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Audi CEO says brand's EVs are almost as profitable as its other cars

After, oh, a hundred years or so of building vehicles primarily powered by internal combustion engines, automakers around the world have been and still are pumping billions of dollars into the development of electric vehicle technology. Everything from platforms and batteries to motors and the software to control it all requires untold hours of development, and that takes time and money. Fortunately, it's not going to take long for that massive investment to start paying off, at least according to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, who told Reuters in an interview that "The point where we earn as much money with electric cars as with combustion engine cars is now, or ... next year, 2023. They are very even now, the prices." As a brand, Audi contributed more than a quarter of overall profit for the massive Volkswagen Group, which has such powerhouse brands as Volkswagen and Porsche among others. Under the Audi umbrella are Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati, and it seems those high-end branches aren't going anywhere, at least for now. "These brands ... are very valuable very profitable brands, where we can even expand the synergy level in the future," Duesmann said in the interview. "There are no plans whatsoever to get rid of them." Despite the overall profitability of the brand, the ongoing global chip crisis is causing headaches. "We had a very strong first half in 2021. We do expect a much weaker second half," said Duesmann, who added, "We really have trouble." In fact, so serious is the trouble that the brand is forced into "a day-to-day troubleshooting process" to limit the chip-shortage damage. The good news for the automaker is that Audi has been able to boost its profit margin from 8% prior to the pandemic in 2019 to 10.7% in the first half of 2021. The bad news is that various chip shortages aren't expected to get a whole lot better over the rest of the year. Related video:

VW expanding in Chattanooga, hiring workers ahead of SUV production

Hey, look! We're writing about Volkswagen's Chattanooga, TN factory and the focus isn't on yet another unionization effort. That's because the big news at the still-new factory is VW's plan to expand and increase its workforce in preparation for the arrival of the German brand's long-awaited midsize crossover. The expansion, which will add over half a million square feet of factory space, overhaul the assembly, body and paint shop and add 2,000 employees to the factory's ranks, officially kicked off last month. "This is a very exciting time in the history of Volkswagen Chattanooga," president and CEO of operations at the plant, Christian Koch, said in a statement. "A lot of hard work is going into adding this second vehicle line to the plant, but it is crucial to our efforts to move forward in America." "Not only will Volkswagen's expansion create thousands of new jobs, it will strengthen their roots in our city," Chattanooga's Mayor, Andy Berke, said in a statement. "From the construction at the plant to the development of a visitors center, there is no doubt that Volkswagen is invested in Chattanooga." VW Chattanooga has been a constant in the headlines over the past few years as pro-union and pro-business interests have battled over the souls representation rights of its roughly 1,500 workers. Just over a year ago, the UAW was defeated in its initial unionization bid, although pro-labor interests have not gone quietly into the night. Construction is expected to continue for two years, with production of Chattanooga's second vehicle expected to commence in 2016. Scroll down for the official press release from Volkswagen. VOLKSWAGEN CHATTANOOGA'S PLANT EXPANSION UNDERWAY Feb 24, 2015 Construction Will Add 2nd Vehicle Line: New Midsize SUV CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Feb. 24, 2015) - Construction is underway at the Volkswagen Chattanooga manufacturing facility in preparation for production of an all new Midsize SUV. The first phase of construction started in early January 2015 and will continue for the next two years. Volkswagen Chattanooga CEO and President Christian Koch gave a site tour to Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger on Tuesday, highlighting the necessary expansion of the production areas in the body shop, paint shop and assembly areas.

VW going turbo-only in 3 to 4 years

This really was a matter of when, rather than if. Volkswagen will apparently be the first manufacturer to phase out naturally aspirated engines in favor of turbocharging its full slate. VW is kind of responsible for ushering in this push towards small-displacement, turbocharged engines that's taken the industry by storm. When it dropped its direct-injection, 2.0-liter turbo in the 2005 GTI it demonstrated that strapping an iron long to an engine can enhance the powertrain as a whole. VW made fuel economy gains, while also giving a linear, non-laggy turbo experience that it has replicated, model-after-model, to this day.
Speaking with The Detroit News, Volkswagen's executive Vice President of Group Quality, Marc Trahan, told the paper that, "We only have one normally aspirated gas engine, and when we go to the next generation vehicle that it's in, it will be replaced. So three, four years maximum."
Really, it's hard to get teary-eyed about either of these engines going away. VW has access to smaller powerplants that could easily match the performance of the 2.5 five-cylinder and the 3.6 V6, while gobbling up less fuel and providing a better driving experience. What we are sad about is that a similar statement about the extinction of NA engines came from the Vice President of Powertrain Engineering at Ford, Joe Bakaj. We'd certainly get teary-eyed over a world without Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8.