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Volkswagen rolls out all-new Polo R WRC

Volkswagen may have ruled out producing a road-going Polo more potent than the new GTI, but on the rally stage, the Polo R WRC has proven absolutely dominant. Introduced to the World Rally Championship in 2013, the Polo R won ten out of the baker's dozen rallies in its debut season, and all but one last year to win both titles two years running. That's quite an act to follow, and the task falls to the machine you see here. The new second-generation Polo R WRC was just revealed at Autostadt in Wolfsburg. The rally machine has been substantially reworked for 2015, with a new livery, new bodywork and new oily bits. In fact, Volkswagen says it has revised three quarters of the components, and while it has not yet detailed the "many new ideas [implemented] under the bonnet," it has identified the hydraulic gearbox as "the biggest innovation." Further details are still to come, but this is our first look at the new machine with which Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen – who finished last year's championship in first, second and third, respectively – will tackle this year's championship, starting with the Rally Monte Carlo on January 22-25. FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) New technology, new design: presenting the second generation Polo R WRC - World premiere of the 318-hp Polo R WRC in Wolfsburg - Member of the Board, Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, launches title defence - WRC kicks off with the iconic Rally Monte Carlo from 22–25 January Wolfsburg (15 January 2015). In top form, both technically and visually: Volkswagen presented the second generation of the Polo R WRC in Autostadt, Wolfsburg. The works team from Wolfsburg has its sights set firmly on another successful defence of its titles in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a new car and a new look. Volkswagen completed a clean sweep of all the World Championship titles when the Polo R WRC made its debut in 2013, before repeating this impressive feat last season. Continuity is the key to the driving line-up for 2015: double world champions Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (N/N) will roll down the starting ramp and head onto the first special stage of the year for Volkswagen at the legendary Rally Monte Carlo on 22 January. "The new Polo R WRC has undergone intense further development, both on the inside and the outside," said Dr.

VW outsells GM in China for first time in 8 years

In case you didn't know, Volkswagen is hell-bent on becoming the largest automaker in the world. The German carmaker has inched closer to that goal, having outsold General Motors in China last quarter for the first time in eight years.
Volkswagen's sales in China, its largest marker, increased by 21 percent last quarter to 704,991 units. Those numbers almost tripled GM's third-quarter growth, and were enough to beat out the American automaker's 664,765 sales. GM, however, still leads in year-to-date sales in China by a slim margin of around 77,000 units. The Asian nation also happens to be GM's largest market, and according to the report in Automotive News, China's car market may grow to be larger than the US, Japan and Germany combined in three years' time.
About the news his company was bested in China by VW last quarter, GM CEO Dan Akerson is quoted saying, "It's not whether you're the biggest car manufacturer. It's whether you want to be the most profitable." It should be noted of these figures that GM includes truck figures, yet excludes Hong Kong and Macau from its Chinese sales numbers, while VW does just the opposite. Through September of this year, Volkswagen had 5 of the 10 best selling vehicles in China. GM boasted three of the cars on that list.

Volkswagen feuds with thriving stablemate Skoda

BERLIN, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Volkswagen managers and unions are seeking to curb competition from lower-cost stablemate Skoda, move some of its production to Germany and make the Czech brand pay more for shared technology, company sources told Reuters. As VW struggles to cut jobs and spending at German factories and turn the page on dieselgate, Skoda's superior car reviews and profitability have intensified the brands' rivalry within the Volkswagen empire. VW now wants to reduce what it sees as Skoda's unfair advantages - combining German technology with cheaper labor - and reaffirm the top-selling brand's primacy ahead of a wave of new electric car launches, the sources said. The tussle between VW and Skoda is reviving tensions at the heart of the Volkswagen group between profits and jobs, and between central control and autonomy for its 12 vehicle brands. "Instead of devoting our efforts to beating Tesla, we may just be setting up a futile internal conflict," said one manager. Once the butt of jokes, Skoda has blossomed under 26 years of VW group ownership into a successful mid-market carmaker, steadily winning business from rivals - including VW - and surpassing even Audi's operating profit margin last year. At the same time, VW is facing thousands of job cuts as management moves to trim excess capacity at German factories. Its powerful domestic unions see Skoda's success as both a threat and a potential lifeline. VW workers' representatives are now demanding the transfer of some Skoda production to their underused German plants, a source close to the supervisory board told Reuters. The proposal aims to offset declining output of the VW Passat and aging Golf that could otherwise threaten more jobs. They are also making the case that Skoda should pay higher royalties to use VW's main common vehicle platform. The so-called MQB architecture also underpins mid-sized models from the group's Audi and SEAT brands. Responding to the news, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said he would meet Skoda management and unions to ask for clarification. The government will seek to ensure that VW investment plans are followed through and that "production is not moved outside the country," a statement released by Sobotka's office said. Skoda's main union warned that a production shift could cost as many as 2,000 jobs. VW's works council declined to comment.