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Volkswagen posts quarterly profit despite drop in sales

Volkswagen returned to profit in the third quarter as surging Chinese demand for luxury cars helped offset a 1.1% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the pandemic, sending its shares as much as 3% higher on Thursday. The German automaker's return to the black comes amid spiking coronavirus cases in Europe that led governments in France and Germany to order their countries back into strict national lockdowns on Wednesday. "The coronavirus remains a central problem," Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said in a conference call with reporters. "This situation now is anything but relaxed." But Witter said the group expected the economic recovery to continue and did "not anticipate any nationwide lockdowns in larger markets." Witter said the takeover of U.S. truck maker Navistar International by Volkswagen's trucking unit Traton was an important acquisition, but the "current economic climate will not make this easy." Volkswagen reiterated it expects to post a profit for the full year, saying its business "recovered noticeably" in the third quarter as sales in China of premium vehicles, including Audi and Porsche sports cars, rose 3%. The quarterly performance was also aided by a series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year. Volkswagen said its net liquidity rose to 24.8 billion euros from 18.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Excluding one-time items, third-quarter operating profit was 3.2 billion euros ($3.8 billion), down from 4.8 billion euros a year earlier, but up from a second quarter loss of 1.7 billion. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois described the results as a "solid performance with strong cash, but relatively muted in the context of the (auto) sector recovery." Last week, German rival Daimler reported a record 24% jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars, boosting its margins in the third quarter. Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group both also posted solid results this week. Witter said Volkswagen could not say for sure whether it would meet EU CO2 emissions targets this year, adding "it will be a tough race." At 1030 GMT, Volkswagen shares were up 2.9% at 129.20 euros. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Porsche Volkswagen

In case you forgot, the Dubai Police supercar fleet is the coolest

Ever wonder why the Dubai Police have a fleet of vehicles worth millions and millions and millions of dollars? Why it has a Bugatti Veyron and a Bentley Continental and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with sirens and light bars? Well, here's the reason. This video shows the fleet on display on the Emirate's roads and highways, while also reaching out to the people the police are meant to protect. It's an impressive display of machinery, to be sure. Alongside the Bentley, Bugatti and Mercedes, we spy a Ferrari FF, a Brabus G-Wagen, a BMW M6, a Nissan GT-R, an Audi R8 and a McLaren MP4-12C (although the latest Dubai Police car, the Lexus RC F, is absent). The video even has a very cinematic look and feel to it, which works well with the night scenes and the blues-and-twos of the exotics cruisers. News Source: Dubai Police via YouTube Audi Bentley BMW Bugatti Ferrari McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Luxury Performance Videos dubai ferrari ff mclaren 12c

Bugatti targeting two-second 0-62 mph time, 14 mpg for Chiron

Car magazine has put a couple more outrageous numbers to the automobile expected to be called the Bugatti Chiron in honor of Monegasque racing driver Louis Chiron. We've already been looking forward to a 25-percent jump in output to 1,500 horsepower compared to the final-run Vitesse coupes; Car says that the torque target is 1,106 pound-feet, which would be unchanged from the last Veyron models. Those numbers will put indisputable distance between the Chiron and the trio of supercars that have surrounded it. They could also allow the Chiron to do the 0-100 km/hr run - note, 62 mph, not 60 mph - in 2.0 seconds. That would be four-tenths of a second under the Vitesse models, and would put the Bugatti more than 0.6 seconds ahead of the McLaren P1, more than 0.5 seconds ahead of the Porsche 918 with the Weissach Package, and more than 0.5 seconds ahead of the Ferrari LaFerrari. There has been talk about "lighter weight" and "more nimble handling," but sticking with the basic Veyron form, even when 92 percent of the components are said to be new or revised, means we shouldn't expect miracles. But big changes are being made to make the Chiron kinder in urban environments, and that will include gas mileage. Our own EPA gave the Veyron a rating of 10 miles per gallon combined, Car says the Chiron is going after 14 mpg with those electric turbos as well as regular old luxury car tech like cylinder deactivation and economy car tech like direct injection. We wonder if the recent departure of Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech, father of the Veyron, will end up making more changes to the car; he was the one who delayed its arrival to next year because he wanted more done to it. At the moment, we're apparently looking at a kinder, gentler Bugatti that will slay everything - in a straight line, at least.