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VW admits 430,000 2016 models have implausible CO2 ratings

Volkswagen finally explained more details about its CO2 rating scandal in Europe and admitted that 430,046 of the estimated 800,000 affected vehicles with "implausible" figures came from the 2016 model year. They included some from Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW, and VW Commercial Vehicles, according to the automaker's list (as a PDF). The problem mostly impacts diesel engines, but the inventory also shows some gasoline mills. VW will next determine the accurate CO2 emissions for these vehicles, and the German Federal Vehicle and Transport Authority will supervise that process to ensure the data's veracity. The automaker will also launch websites in Europe to let owners enter their model's VIN to check whether it's affected. Because governments there often link vehicle taxes and CO2 production, the company promises to work with regulators in each country to cover any fees that result from the inaccurate figures. VW announced the CO2 scandal earlier in November and estimated the equivalent of $2.2 billion to fix it at the time. A later report claimed that a group of engineers were responsible for fabricating the emissions data. They allegedly couldn't meet reduction goals from Martin Winterkorn, and between 2013 and this spring the workers did things like overinflate the tires during testing to achieve the desired results. VW is also closer to a fix in the diesel emissions scandal. According to an anonymous insider to Bloomberg, the company has a repair for the 1.6-liter engine that's reportedly neither very complex nor expensive. German regulators would still need to approve the solution before it could roll out to owners. Next step in clarifying the CO2 issue Affected Volkswagen Group models of the current model year have been identified Customers being informed via website Discussions with the authorities have begun The Volkswagen Group reports that the vehicles of the 2016 model year affected by the CO2 issue have been identified. There is thus now clarity about the new vehicles of the current model year out in the marketplace. On 3 November 2015, the Group had already reported that irregularities may have arisen in determining the CO2 figures for type approval of around 800,000 vehicles. This was identified during its own currently ongoing investigations and had been made public. The internal investigations into the current vehicles of the 2016 model year provide results for narrowing down the actually affected vehicles with implausible CO2 figures.

As VW electrifies, it questions the role of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen needs to change to stay relevant in the electric and digital vehicle era and will announce "important steps" to that end before the close of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Wednesday. "Volkswagen needs to change: From a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering — to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," Diess told shareholders at the company's virtual general meeting. Vehicles need to stay in contact with customers, offer new services and comfort functions on a weekly or even daily basis, he said. "We will take further important steps to set the course for this in the rest of 2020," Diess said. Senior executives told Reuters the company is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play as the company increasingly focuses on electric, digital and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen, which also owns VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, is looking at whether it has the resources to accelerate development of electric platforms for smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars. Asked whether Ducati, which is known for making noisy combustion-engined motorbikes, has an electric future, Markus Duesmann, who oversees research and development for the group, said: "It will not take long until we see an electric Ducati." Whether Ducati, which is a medium-sized premium motorbike brand, would offer an electric variant, depends on whether a bike could offer range comparable to a combustion-engined variant, Duesmann said. Advances are being made in battery technology which could make this possible, he added. Separately Frank Witter, the company's chief financial officer, in response to a question about whether a sale of Lamborghini is planned, said Volkswagen does not comment on speculation about potential divestments. Lamborghini's Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali this week announced his departure from the sports car maker to take on a new job as president of Formula One. VW needs cash Volkswagen is reviewing the future of these three high-performance brands as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

CEO says Volkswagen's buying spree is over

After adding Italian motorcycle icon Ducati to its stable and spending $5.6 billion on the rest of Porsche, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn says he's done shopping for a while.
"We have enough to do at the moment in taking our twelve brands to where we want to be," Winterkorn tells German newspaper Handelsblatt.