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Volkswagen might cut 40 models across brands to save cash

Volkswagen once set out to pass Toyota and General Motors and become the largest automaker in the world. Following months of fallout from the diesel emissions scandal, the manufacturer is rumored to be dropping around 40 models from its company-wide lineup. According to German business and finance publication Handelsblatt, the Volkswagen Group is looking to slim down and remove a number of low-volume vehicles from various lineups. The company currently sells around 340 models across brands that include Audi, Lamborghini, and Bentley. Volkswagen is refusing to comment, but Handelsblatt claims to have sources within the company. Last week, Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Muller announced a new strategy for the company that includes a major focus on electric vehicles and new technology services. During his announcement, Muller said the company would be cutting a number of models, but at the time no numbers, models, or brands were discussed. Despite comments to the contrary, rumors have persisted since late last year that Volkswagen was looking to sell commercial truck and bus manufacturer MAN. Volkswagen owns truck and bus manufacturer Scania, so even if it dropped MAN, the company would still have a foothold within the bus and truck market. There is also talk of the company selling Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, which Volkswagen acquired via Audi in 2012. The company's image has taken a huge hit in the wake of the diesel scandal. Volkswagen has set aside cash in order to pay fines and may be looking to sell these several subsidiaries and cut low-volume models in order offset the costs. Despite the scandal, the company led worldwide sales in the first quarter of 2016. The same was true in 2015, but sales tanked at the end of the year following the diesel revelations. Related Video: Rumormill Audi Bentley Volkswagen Ducati

'Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020'

Automotive News Europe reports the new Audi manufacturing facility in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico will increase the automaker's production capacity for the Q5 SUV by 150,000 units per year. While the plant will supply every market with the exception of China, most of the production is slated to head to the US.
While speaking with ANE, Audi CEO Rupert Stradler said, "Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020." So far this year, 40 percent of Audi vehicles sold in the US have been light trucks, with the company's sales in that segment jumping by 53 percent. By comparison, Audi passenger car sales have increased by just one percent.
The first Q5 vehicles from the San Hose Chiapa plant will show up on dealer lots in 2016. Audi of America recently received a larger 9,000-unit allocation of Q5 models after seeing sales increase 36 percent through April compared to the same period in 2012.

Audi RS5 gets big turbocharged power and an angry new look

Menace has always been one of the keys to Audi's RS 5 coupe, from the fat wheel arches to the rumbling evocative exhaust note to the brutal straight-line performance. That's not going to change with the new version, but Audi is talking loudly and proudly about how the RS 5 debuts the new RS design language, partly in the hope that people don't labor on the disappearance of its V8 engine. Yes, the all-new RS 5 Coupe uses the same Porsche-engineered biturbo V6 as the Porsche Panamera, and uses it to such effect that it extracts 444 horsepower and 443 pound feet of torque from its 2.9 liters of displacement. Those 443 lb-ft is a full 125 more than the V8 could ever muster, and it's available from 1,900 rpm to 5,000 rpm. That kind of power is sufficient to push the RS 5 to 62 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds on the way to a limited 155-mph top speed (there's an optional 174-mph limiter, too). The all-wheel-drive Quattro RS 5 Coupe doesn't suffer much in performance in the switch from the naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 to the force feeding of a V6, but it remains to be proven whether the sound can be as captivating. The Porsche-sourced engine continues the current trend of "hot vee" engines, situating both of its turbochargers inside the vee-angle of the engine, and combines centrally-mounted direct fuel injectors with a short stroke to boost power and improve economy. The high-compression Miller-cycle motor also lets the RS 5 Coupe pull its consumption down 17 percent to 32 miles per gallon (or 197 grams/km of CO2 emissions) on the European driving cycle. Expect US mileage numbers to be significantly lower. The new RS 5 is also significantly lighter, pulling 132 pounds from the previous V8-powered model's mass, despite all the turbo plumbing, to weigh 3,649 pounds. A BMW M4-style carbon-fiber roof helps keep the weight down. Audi feeds its newfound V6 power through an eight-speed automatic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive, with 60 percent of the drive nominally headed to the rear end. The hard-turning sport differential is an option. Audi's reborn RS 5 rides on five-link suspension systems at both ends to keep suspension bits precisely location and improve ride quality, while sitting 0.8 inches lower than the standard A5 Coupe. It has the usual Audi Sport array of go-faster options for its go-fastest front-engined coupe, including the more aggressive Dynamic Ride Control damping system, carbon-ceramic brakes and sharper steering ratios.