1971 Volkswagen Deluxe Bus Original Sundial Camper on 2040-cars

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VW rearranges leadership as brand focuses on electrification

The Volkswagen overhaul continues into next year with a raft of new executive appointments that CEO Mattias Muller says will enable "Faster decision-making and more efficient action." One of the headline moves is Porsche head of design Michael Mauer taking over VW Group design, succeeding Walter de Silva who retired in early November after running the Group's styling bureau since 2007. Among the sheetmetal on Mauer's resume are the Mercedes SLK and SL from the late nineties, the 2007 Porsche Cayenne, the Panamera, and, most recently, the 918 Spyder. He will retain his current role at Porsche in addition to the new responsibilities. Here's hoping some of the excitement seen in the 918 filters its way down to VW's recently mundane offerings. Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn was head of Group R&D from 2000 to 2003, then went to Bentley, then left the company for the German Association of the Automotive Industry in 2012. He has been lured back to his old role in charge of Group R&D, taking over the shoes recently worn by Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, who resigned in early December while still suspended over his involvement in the diesel emissions fiasco. Ralf-Gerhard Willner takes over Group Product and Modular Toolkit Strategy, after leading development vehicle concept divisions at Audi and VW, and being technical director at Italdesign Giugiaro. He will play a huge role as VW evolves and expands its current platform strategy to include purpose-built electric cars and flat batteries. All those bottoms will be in chairs in Q1 of next year. The number of department heads that report directly to Muller has also been cut, giving Muller more time to focus on "overarching issues of the future." VW says that primary among them will be technology issues from EVs to digital integration. Back in October the company hired Thomas Sedran away from Opel as a lead strategist, his job being to figure out how each of those technical departments and the Group's brands navigate the marketplace and those "issues" from now until 2025. The press release below has more. Related Video: Volkswagen Group continues structural and staff realignment- Functions in CEO's area of responsibility reorganized- Muller: "Faster decision-making and more efficient action"Wolfsburg, 17 December 2015 - The Volkswagen Group is becoming more streamlined and speeding up its internal decision-making process. To that end, functions in the area of responsibility headed by CEO Matthias Muller are being restructured.

Investors storm Volkswagen with $9 billion in lawsuits

Volkswagen's investors are latest group to take up pitchforks against the embattled automaker, and they're seeking $9 billion in damages, Reuters reports. The investor lawsuits were filed in a court in Braunschweig, Germany, near Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters. On Monday, the first business day following the anniversary of the emissions revelations, the court received 750 lawsuits alone. All told, about 1,400 lawsuits have been filed. The largest single claim totals $3.7 billion and was filed more than six months ago. The lawsuits stem from complaints that Volkswagen didn't divulge information on the cheating software to investors quickly enough. Volkswagen has said that it hasn't broken any capital market laws. The $21.5 billion the company set aside to weather the storm may not be enough. The consumer fix is estimated to run the company $14.7 billion, either through buybacks or a fix that still seems unclear. In addition to the lawsuits, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller confirmed that Audi boss Rupert Stadler is under investigation regarding the scandal. Mueller refused to give further details, but this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Audi has admitted that its 3.0-liter V6 was equipped with the same emissions-cheating software as the 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesels. Stefan Knirsch, Audi's head of development, has been suspended as part of the overall investigation. Knirsch took over duties after his predecessor quit. Knisch was previously head of engine development at Audi. Related Video: News Source: Reuters Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Audi Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal

To solve diesel problem, VW might need two fixes

Volkswagen says that a fix is on the way for its 11 million vehicles around the globe that are equipped with diesel engine software that can evade emissions tests. The problem might be far more complicated than simply creating a single solution for all of them, though. According to Automotive News citing Reuters, two remedies to cover different NOx-reducing systems could be necessary, and both potentially affect performance. Earlier examples of the EA 189 diesel engine used a lean NOx trap to reduce the harmful material coming from the tailpipe. According to experts in the Automotive News report, a software update might allow the engines to achieve compliance, but that could affect fuel economy. VW already tried this route once before the scandal came to light, but tests by the California Air Resources Board still showed the figures were too high. Later, some of the 2.0 TDI engines began using Selective Catalytic Reduction that reduced NOx by injecting a urea solution into the exhaust stream. According to Automotive News, a software update for this equipment might increase the amount of the substance used. Not only would that mean topping up the fluid more often, but there still could be some reduction in fuel economy. But, since the 2-liter, 4-cylinder TDI engine that sits inside the diesel vehicles first mentioned as being affected by the issue in the US don't have a urea treatment system, VW would need to install them into these cars. VW still hasn't officially outlined its solution (or solutions) to the emissions issue but is expected to soon. The automaker's long-term evasion of regulations with these diesel engines pumped vast quantities of additional NOx into the air. The substance is known to be linked with smog and acid rain. The US Department of Justice is already beginning an investigation into the company, and politicians are pushing for harsh punishments.