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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.

Lamborghini Aventador reports for taxi duty at Bologna airport

Lamborghini has invaded another airport as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. In January, it took over one of the two runways at Miami-Dade International Airport so it could conduct high-speed runs and have an Aventador pose with a Boeing airliner. Across the Atlantic, the Aventador has just been made the "Follow Me" vehicle at the Aeroporto di Bologna, which is 30 minutes from the company factory in Sant' Agata Bolognese.
According to Auto Evolution, it's been done up just like the Fiat models one normally encounters on such duty - it even has a light bar in case pilots don't simply want to follow the noise. Specially trained airport staff will guide arriving flights to their gates in the Aventador from May 6 to May 19, and once passengers are deplaned, they can check out the Lamborghini exhibit inside the airport.

Here's Italian patriotism in the form of Lambos, Ducatis, and jets

We're proud 'Muricans here at Autoblog, but we can't deny that other countries can be pretty darn cool, too. A perfect example comes to us from Lamborghini... and Ducati and the Italian Air Force. Apparently the trio came together to celebrate Italy building fast things. The event happened at Rivolto Air Base, where Lambo and Ducati demonstrated the speed and agility of their machines on the runways, and the Italian National Aerobatics Team did the same in the skies while recreating the Italian flag. Lucky for us, they got video of the event, which is above for your viewing pleasure. Now someone needs to start organizing an American version of this, with the Blue Angels, Corvettes, GTs, and Vipers. The Stars and Stripes might be a little tougher to skywrite, though. Related Video: Image Credit: Lamborghini Auto News Lamborghini Military Supercars Videos Ducati jet