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Volkswagen Group's Vision 2030 strategy could bring revolution to the brands

One would expect a corporate plan called "Vision 2030," looking 11 years ahead through wildly tumultuous times, to involve great change and numerous forks in numerous roads. According to Automobile's breakdown of Volkswagen's path forward, though, the plans contain some lurid potential surprises. The ultimate aim is return on investment, and that means ruthless reorganization of a conglomerate with eight primary car brands, two car sub-brands, and Ducati motorcycles. The first two Vision 2030 cornerstones Automobile mentions are near boilerplate: Production network restructuring, and "streamlining of key technologies." The latter two are the ones that could upend what we know as the Volkswagen Group: focusing on the Group's core brands — meaning Audi, Porsche, and VW — and transitioning to EVs, autonomy, and other mobility solutions. Based on the report, a quote from Audi's CTO referring to the Audi brand could cover how the Group plans to handle all of its brands: "We need to find a sustainable solution for the indefinite transition period until EVs eventually take over." The boutique divisions adjacent to carmaking, Ducati and Italdesign, look likely to be spun off. For the halo car brands — Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini — apparently shareholders want double-digit returns on investment, and the trio doesn't have long to hit the target. One eyebrow raiser is when the report states, "Bugatti is tipped to be gifted to [ex-VW Group Chairman] Ferdinand Piech." Piech fathered the Veyron during his tenure at VW, and it was thought he commissioned the La Voiture Noire, but he's lately stepped so far back from VW that he sold all his shares in the Group. Automobile quoted a senior strategist as saying of money-losing Bentley, "Why invest on a backward-looking enterprise when you can support a trendsetter? A proud history and excellent craftmanship alone don't cut it anymore." We guess no one at Ferrari, McLaren, or even Porsche got that memo. Bentley is reportedly close to being put in time out, and if brand CEO Adrian Hallmark can't right the Crewe ship, the hush-hush Plan B is to prop the Flying B up enough to lure a buyer. As for Lamborghini, caught between two masters at Audi and Porsche, even record-breaking numbers at the Italian supercar maker barely staved off sacrilege. It's said that VW brand CEO Herbert Diess considered putting a 5.0-liter Porsche V8 into the Aventador successor.

Peugeot will prove it doesn't offer cheater diesels

Our diesels are clean, really. That's the message from French automaker PSA/Peugeot-Citroen as it plans to go on the offensive in response to Volkswagen's diesel-emissions scandal. PSA will go out of its way to prove its diesels are as clean as advertised. The company is looking at disclosing "real-world" fuel-economy statistics as soon as next spring and will use an independent entity to vet the numbers, Automotive News Europe says, citing comments that PSA/Peugeot-Citroen financial chief Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon made to reporters this week. Such efforts may be vital, since roughly two-thirds of the vehicles Peugeot-Citroen sells in Europe are powered by a diesel engine. Last month, VW admitted that as many as 11 million of its diesel-powered vehicles were programmed with software designed to cheat emissions-testing systems. The news shook up the industry, especially companies that sell a good chunk of diesels. The EU itself may start instituting "real world" fuel-economy and emissions testing as soon as 2017. French regulators have said they may eliminate diesel-fuel subsidies that currently make diesel fuel cheaper to customers than gas. That adjustment may occur as soon as next year, since it's been pushed up in response to the VW scandal. Peugeot-Citron continues to reiterate that it has never installed software that was designed to cheat emissions-testing systems. Additionally, the automaker was more than a decade ahead of European Union mandates for engine components designed to cut soot emissions, so the company is hoping its track record makes a difference. It wants to be perfectly clear about that. News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Cletus Awreetus/Flickr Green Volkswagen Citroen Peugeot Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal France psa peugeot citroen

VW brands excluded from Wards 10 Best Engines for 2016

You definitely won't be seeing a powerplant from Volkswagen or Audi on the 2016 Ward's 10 Best Engines list. In a serious rebuke against them, WardsAuto is excluding all VW/Audi powertrains for at least this year after the German automakers' ongoing emissions regulations evasions. There's no guarantee of the companies returning for 2017, either. In a story on its website, WardsAuto executive editor Tom Murphy writes that the ban lasts "until we are convinced the culture of deceit has been purged, fines have been paid and regulators are satisfied." That could be a while, the way things are looking. The exclusion knocks three powertrains out of the running for this year's list. As a winner last year, WardsAuto would usually test VW's 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder again for 2016. Plus, it planned to check out the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the Audi A6 and the plug-in hybrid from the A3 Sportback E-Tron. In the story, Murphy finds VW's actions particularly despicable because of what they could be doing to the popularity of diesel passenger cars in this country. "BMW, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler also sell light-duty diesel engines in the US, but their sales outlook suddenly has grown murky, thanks to VW's shenanigans," he writes. So far, Jaguar Land Rover is remaining confident of US consumers continuing to buy diesel models, though. We'll be able to see the real effects of VW and Audi's ban in a few months because the 2016 Ward's 10 Best Engines will be published December 10. With two major automakers out of the running, their rivals will likely greet this as a better chance to make the grade.