduced its operating loss to 33.7 million euros ($38.32 million) at end-July 2016, a period covering its second season, from a previous 62.7 million. Net liabilities rose to 107.2 million euros from 72.1 million, while total revenues reached 56.6 million from a previous 19.7 million. "Everything is going according to plan," Agag, whose city-based series will be racing in New York for the first time on July 15 and 16, told Reuters in an interview at his London offices. "Actually we are doing incredibly well financially according to our plan. "We could have broken even this year but we decided to invest more in marketing and promotion. We decided to add races like the one in New York, which is in year one a race which is costing, we have significant capital expenditure." "It's really up to us when we want to go to break even or not. We could be in break-even now, we could be in break-even next season but we may decide to invest more in marketing and promotion." Agag said the shareholders, including John Malone's Liberty Global and Discovery Communications, were supportive of the strategy and the series had attracted more investors, sponsors and car manufacturers. The New York races will be held in Brooklyn's Red hook neighborhood, with lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop with technology partner Qualcomm securing the naming rights. MANUFACTURER INTEREST Agag, whose series plays down competition with Liberty Media-owned Formula One, said more carmakers were set to join a series increasingly aligned with their commercial focus. "I think Formula E has become the preferred destination for manufacturers and there are a few reasons for that," said the Spaniard. "Obviously, one is that it is electric and manufacturers are more and more focusing on electric cars...and we are the only platform really to help them promote that technology and those types of cars. "And second, because of the cost. The cost of the team in Formula E is very moderate." Whereas top Formula One teams can burn through $300 million a year, as can the likes of Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, the budgets of successful Formula E teams are between 10 and 15 million.