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Lamborghini confirms next-gen Aventador and Huracan to be PHEVs

It's official, Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed to Top Gear magazine that the next-generation Aventador and Huracan will get plug-in hybrid powertrains. Autocar reported last October that the next Huracan would get "next-generation" batteries to aid its naturally aspirated V10 when it debuts around 2022. The fate of the Aventador S's successor, however, was unclear beyond the certainty of it featuring a mid-mounted V12. Now we know it will get a naturally aspirated V12 with electric help when it arrives in 2020 or so, and both cars will boast a small all-electric range. Top Gear imagined how much each coupe could gain — both in weight and in power — by mating each car's current engine with the 134-horsepower electric motor and 14-kWh lithium-ion battery pack from the Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid. TG figures the Aventador S replacement would go from 730 hp and 508 pound-feet of torque to 860 hp and 566 lb-ft. That's the good news. The bad news is that Porsche said the hybrid system adds 661 pounds to the weight of the Panamera. Tack that onto the Lamborghini, and an Aventador S goes up a weight class to 4,354 pounds. The new Huracan output stretches from 602 hp and 412 lb-ft to 728 hp and 471 lb-ft, and 3,796 pounds. Judged on the results of that purely imaginary fancy, Top Gear says the numbers "well and truly stack up." We think that given the chance to add 130 horsepower at the price of putting a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy in the trunk — or the weight of second complete engine — we might ask if there were other tradeoffs available. We're certain Lamborghini's working all the angles, though, and confident the Sant' Agata carmaker will translate its actual figures into another duo of brutal, bewitching sports cars. The brand is looking beyond the near-term hybrids to what could come after, as well. Domenicali said he doesn't believe there will be sufficient potential in electric powertrains until 2026, but he's ready with concepts like the Terzo Millennio whenever the powertrains are. Lamborghini's also working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to "write an important page in the future of super sports cars for the third millennium," suspected to center on lightweight materials, solid-state batteries, and alternative fuels. On that last note, Domenicali's already eyeing the potential of using hydrogen fuel cells in the distant future.

VW has received several tentative bids for Ducati

Italy's Benetton family is vying with motorbike firms and buyout funds for control of Italian motorcycle brand Ducati, which is being sold by Germany's Volkswagen, sources involved in the process told Reuters. Volkswagen, whose Audi division controls Ducati, has received several tentative bids with the Benetton family's investment vehicle Edizione Holding valuing the Monster motorbike maker at $1.2 billion, one of the sources said. As well as Edizione Holding, U.S. buyout fund Bain Capital, which owns a stake in Ski-Doo snowmobiles maker BRB, and two Indian motorbike firms, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Auto, have also bid for Ducati, the sources said. Indian carmaker Eicher controls Royal Enfield, a motorcycle brand established in 1893 which ranks as one of the oldest. Strategic bidders also include U.S. automotive firm Polaris Industries, which earlier this year said it would wind down its struggling Victory Motorcycle brand. A shortlist of bidders for a second stage of the auction could be selected as soon as Saturday, two of the sources said. Volkswagen adviser Evercore has a long list of bidders including private equity funds such as Ducati's previous owner Investindustrial, CVC Capital Partners, Advent and PAI, all hoping to outbid industry players, the sources said. If it gets to the second round, Edizione Holding could seek to form a consortium with a financial investor, two of the sources said, in a bid to secure control of Ducati, whose racers have won the Superbike world championship 14 times, with Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss its most successful riders. Audi, Edizione Holding, Investindustrial, Advent and PAI declined to comment, while the other interested groups were not immediately available for comment. PRICING CHALLENGES For some buyout funds, Ducati's valuation of up to $1.4 billion – which sources said is based on a multiple of more than 10 times its core earnings of roughly 100 million euros – is a tall order as they lack the synergies that some motorbike makers could achieve. But Investindustrial founder Andrea Bonomi, who sold Ducati to Audi for about 860 million euros in 2012, is serious about a comeback, one of the sources said. China's Loncin Motor was among a group of industry players that initially showed interest in Ducati, alongside Harley-Davidson. The latter has, however, decided against making a bid due to Ducati's price tag, while it could not be established if Loncin Motor had carried on bidding.

Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.