Bang & Olufsen Sound / Led Headlamps / Sport Package / Driver Assist / Htd Seats on 2040-cars

Auto blog

VW and partner SAIC start building $2.5B Audi plant in China

BEIJING — Volkswagen AG's China joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp has started building a $2.5 billion new energy vehicle (NEV) plant in Shanghai, which will make VW's luxury Audi brand cars, a possible first for the venture. The new plant is a key step for Audi to diversify production of its cars in the world's largest car market from its long-standing local partner, China FAW Group Corp. This shift has been delayed amid resistance from local dealers. SAIC Volkswagen said the new plant would have an annual capacity to make 300,000 cars and begin production from 2020. Audi sold 481,387 vehicles in China from January to September this year. The announcement comes the same week Tesla secured a Shanghai location for a Gigafactory battery plant to serve the Chinese market. Audi unveiled the plan to bolster ties with SAIC in late 2016. Earlier this year, the Germany luxury carmaker bought a 1 percent stake in the SAIC Volkswagen venture, paving the way for the joint venture to produce and sell Audi cars. Volkswagen currently gets a larger proportion of the proceeds from the 50-50 tie-up with SAIC than from its 40 percent stake in the venture with FAW. SAIC Volkswagen said in a statement on Friday the plant would cost 17 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) and would make VW and Skoda models as well as Audi cars. It will help VW tap China's fast-growing market for NEVs, a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. ($1 = 6.9314 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Yilei Sun and Adam JourdanRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Audi Volkswagen Skoda Electric Hybrid

Woman wins Audi R8 Spyder on The Price Is Right, goes bananas

Of course, we love to tune into The Price Is Right to see average Americans spin the big wheel, play a round of Plinko or Cliff Hangers, and participate in the gladiatorial Showcase Showdown. But there is one reason, and one reason alone that the daytime game show has captivated us since its inception in 1972... 'A new car!!!'
Back in November, the show held a Dream Car Week that saw contestants get the chance to win whips like a Porsche 911 and a BMW 6 Series, amongst others. It must have been pretty successful, as the PIR team is back at it, this time giving away an Audi R8 Spyder with a sticker price of $157,300. That makes it the single most-expensive item given away in the show's history.
The R8's new owner, Sheree Heil, may not fit the image of a typical R8 driver - we anticipate she'll learn which side of the car to drive on after the show is over ­- but she is clearly tickled pink with her big win. Check out the insanity below.

Honda China struggling with high-end Accord because Chinese covet German cars, too

It's not particularly unusual to see cheap cars in China, or those with designs stolen from foreign competitors, but increasingly the best-selling vehicles there would be very recognizable to just about any auto enthusiast. There appears to be one fact of life whether looking at car buyers in Sacramento, Stuttgart or Shanghai: People who can afford to buy premium cars often look first at the Germans.
Honda recently thought that it could challenge this perceived wisdom by including a premium Accord in the ninth-generation sedan's Chinese launch last year. The market-exclusive version was priced against the Audi A4. The venture failed, miserably.
According to Automotive News China, sales for the new Accord in China are down 37 percent through May of this year. Honda's overall sales are actually up by about 11 percent there on the strength of smaller, less profitable models. However, the company is still off its forecast 19-percent rise.