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Audi CEO says brand's EVs are almost as profitable as its other cars

After, oh, a hundred years or so of building vehicles primarily powered by internal combustion engines, automakers around the world have been and still are pumping billions of dollars into the development of electric vehicle technology. Everything from platforms and batteries to motors and the software to control it all requires untold hours of development, and that takes time and money. Fortunately, it's not going to take long for that massive investment to start paying off, at least according to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, who told Reuters in an interview that "The point where we earn as much money with electric cars as with combustion engine cars is now, or ... next year, 2023. They are very even now, the prices." As a brand, Audi contributed more than a quarter of overall profit for the massive Volkswagen Group, which has such powerhouse brands as Volkswagen and Porsche among others. Under the Audi umbrella are Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati, and it seems those high-end branches aren't going anywhere, at least for now. "These brands ... are very valuable very profitable brands, where we can even expand the synergy level in the future," Duesmann said in the interview. "There are no plans whatsoever to get rid of them." Despite the overall profitability of the brand, the ongoing global chip crisis is causing headaches. "We had a very strong first half in 2021. We do expect a much weaker second half," said Duesmann, who added, "We really have trouble." In fact, so serious is the trouble that the brand is forced into "a day-to-day troubleshooting process" to limit the chip-shortage damage. The good news for the automaker is that Audi has been able to boost its profit margin from 8% prior to the pandemic in 2019 to 10.7% in the first half of 2021. The bad news is that various chip shortages aren't expected to get a whole lot better over the rest of the year. Related video:

France may scrap diesel fuel subsidies in wake of VW scandal

Now that a particular German automaker has sneezed, it appears that French automotive subsidies will catch a cold. Count France among the growing legion of countries not happy about Volkswagen's admission that some of its diesel vehicles contain software that will artificially reduce emissions levels during testing. As a result, the French government is talking about reducing or eliminating diesel subsidies that make diesel fuel about 15 cents per liter (roughly 89 cents a gallon) cheaper than gas. The change would tax gas and diesel at the same rate. France may end the diesel tax credits as soon as the next fiscal year, Bloomberg News says, citing comments from French Environment Minister Segolene Royal this week. About two-thirds of the cars on France's roads are diesel, according to the CCFA, the French automaker association. In fact, diesels accounted for more than half of the new light-duty vehicles sold in Europe last year. That may drop to 35 percent by 2022 in part because of the scandal, according to automotive consultant LMC Automotive. Things could change even more France is considering letting more vehicles qualify for the 10,000-euro incentive for switching from old diesels to new plug-in vehicles. Last month, VW said that its cheater software might be installed in as many as 11 million vehicles, forcing the German automaker to set aside $7.3 billion to address the fallout from the scandal. Among other issues, VW and its Audi division were stripped of its Green Car of the Year Awards for the first time in the history of the awards bestowed by Green Car Journal. The scandal also forced Martin Winterkorn to resign as VW's CEO last month after eight years on the job and is delaying a number of the automaker's upcoming projects. Related Videos: News Source: Bloomberg NewsImage Credit: Mic V./Flickr Government/Legal Green Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal France subsidies

2023 Chicago Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery: See all the new cars from the show

The 2023 Chicago Auto Show played host to a number of reveals this year, and we were there to capture all of them. In traditional auto show fashion, that means you’re getting a mega gallery of galleries to flip through and see all the vehicles on the show floor. Our EditorsÂ’ Picks from the show are already out — spoiler alert, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander took home the prize. That said, there were other important reveals like the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport and the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. We also learned some interesting tidbits, such as the fact that VW is considering a pickup, and Jeep owners really are plugging in. To see the photos, scroll on down and start flipping through those galleries.   2024 Toyota Grand Highlander 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander View 7 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas 2024 Volkswagen Atlas View 14 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport View 7 Photos 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with its carbon fiber wheels 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with carbon fiber wheels View 7 Photos 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray View 10 Photos Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions View 3 Photos 2023 BMW XM 2023 BMW XM View 6 Photos Ram Revolution Concept Ram Revolution Concept View 6 Photos NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car — Toyota Camry NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car ? Toyota Camry View 4 Photos Everything else at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 View 12 Photos Related video: Chicago Auto Show BMW Buick Chevrolet Ford GM GMC Hummer Jeep Lamborghini RAM Toyota Volkswagen Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars Sedan