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Recharge Wrap-up: Volkswagen Sustainability Council meets, Zee.Aero flying car spotted?

The Volkswagen Sustainability Council held its inaugural meeting in Berlin. Made up of nine international experts, the council will advise VW and take action on its own as it sees fit. In the meeting, the council decided that in 2017 it will focus on tackling CO2 emissions, planning for post-2025 regulations, and assisting the automaker's "transformation from car manufacturer to mobility services provider," as VW Chairman Matthias Muller puts it. Volkswagen has approved 20 million euros (about $21.75 million) in funding for Sustainability Council projects for its first two years. "We are fully aware of the large transformation that lays ahead Volkswagen Group," says George Kell, Sustainability Council Chair and Founding Director of UN Global Compact. "We were invited to be part of this journey and are very much looking forward on being actively involved in the development of this journey." Read more at Green Car Congress, or from Volkswagen. Honda plans to ramp up its share of hybrids sold in the US. In response to increasingly strict emissions standards, the company wants electrified vehicles (including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric, and fuel cell vehicles) to make up two-thirds of Honda and Acura sales in US by 2030. Some analysts are skeptical, though. Christopher Richter of CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets says that dealers are telling Honda they don't want hybrids. "Unless there's a change in what dealers want, I don't think they are going to get there that fast," Richter says. Read more at Automotive News. Witnesses report spotting what could possibly be the Zee.Aero electric aircraft at Hollister Airport in California. Zee.Aero, a startup funded by Google cofounder Larry Page, has a hangar at that airport, where a photo was taken of the aircraft in question. The craft is said to be capable of vertical takeoff and landing and can fit in a one-car garage, earning it the "flying car" moniker. Eyewitness Saul Gomez described the aircraft as "quiet" and "hovering 20, 25 feet off the ground." Read more at Electrek, and watch the interview at Mercury News. Related Gallery 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid: First Drive View 26 Photos News Source: Green Car Congress, Volkswagen, Automotive News, Electrek, Mercury NewsImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Auto News Green Acura Honda Volkswagen Green Automakers Electric Hybrid recharge wrapup

Porsche board members facing another ˆ1.8B lawsuit over VW takeover bid

Back in 2008, Porsche got the bright idea that it could take over Volkswagen in the midst of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. Ignoring that this was a catastrophic move for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer that that eventually resulted in it nearly going bankrupt and eventually being taken over by the same company it sought to control, the aftermath has left Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche and board member Ferdinand Piëch in the crosshairs of seven hedge funds that lost out during the takeover and are now seeking €1.8 billion - $2.43 billion US - in damages from the two execs, according to the BBC.
See, investors bet on Volkswagen's share price going down, partially because Porsche said it wasn't going to attempt a takeover. But Porsche was attempting to take over VW, having bought up nearly 75-percent of VW's publicly traded shares. When word broke that Porsche owned nearly three-quarters of VW (which indicated an imminent takeover attempt), rather than go down like the hedge funds bet it would, VW's share price skyrocketed to over 1,000 euros per share, according to Reuters.
Naturally, when you bet that a company's share price is going to drop and it in turn (temporarily) becomes the world's most valuable company, you lose a lot of money, unless you're able to buy up shares before prices jump too much. This led to a squeeze on the stock, which the hedge funds accuse Porsche and Piëch (who are both members of the Porsche family and supervisory board) of organizing.

TN politicians may push to end VW incentives if plant goes union

Volkswagen's Chattanooga Assembly Plant is scheduled to vote on whether to unionize in the coming days, but Tennessee state lawmakers are threatening to deny future tax subsidies to the factory, if the vote is successful. The factory is currently the only Volkswagen plant worldwide that is not unionized.
The states's Republican lawmakers have been particularly vocal against the union vote. Tennessee state senator Bo Watson said during a press conference that VW would have a "very tough time" with future incentives if the vote were successful, according to Automotive News. Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said the "heavy hand" of the UAW is not welcome there. VW has drawn criticism from both sides because it has allowed both pro- and anti-union groups to speak to workers and hand out leaflets.
Roughly 1,500 factory employees will vote on whether to unionize from February 12-14. If successful, the Chattanooga factory would be the first in the US organized under a German-style works council system where white- and blue-collar workers directly negotiate factory issues with the company's management.