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VW and partner SAIC start building $2.5B Audi plant in China

BEIJING — Volkswagen AG's China joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp has started building a $2.5 billion new energy vehicle (NEV) plant in Shanghai, which will make VW's luxury Audi brand cars, a possible first for the venture. The new plant is a key step for Audi to diversify production of its cars in the world's largest car market from its long-standing local partner, China FAW Group Corp. This shift has been delayed amid resistance from local dealers. SAIC Volkswagen said the new plant would have an annual capacity to make 300,000 cars and begin production from 2020. Audi sold 481,387 vehicles in China from January to September this year. The announcement comes the same week Tesla secured a Shanghai location for a Gigafactory battery plant to serve the Chinese market. Audi unveiled the plan to bolster ties with SAIC in late 2016. Earlier this year, the Germany luxury carmaker bought a 1 percent stake in the SAIC Volkswagen venture, paving the way for the joint venture to produce and sell Audi cars. Volkswagen currently gets a larger proportion of the proceeds from the 50-50 tie-up with SAIC than from its 40 percent stake in the venture with FAW. SAIC Volkswagen said in a statement on Friday the plant would cost 17 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) and would make VW and Skoda models as well as Audi cars. It will help VW tap China's fast-growing market for NEVs, a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. ($1 = 6.9314 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Yilei Sun and Adam JourdanRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Audi Volkswagen Skoda Electric Hybrid

Volkswagen Golf R Variant ready to haul ass, stuff

Volkswagen seems to be playing a cruel trick on the American automotive public at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It's displaying its sexy Golf R Variant with no clear intention of actually selling the model here. The hot wagon launches in Europe in the spring, but the automaker makes absolutely no mention of the model's prospects in the US. Hopefully, its appearance in LA at least indicates VW is considering bringing it stateside. The great thing about this wagon is that it has everything that the regular Golf R offers, but there's even more room to carry stuff. The same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine makes 296 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque with a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and 4Motion all-wheel drive. Performance is very close, too, with the Variant R taking 5.1 seconds to get to 62 miles per hour versus the 4.9 seconds the standard R needs to read 60 mph. The two of them also have the same tech goodies like ESC Sport stability control and multiple damping modes. The real advantage to opting for the estate is its ability to carry up to 57.2 cubic feet of cargo in the back. This hot rod wagon would seem to be perfect for the family that needs to haul some extra junk in the trunk, but doesn't want to sacrifice performance. Whether the Variant R makes it to the US remains a mystery, though. Scroll down to read the specs and feel a twinge of jealousy.

Autoblog Minute: VW finds CO2 'irregularities', Takata dropped by automakers, SEMA recap

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle, US regulators hit Takata Corporation with a substantial fine, and we head to Las Vegas for a look at tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle. US regulators issue a significant fine to Takata Corporation. And we take a peek inside tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. The VW diesel emissions scandal, first brought to light in September, gets a new wrinkle, as an internal investigation by the German automaker revealed [00:00:30] irregularities in CO2 emissions that could affect approximately 800,000 vehicles. VW estimates the issue could pose a 2-billion euro economic risk. VW claims that most of the vehicles affected have diesel engines, but industry analysts say a 1.4-liter gas engine is also affected. VW says that fuel consumption figures were set too low during the CO2 certification process. During all of this, sales of some diesel-powered Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models [00:01:00] have been halted. Takata Corporation is back in the news in connection with its deadly airbag scandal. Federal regulators fined Takata $70 million. If the parts supplier does not comply, the fine could balloon to $200 million. Takata was also dropped this week by its biggest customer, Honda. And now, Toyota and Mazda will be following Honda's lead in dropping Takata. We're also hearing that Mitsubishi and Subaru are considering a switch in air-bag inflator suppliers. SEMA 2015 [00:01:30] came and went. We saw offerings from Mopar, like the AWD Challenger concept. Honda unveiled a Ridgeline that it will race at the Baja 1000, which gives us a hint at what future production model could look like. The celebrity presence was also felt in Vegas as it always is. Kid Rock brought a Duramax Diesel Chevy Silverado, and Acura restored and presented Ludacris with his now famous 1993 Acura Legend. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to come back on Saturday for my full recap, [00:02:00] where I'll have some added insight into Hyundai's foray into the luxury sector. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive.