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Audi's Project Artemis woes could delay range of VW Group EVs

Two years ago, Audi's then new CEO Markus Duesmann announced his first big initiative called Project Artemis. The plan's marquee component is "to implement a new lighthouse project for Audi in record time," being "a highly efficient electric car scheduled to be on the road as early as 2024" on a brand new platform that would be shared with Porsche and Bentley. An ex-VW and -Porsche man named Alex Hitzinger, who'd also spent time at Apple working on the tech company's electric car, was brought on board to lead Project Artemis and come up with new ideas. Parent Volkswagen Group said it wanted to become "as agile as in a racing team," removing the bureaucratic molasses and bottlenecks interfering with getting the best product on the road in the best time. However, in any grand venture, failure comes before success. Automobilwoche reports that Artemis is struggling through issues large enough to push the product plans back by years. The issue, as it was with the ID.3 lineup on the eve of that car's launch, is software. Well, that's the latest, largest problem; Artemis has already been through copious struggles before getting to the software bit. Two months after Hitzinger came on, in December 2020, VW raised its EV volume target from 50% to 70% by 2030. That necessitated a rethink of the VW Group's entire platform strategy considering the far greater production scale. Hitzinger only lasted six months in the job, ousted in May 2021, supposedly because Audi believed his ideas were "not suitable for profitable series production" among other reasons. By that time, the pace of software development was already said to be six months behind schedule, with the Car.Software division working on VW.OS 2.0 "not yet running at the speed hoped for." Internal frictions were noteworthy and costly as well. VW's commercial division plant in Hanover was meant to build Artemis vehicles for Audi, Porsche and Bentley, but Automobilwoche reported in January of this year that Porsche paid a ""small three-digit million amount" — like $100 million or so — to get out of the deal mandating its vehicles come from the Hanover facility.    So Audi effectively brought Artemis in-house to lead vehicle development, and Car.Software turned into Cariad to get VW.OS and VW.AC, which stands for Automotive Cloud, to market.  The first Audi vehicle under Project Artemis was planned to arrive by the end of 2024, a production version of the Grandsphere concept.

J.D. Power study identifies top seats for your tush

File under News your fanny can use: The seating systems in the Ford Escape and Edge, the Audi A3, Chevrolet Cruze, Kia Cadenza, Porsche Cayenne and Toyota Tundra received top marks in a new J.D. Power study on seating and seat belt quality and satisfaction. The J.D. Power 2017 Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study asked more than 77,000 new owners and lessees of 2017 model-year cars and light trucks to rate their vehicle's seats and seat belts within the first 90 days of taking ownership. The survey is broken up into seven vehicle segments and scored on total seat problems per 100 within each segment, with awards presented to the seating system supplier. Canadian auto supplier Magna won three of seven first-place awards for its seating systems in the A3, Escape and Edge. Ireland-based Adient got top marks for its seats in the Cadenza and Cayenne. Lear Corp. won for the Cruze, and Avanzar Interior Technologies scored highest for seats in the Tundra. J.D. Power says its study is intended for automakers and suppliers with quality and satisfaction information to be used in developing and marketing seating systems. "But the results are just as interesting to a consumer audience," the company says. "After all, some drivers spend a considerable amount of time behind the wheel, and it's helpful to know which vehicles offer the most comfortable seats for those long commutes." Ain't that the truth. Ford was the only automaker whose seat systems, both manufactured by Magna, received top honors in two segments: the Escape for mass-market compact SUV and the Edge for mass-market midsize/large SUV. J.D. Power says it used 22 attributes to measure seat quality, three measures of seat belt quality and 12 to measure satisfaction. Awards were presented to the seating suppliers. Related Video: Image Credit: Audi Auto News Design/Style Audi Chevrolet Ford Kia Porsche Toyota Safety JD Power seats

Audi will build E-Tron Quattro in Brussels in 2018

Audi will begin assembly of the production version of the E-Tron Quattro concept crossover in Brussels, Belgium, in 2018, and the company will also build the vehicle's batteries there. Introducing its first electric CUV will be an early step in the German automaker's goal for 20 to 25 percent of US deliveries to be EVs by 2025. The E-Tron Quattro concept previewed the electric crossover's angular styling at the 2015 Frankfurt Show, and Audi was clear that production would start in early 2018. The vehicle should have ample get-up from three electric motors – one in front and two at the back – for a total output of 429 horsepower but brief jolts up to 496 hp. Audi also claimed that the 95-kWh battery could offer over 311 miles of range on the European cycle. The company already signed a deal to use battery cells from LG Chem and Samsung SDI on the final model. Some rumors suggest Audi might call the production version the Q6. The company supports that possibility in its press release by saying: "The sporty SUV will fit between the Audi Q7 and the Audi Q5 in the product portfolio." However, Audi of America president Scott Keogh hinted to Autoblog before the LA Auto Show that it could carry a different name. Audi's development of the E-Tron Quattro is an example of Volkswagen Group's strategy to take EVs more seriously. For example, improved batteries will soon boost the e-Golf's range. Further in the future, Porsche will launch a production version of its Mission E electric sedan around 2020, and VW will reportedly make an electric Phaeton at some point next decade. Related Video: AUDI PRODUCTION NETWORK: READY FOR ELECTRIC MOBILITY Premium manufacturer to produce large series of electric cars in Brussels as of 2018 New models for Martorell (Spain) and Gyor (Hungary) Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: "We are increasing our efficiency and bundling key competencies" January 20, 2016 | Ingolstadt/Brussels/Gyor/Martorell -- Audi is preparing its international production network for the mobility of the future. Large-series production of the first purely electric-driven SUV from Audi will begin at the site in Brussels in 2018. The plant will also produce its own batteries. The company will transfer production of the Audi A1 from Belgium to Martorell in Spain. The Audi Q3, which is currently produced in Spain, will be built in Gyor (Hungary) in the future. The model rotation will benefit all the sites of Audi's global production network.