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VW's Skoda says Ukraine partner making wire harnesses again

PRAGUE — Skoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen Group, said on Tuesday its supply partner in Ukraine had decided to restart production of wire harnesses which should allow the Czech carmaker to resume production of its electric ENYAQ iV model. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has added to supply chain problems for global automakers — which were already struggling with semiconductor shortages that have cut production — with a break in deliveries of wire harnesses from the war-torn country. While Skoda, the Czech Republic's biggest exporter, said it expects the supply of semiconductors to improve in the second half of 2022, it said the war in Ukraine and supply bottlenecks will put a significant burden on its operating business. Skoda's 2021 deliveries fell 12.6% year-on-year and earlier this month it stopped production of the ENYAQ because of harness shortages, saying that two other models were at risk because of the lack of availability of the component. "Our partner ... in Ukraine decided to restart production of wire harnesses this week, with full service and full security for workers there," Karsten Schnake, Skoda's board member for purchasing, said during its online 2021 earnings presentation. Wire harnesses form a key part of a car's electrical system, which group and guide cables inside the vehicle. "We decided to double the production in case something is going wrong, and this production will be ramped up in an alternative factory," Schnake said, adding that work there would start in three or four weeks. "Hopefully we can restart production of ENYAQ one or two weeks later when we have wire harnesses," Schnake said. Skoda delivered 878,200 cars worldwide in 2021, the first time that this had fallen below the 1 million mark since 2013. Nevertheless, the VW group brand's sales revenue rose 3.9% to 17.7 billion euros ($19.5 billion) in 2021 and operating profit rose 43.2% to 1.1 billion euros ($1 billion) as it took cost measures. Skoda did not give a financial or production outlook, saying there were still considerable uncertainties as a result of the conflict in Ukraine and the impact on its Russian operations. Skoda, like VW, has suspended production and other business activities in Russia, which was its second-largest market last year, with 90,400 vehicles delivered. ($1 = 0.9089 euros) (Reporting by Jason Hovet, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Alexander Smith) Related video: Green Plants/Manufacturing Volkswagen Skoda Electric ukraine war

BMW, VW partner with ChargePoint for high-speed charging network

To promote their plug-in electric vehicles, a number of electric vehicle makers are working overtime to get a charging infrastructure set up. Tesla is famously setting up a network of Superchargers around the world, and today BMW and VW have announced they are partnering with ChargePoint to install almost 100 DC Fast Chargers up and down the US coasts. Installing additional Level 2 chargers is also part of the plan. The new DC Fast Chargers will offer the SAE Combo connectors, which is available on both the e-Golf and the i3. The fast chargers will have "up to two 50 kW DC Fast chargers, or 24 kW DC Combo Fast chargers," BMW says. They will be installed roughly 50 miles apart between Boston and Washington, DC in the east as well as Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego in the west. The 24-kW DC Fast Chargers will fill up an empty i3 or e-Golf to 80 percent in a half-hour or 3.5-4 hours from the Level 2 cords. Speaking at an announcement ceremony at the Washington Auto Show today, ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano said that infrastructure investments like this will get more people to realize that they can use an electric vehicle as their only car, and Jorg Sommer, VP of product marketing and strategy for VW North America, said that it's clear that, "The EV is perfect for the daily driver." BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint Join Forces to Create Electric Vehicle Express Charging Corridors on the East and West Coasts. · A goal of nearly 100 DC Fast charging ports will be installed to support long distance and metropolitan electric vehicle travel with the BMW i3, Volkswagen e-Golf and other electric cars, along heavily trafficked corridors on both coasts, supported by Level 2 chargers. · These publicly available charging stations will be added to the existing ChargePoint network and can be easily accessed using a ChargePoint® or ChargeNow card. Washington, D.C., January 22, 2015 – At the 2015 Washington Auto Show, two of the top automakers, BMW of North America and Volkswagen of America, together with ChargePoint, the largest electric vehicle charging network, announced an initiative to create express charging corridors along heavily-traveled routes on the East and West Coasts.

Recharge Wrap-up: VW exec predicts EVs with 375-mile range

Volkswagen says EV ranges over 300 miles aren't too far in the future. Plug-in hybrids are merely a bridge to all-electric mobility becoming more practical for people who need to travel longer distances, according to Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Volkswagen's head of powertrain development. Energy density is increasing rapidly in new batteries. Speaking about the e-Golf, Neusser says, "I expect the next generation in 2015-17 will increase to around 300 km [186 miles] and the following step will be around 500-600 km [310-372 miles]." Neusser also says he believes that charging infrastructure will improve to catch up with these more advanced batteries. Read more at Motoring. BMW is offering higher incentives for the all-electric i3 than the range-extended version. More buyers are opting for the i3 REx, with its 78 extra miles of range. So, to move the standard i3 (which is already cheaper), BMW is offering $2,000 in incentives for October - double what is offered for the i3 REx. The added incentives help close the price gap between the BMW and other EVs with similar ranges. The deals won't last long, though. According to New Jersey BMW salesman Manny Antunes, BMW's current incentives are "as aggressive as they're going to get" for a while. Read more at Green Car Reports. Honda is changing its research and development process for all cars after a series of Fit Hybrid recalls. The hybrid version, which makes up more than half of all Fit sales in Japan, was the subject of four recalls within nine months. In response, Honda will change the way it develops cars worldwide, with one extra "gate" to pass in the process. Honda will do prototype testing earlier in the research process to see how separately developed components work together before moving onto the car's development phase. It will add time and cost to making cars, but Honda hopes it will help prevent problems - like those that come with a flurry of recalls - down the road. Read more at Automotive News. Featured Gallery 2015 Honda Fit Hybrid View 16 Photos Related Gallery 2014 Volkswagen e-Golf: Frankfurt 2013 View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos News Source: Motoring, Green Car Reports, Automotive NewsImage Credit: Honda Green Plants/Manufacturing BMW Honda Volkswagen Electric Hybrid recharge wrapup