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VW to announce $1B investment in Mexico plant

Big news south of the border could be slated for later this week, as Automotive News is reporting that the Volkswagen Group will announce a $1-billion investment in the company's Puebla factory. The company officially declined to comment, but AN is claiming the investment in the Puebla facility, which has been operating for over five decades, will add 1,900 jobs to the nearly 16,000-strong workforce. According to AN, a person familiar with the situation in Puebla claims the investment will support production of the next-generation Tiguan, slated to arrive in 2017. The Puebla factory currently produces Golf, while total output last year nearly hit half a million vehicles, or about 15 percent of Mexico's total automotive output. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Susana Gonzalez / Newsmakers/ Getty Plants/Manufacturing Volkswagen Mexico vw tiguan puebla

Audi CEO's Dieselgate arrest threatens fragile truce among VW stakeholders

FRANKFURT — The arrest and detention of Audi's chief executive forces Volkswagen Group's competing stakeholders to renegotiate the delicate balance of power that has helped keep Audi CEO Rupert Stadler in office. Volkswagen's directors are discussing how to run Audi, its most profitable division, following the arrest of the brand's long-time boss on Monday as part of Germany's investigations into the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal. The supervisory board of Audi, meanwhile, has suspended Stadler and appointed Dutchman Bram Schot as an interim replacement, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Schot joined the Volkswagen Group in 2011 after having worked as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia. He has been Audi's board member for sales and marketing since last September. The discussions risk reigniting tensions among VW's controlling Piech and Porsche families, its powerful labor representatives and its home region of Lower Saxony. VW has insisted the development of illegal software, also known as "defeat devices," installed in millions of cars was the work of low-level employees, and that no management board members were involved. U.S. prosecutors have challenged this by indicting VW's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Stadler's arrest raises further questions. Audi and VW said on Monday that Stadler was presumed innocent unless proved otherwise. Munich prosecutors detained Stadler to prevent him from obstructing a probe into Audi's emissions cheating, they said on Monday. Stadler is being investigated for suspected fraud and false advertising. Here are the main factors deciding the fate of Audi. Background: Audi's role in Dieselgate Volkswagen Group was plunged into crisis in 2015 after U.S. regulators found Europe's biggest carmaker had equipped cars with software to cheat emissions tests on diesel engines. The technique of using software to detect a pollution test procedure, and to increase the effectiveness of emissions filters to mask pollution levels only during tests, was first developed at Audi. "In designing the defeat device, VW engineers borrowed the original concept of the dual-mode, emissions cycle-beating software from Audi," VW said in its plea agreement with U.S. authorities in January 2017, in which the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators.

U.S. opens probe into whether VW vehicles infringe Jaguar Land Rover patents

WASHINGTON — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said on Monday it is opening in investigation into whether Volkswagen AG infringed on patents held by Jaguar Land Rover for a system used for off-road driving. In November, Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of Tata Motors, filed a complaint with the ITC seeking to prevent the import of some VW Porsche, Lamborghini and Audi models with "certain vehicle control systems" that allegedly infringe on it patents held for its Terrain Response system. The models include the Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne and AudiÂ’s Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad, and E-Tron vehicles and the VW Tiguan. The ITC said it has made no decision on the merits. VW said in a statement it was examining the action and determining its next steps. "We will of course cooperate with investigating authorities. While we cannot comment on any details of the proceedings, we strongly believe that the claims have no merit and will robustly defend our position," VW said. Many automakers offer a suite of off-road powertrain controls, but JLR claims Volkswagen's tech is more than just similar.  Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said the vehicles "have used JLRÂ’s patented inventions without payment or permission" notably a patent for an "improved system for driving a vehicle on different driving surfaces, in particular off-road." JLR says its Terrain Response technology uses the patented technology to maximize performance on off-road driving surfaces, including grass, snow, mud, sand and rocks.