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As VW electrifies, it questions the role of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen needs to change to stay relevant in the electric and digital vehicle era and will announce "important steps" to that end before the close of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Wednesday. "Volkswagen needs to change: From a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering — to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," Diess told shareholders at the company's virtual general meeting. Vehicles need to stay in contact with customers, offer new services and comfort functions on a weekly or even daily basis, he said. "We will take further important steps to set the course for this in the rest of 2020," Diess said. Senior executives told Reuters the company is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play as the company increasingly focuses on electric, digital and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen, which also owns VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, is looking at whether it has the resources to accelerate development of electric platforms for smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars. Asked whether Ducati, which is known for making noisy combustion-engined motorbikes, has an electric future, Markus Duesmann, who oversees research and development for the group, said: "It will not take long until we see an electric Ducati." Whether Ducati, which is a medium-sized premium motorbike brand, would offer an electric variant, depends on whether a bike could offer range comparable to a combustion-engined variant, Duesmann said. Advances are being made in battery technology which could make this possible, he added. Separately Frank Witter, the company's chief financial officer, in response to a question about whether a sale of Lamborghini is planned, said Volkswagen does not comment on speculation about potential divestments. Lamborghini's Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali this week announced his departure from the sports car maker to take on a new job as president of Formula One. VW needs cash Volkswagen is reviewing the future of these three high-performance brands as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

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

VW recognizes second union at Chattanooga plant

The ongoing story of organizing workers at Volkswagen's factory in Chattanooga, TN, continues to get more complicated. Following an independent audit, the automaker has now recognized a second union at the plant called the American Council of Employees. The group was founded there last year to offer an alternative to the United Auto Workers. "I'm not anti-union. I understand that a properly run union can benefit people. We will be that union," Sean Moss, president of the ACE, said to Reuters, according to Automotive News. The group claims to represent at least 15 percent of the workers at the plant. Acceptance of the ACE has led to an interesting situation in Chattanooga because VW also recognized the UAW at the factory in December 2014, and the group has claimed to represent at least 45 percent of workers there. According to Automotive News, each union has access to management, but the UAW has more because of its larger contingent of supporters. However, neither organization has a collective bargaining agreement with the automaker. Moss may have a rough time increasing support among employees at the factory. According to Automotive News, many anti-UAW workers there are completely against unions in general. Getting these folks to join his group isn't an easy task. The UAW has been working to fully represent the VW factory for years. However, the group lost a vote to do so in 2014. It eventually created a union local there to try to build support. All of the effort comes ahead of a $900 million plant expansion to add about 2,000 jobs and build a new crossover in Tennessee. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Erik Schelzig / AP Photo Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Volkswagen chattanooga vw chattanooga chattanooga tennessee ace