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Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.

Lamborghini plans to reduce carbon emissions by 40% per car

Lamborghini has revealed its latest roadmap to a greener future, and it has a "new ambitious target": Reduce "enterprise emissions" by 40% per car by 2030. That's carbon emissions from across the entire value chain — the SantÂ’Agata Bolognese production plant, the cars, everything. Lamborghini laid out its Direzione Cor Tauri strategy, which displays the companyÂ’s commitment to achieving total carbon neutrality. The strategy started in 2023 with the release of Revuelto hybrid. In 2024, the company plans to launch a hybrid version of the Urus Super SUV and a second HPEV (high performance electric vehicle) that will replace the Huracan. By 2025, Lamborghini states, the carbon emissions of the actual vehicle fleet itself will be lowered by 50%.  Lamborghini also plans to launch its first full-electric model, Lanzador, in 2028 and then a year later will launch a full-electric super SUV. These new cars will help reduce fleet emissions by 80% by 2030. “The electric motor opens up new horizons in terms of dynamics and driving experience. It is the dawn of a new era for super sports cars, in which we are redefining the concept of sportiness, enjoyment and driving dynamics in sustainable terms. Our DNA will always be based on the concept of emotional performance,” said Rouven Mohr, chief technical officer. Stephan Winkelmann, chairman and CEO, said: “Direzione Cor Tauri is our roadmap to electrification of the Lamborghini range and the path to decarbonization, not only of our SantÂ’Agata Bolognese facility, but of the entire value chain: it is a holistic approach to our global environmental sustainability strategy. Within a context of major transformation, everyone needs to contribute to achieving the objectives: this commitment extends not just to every individual and every company, but also to institutions and governments responsible for infrastructures and the transition toward renewables. Our mission, as a globally recognized brand, is to inspire and encourage others to tackle these modern-day challenges. Automobili Lamborghini is proof that a sustainable vision is possible.” Lamborghini started its strategic plan for carbon neutrality in 2015 by making changes across the company. The chief manufacturing office stated the luxury brand sports car company made sure any new buildings had high-energy efficiency certifications, minimized the use of water in the paint shop and helped reduce energy consumption per vehicle by 36% in 2022.

Mexico to auction Lamborghini, other seized assets to help poor

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's government will auction a Lamborghini, homes and other assets seized from gangsters and at least one former politician, officials said on Tuesday, part of a "Robin Hood" program to use millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains to aid the poor. The first auction, set for Sunday, will seek bids for 77 vehicles with a total starting price of around $1.5 million, Ricardo Rodriguez, head of the newly created Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People, said at a news conference. "Before, this worked like a reverse Robin Hood ... taking from the people and giving to the corrupt. Not anymore," Rodriguez said. The proceeds will go to two municipalities in the southern state of Oaxaca, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said are among the poorest in the country. The vehicles up for auction include Porsches, Corvettes, Mercedes-Benzes, a Mustang convertible and a 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago. A 2017 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that recent studies estimated Mexico lost between 5% and 9% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to corruption annually. Since taking office in December, Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has rolled out a string of welfare programs for the poor and the elderly, cut salaries for top civil servants and said he is saving public money by eliminating corruption. He announced plans for a "Robin Hood" institute in April. The Mexican president, who has shunned the often luxurious trappings of the country's wealthy elites and was known to drive through the capital in a modest white Volkswagen Jetta, added that two cars and an ambulance donated by the King of Jordan will go to the National Guard, a new security force. One of the auctions will seek to sell three homes worth at least $7 million, including one with an indoor pool in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood. The money will go towards a youth drug rehabilitation program. Proceeds from another auction of jewelry seized from organized crime groups will go to communities in the mountains of Guerrero state, where many families struggle to eke out a living by growing opium poppies. Not all the assets come from drug lords. Rodriguez said one of the homes up for auction belonged to a former politician. Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon.