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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.

Fastest-ever Lamborghini may debut in Geneva

Lamborghini is headed to next month's 2013 Geneva Motor Show with the brand's fastest car yet. The news comes courtesy of Filippo Perini, Lamborghini's design director, who reportedly dished that the brand will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a new low-volume hypercar. Perini made the comments while at the US launch of the automaker's recent Aventador Roadster in Miami, and he made it clear there will only be 10 production examples of the new model. If you want one, you had better get your wallet to the closest dealer (the designer admits most of the exotics are already spoken for).
Meanwhile, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has said his company will continue to explore special edition models. As you may recall, the Italian automaker built just 20 examples of its Sesto Elemento, originally penned for the 2010 Paris Motor Show. It promptly sold each one for $2.5 million. Then there was last year's Aventador J, which flew out the door at $2.6 million, including taxes. Stay tuned for more information from the show floor.

Two dead in Lamborghini crash at Las Vegas exotic car experience center

According to the Las Vegas Sun, as well as several other local outlets, two men died in a Lamborghini crash on track at a facility called SpeedVegas. The car reportedly hit a concrete wall with a tire barrier and burst into flames. Tragically, the driver and the instructor were both killed instantly. We confirmed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that the organization is investigating the crash. The crash happened at SpeedVegas, a facility with a 1.5-mile closed track that offers visitors the opportunity to drive high-performance sports cars ranging from the Porsche Cayman GTS up to a Lamborghini Aventador. According to the website, drivers do not need any experience before taking the wheel, and only need to be 18 years old, have a valid driver's license, and wear closed-toe shoes. The facility provides helmets and insurance as part of the driving fee. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. SpeedVegas provided an official statement, seen above, on the crash at its Twitter page. It confirms that the crash occurred, and that the company will cooperate fully with the investigation. It also passes along sympathy to employees and family members connected to the victims. We have also reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and SpeedVegas directly for further comment on the incident, but have not received a reply at the time of publishing. We will update this post with additional information as it is available. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.