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Audi: record profit as 'biggest product initiative' in its history gets underway

Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann   Even as the Audi Group (VOW.DE), VW’s luxury division, is in the midst of a huge EV transformation it still needs to perform where it counts — the bottom line. And so it is doing just that.  On Thursday the Audi Group - which is dominated volume-wise by Audi, but also includes Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati - posted record revenue and operating profit in 2022. That shouldnÂ’t be a surprise given what the industry has been seeing at the highest end of the market - record performances despite macroeconomic jitters across the globe. But that it's happening as the group is noteworthy.  “We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history,” Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann said at a news conference earlier on Thursday. “By 2025, we will have launched around 20 new models, more than 10 of which will be all-electric. We have set the course to go 100% electric. By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment.”   This is all part of Audi GroupÂ’s Vorsprung 2030 plan, which seeks to have all of the groupÂ’s new models be electric by 2026 — and to end traditional gas-powered engine production by 2033. To that end, the group saw EV deliveries jump 44% (in 2022) compared to 2021 to over 118,000 vehicles, with the share of EVs rising to 7.2% from 4.8% in the prior year. Audi is also launching its first EV using the PPE (premium platform electric), which was developed together with Porsche. That EV, the Audi Q6 e-tron, will be unveiled later this year. (Past Audi EVs shared corporate parent VWÂ’s electric platform.) “With the Audi Q6 e-tron, e-mobility is coming from Ingolstadt (Audi HQ) for the first time,” Duesmann said in a statement. “To this end, weÂ’re also building a dedicated battery assembly facility on site. This will enable us to retain important know-how here in Germany and train our employees in future fields.” AudiÂ’s German rivals of course are also leaning in hard on their EV transformations. That makes it all the more important that Audi get its EV strategy right—and launched in a timely manner.

Lamborghini Huracan to get What3Words navigation

The Lamborghini Huracan will soon launch a novel navigation system that can take you to any point on the globe with incredible specificity. It relies on a geocoding system called What3Words that, as the name implies, uses a combination of just three words — rather than building numbers and street names — to describe locations. Here's how it works. The creators of What3Words divided the entire planet into 10 by 10 foot squares and randomly assigned three words to each one. There are 57 trillion squares in all, each with three words pulled from a pool of 40,000 in the English language. For example, the Washington Monument has a pretty confusing street address: 2 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20024. What3Words identifies that location as "congratulations, fingernails, desk". The idea is that those three words are much less prone to misinterpretation, especially by a computer or voice recognition system. Its level of granularity also has advantages if, say, you're trying to tell a friend where you're waiting at large concert venue. It can also get very precise in areas where there are no roads or buildings at all. In fact, the app helped rescuers locate a group of lost hikers in the U.K. To be fair, the system isn't exclusive to Lamborghini; the Huracan is just the first to roll out this technology in conjunction with Alexa's voice activated navigation, according to the New York Times. The Huracan will receive this functionality this year. For the record, the 2018 Mercedes A-Class was the first car to use What3Words for navigation. Of course, the system isn't perfect. Unless someone gives you a What3Words address, you still have to translate a regular street address to the What3Words address in order to use the system. Also, its random nature doesn't really provide an intuitive relationship between one location or another. With street addresses, you understand that 100 Main Street and 102 Main Street are near each other, while 900 Main Street might be far away. And you can see whether you're getting closer or farther by looking at the numbers. The square directly north of "congratulations, fingernails, desk" is "dome, next, senses". So there might still be a while before What3Words is adopted for widespread use. We could see this being useful in an off-road vehicle meant to venture into the wilderness. Still, the more options the better, and if What3Words does become commonplace, the Lamborghini Huracan will be ready.

Chinese automaker readies a Lamborghini Urus fake

Do you love the absurd angular looks of the Lamborghini Urus, but don't have anywhere near the $200,000 needed to buy one? We have good news, then. A Chinese automaker is building a knockoff that costs about a tenth the price. Of course, you'll probably have to go to China to own and drive it. According to carnewschina.com, the vehicle in question comes from Huansu, one of several brands under major Chinese automaker BAIC. The company's name translates to "Magic Speed" according to the news outlet, as well as a Google translated version of PCAuto, a Chinese car news website. The model name is reportedly called C60, but it also has the name Hyosow on the back. It certainly hits the design on the head. Or at least 90 percent of the head. The silhouette of the grille is nearly identical, but it picks up a quartet of LED foglights on each side. The massive hexagons in the Lamborghini's grille are replaced with slats. The headlights are similar with individual LEDs, but the shape is much simpler. Continuing around the side, the Lambo's triangular fender vents have morphed into something that looks more like a shovel. The doppelganger lacks some of the sharp creases of the Italian car, and the resemblance really starts falling apart at the back. The large taillights of the Huansu have some of the angular lighting designs of the Lamborghini, but they aren't nearly as striking as the Lambo's narrow elements. There aren't any big vents, and the diffuser is far more boring on the Huansu. All that being said, though, this sucker is a blatant knockoff, regardless of how accurate it is or isn't. Despite a name like "Magic Speed," we don't expect this C60 Hyosow will have much of it, since it will reportedly have just a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 195 horsepower. At least it will be practical, housing between 5 and 7 people depending on how it's equipped. And of course, it's way cheaper. Converting Car News China's price estimate to U.S. dollars, the Huansu will only cost between $15,000 and $24,000. It may be a shameless knockoff, but we have to admit it probably isn't going to cost Lamborghini sales. People with Toyota Corolla money aren't on the verge of buying a supercar anytime soon. The official reveal of the SUV will be on June 6 at the Chongqing auto show, according to PCAuto. Related Video: News Source: China Car News, PCAuto Lamborghini Crossover SUV chinese copy