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Volkswagen could build plug-in hybrids in China

When you're Europe's largest automaker and your largest global market happens to be the one most notorious for its pollution (China), some solutions just present themselves. Volkswagen may be heeding that call. During the upcoming Beijing Motor Show, the company is expected to announce plans to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in China, Reuters says, citing sources within the company. Few details have emerged, though the plug-ins will likely be produced at VW's Foshan factory in South China, which currently makes the Golf and Audi A3 and has plans to eventually make 600,000 vehicles annually. News has been percolating for a while, as Oliver Schmidt, general manager engineering and environmental office for Volkswagen Group of America, said last March that the company was planning at least two plug-in hybrid lines under the VW badge (and another three with its Audi and Porsche affiliates), including possibly a Touareg and Jetta PHEV. VW said late last month that it was looking to speed up development of "particularly eco-friendly models" made by Shanghai Volkswagen as well as developing a "new, very eco-friendly vehicle" with First Automotive Works (FAW). Earlier this year, VW unveiled its Golf GTE plug-in hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show. That model has a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor to provide 201 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The car can travel as many as 81 miles on electric power alone.

VW confirms three-row Tiguan to be built in Mexico

Volkswagen has been toying with the idea of a three-row crossover for some time – as evidenced by the CrossBlue concept in 2013 and the Magellan concept way back in 2002. But now the German automaker is bringing it to fruition, and it's doing so right in our back yard (or across the fence, anyway). In its latest announcement, VW confirmed recent reports that it will build a new three-row Tiguan at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. It will be made alongside the Golf and Jetta at the company's largest assembly plant outside of Germany, after a billion-dollar expansion program that will encompass nearly a million more square feet of space and employ some 2,000 workers. Once production of the new Tiguan comes on full steam in 2017, the plant will be pumping out 500 of them every day to be delivered in the Americas, but also exported to markets overseas (save for China and Europe). At that point, VW will be producing 90 percent of its products for North America locally. Of course this won't be the first time Volkswagen will be producing a Tiguan. The current model was introduced in 2007 and underwent a facelift in 2011, but includes only two rows of seating and is imported to North America from factories overseas. VOLKSWAGEN DE MEXICO TO PRODUCE THE NEW THREE-ROW TIGUAN IN ITS PUEBLA ASSEMBLY PLANT Mar 9, 2015 - Investment of $1 billion at Puebla plant - US-CEO Michael Horn: Localization key to safeguard our competitive position - Start of production end of 2016 Puebla/Herndon, March 9, 2015 – Volkswagen de Mexico announced today that a three-row version of the Tiguan will be produced at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. The car will be launched to the markets in 2017. The company will invest $1 billion for the expansion and modernization of its production facilities at the Puebla plant, as well as tooling to produce auto parts at suppliers. Volkswagen de Mexico's strategy of technological upgrading, which started with the production of the new Golf on the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, goes to the next step with the new Tiguan. "Localization has become key to safeguarding our competitive position on the global market and manufacturing the Tiguan in Mexico will bring production closer to the U.S.-market," said Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "It is another proof point that Volkswagen is committed to further growth in the U.S. and North American markets.

The VW Sport Coupe GTE Concept promises exciting things for brand's future [w/video]

In recent years, it seems as though the Audi allotment of design talent from the Volkswagen Group has gotten braver, while the VW designers have become more conservative. One look at the current Volkswagen range reveals a lot of tidy sheet metal, but hardly any that rank as evocative or emotionally compelling. If the rhetoric around this Sport Coupe GTE Concept turns to action, however, VW's mass-marketed cars could become a lot more interesting to look at. Sharp creases and bold graphics can be found on just about every inch of the concept, and the large wheels at either extreme corner help to sell this as a "four-door coupe" more than most executions of that now hackneyed styling term. And, if you like what you see, then you might want to hold out for quickly approaching versions of this look on production models. Design head Walter de Silva says this language will be "shaping the immediate future" for VW product. Mechanically, the Coupe also previews more hybridization for the VW line. The concept has a plug-in hybrid powertrain, with a turbo 3.0-liter V6 driving the front wheels, and an electric motor sending yet more power to the rear. You can read up on the details in our official post from a few days ago, or just click through the pretty pictures in the gallery above. SPORT COUPE CONCEPT GTE MAKES WORLD DEBUT AT THE GENEVA AUTO SHOW Four-door coupe marks beginning of a new design era at Volkswagen Wolfsburg/Geneva, March 2015 -Volkswagen will debut the Sport Coupe Concept GTE at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show, heralding a new and progressive Volkswagen design language. "Evolution and revolution come together in the Sport Coupe Concept GTE. This concept is based on Volkswagen design DNA, which has been visibly sharpened even more. It shows how the highest-volume brand of our Group is shaping the immediate future," says Walter de Silva, Head of Design of Volkswagen AG. Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Development, elaborates: "This breathtakingly dynamic coupe is unlike any other to appear in this class. The design of the Sport Coupe Concept GTE is an impressive alternative to the classic sedans of the B and C segments-it has the style of a sport coupe that is enriched by the functionality of a large hatchback and the interior space of a sedan." Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design of the Volkswagen Brand, adds: "The Sport Coupe Concept GTE is another milestone of expressive design.