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Ex-Fiat exec: VW diesel scandal will hurt plug-in hybrids

It doesn't sound right at first blush, but former Fiat executive and noted diesel-powertrain expert Rinaldo Rinolfi thinks that plug-in hybrid sales may be more impacted by the VW diesel-emissions scandal than diesel sales. Rinolfi, who worked for Fiat for 40 years, told Automotive News Europe, said that the Euro 6 emissions rules that went into effect in 2015 have already increased diesel-engine production costs enough to raise prices and ultimately flatten demand. By the end of the decade, diesel-vehicle sales will settle in at a 40-percent market share of new European vehicles, and that was going to happen with or without the scandal. "Every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions." - Rinaldo Rinolfi Makers of plug-in hybrids have more to lose, though, because every PHEV maker has figured out a way to keep emissions figures artificially low, Rinolfi said. Under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standards, PHEVs can be tested part of the time with the electric motor in action, meaning emissions get driven down to 30 percent to 40 percent less than real-world figures. With the VW scandal pushing regulators to use real-world figures, those PHEV emissions numbers are expected to rise substantially. To a lesser extent, hybrid emissions figures are also tested as artificially low. "Over the years, even without defeat devices, every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions the customer experiences," Rinolfi said in the Automotive News Europe interview. Rinolfi is a little sunnier about compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, estimating that CNG emissions are as much as 25 percent lower compared to conventional vehicles. As for battery-electrics, he's not so optimistic, estimating that there needs to be at least a tenfold improvement in energy efficiency for EVs to be truly competitive with conventional vehicles. "I've been waiting for a true breakthrough for the past 25 years, but I've not seen it yet," Rinolfi said about EVs in the Automotive News Europe interview. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters Green Fiat Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles Electric Hybrid diesel emissions scandal nedc

VW takes world sales crown from Toyota for first half of 2015

Despite uncertainty in major markets like Russia and China, Volkswagen is wearing the global sales crown for the first half of the year to overtake Toyota. Through the first six months of 2015, VW sold 5.04 million vehicles, which only narrowly beat its Japanese rival's 5.02 million, Reuters reports. The half-year trophy also placed the German brand one step closer to the goal of being the world's largest automaker. VW can't just cruise through the second half of 2015 to continue wearing the crown, though. The company is a major player in China, and that might start to be a disadvantage soon. Auto demand there is expected to be weak for the rest of the year, which could mean dire effects for companies around the world. According to Reuters, the Western European market shows few signs of a sudden surge, either. To turn things around, VW is working on a massive realignment to be more responsive by organizing its 12 brands under four separate holding companies. One factor in VW's favor is that Toyota is facing its own sales struggles across the globe. In the last fiscal year, the Japanese automaker had growing profits but actual volume was down. At the time, the company predicted a drop to 8.9 million vehicles for the current fiscal period. According to Reuters, Toyota has had problems growing in emerging markets and dealing with higher taxes on small vehicles in Japan. For all of 2014, Toyota held the sales trophy with 10.23 million sales, and VW was in second place with 10.14 million. General Motors came in third with 9.92 million. The year was the first time that VW or Toyota had ever surpassed 10 million vehicles over the stretch of a calendar. Related Video:

VW lawyers up with firm that defended BP

The string of bad news for Volkswagen shows no sign of slowing yet, especially with the recent resignation of CEO Martin Winterkorn. For aid in its legal defense in the US over its ongoing diesel emissions scandal, the automaker has now employed Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which was the same law firm BP used for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to Automotive News. VW is surely hoping that things go easier for it than BP. After the massive oil spill, the company paid $4 billion to settle criminal allegations and another $18.7 billion for the other federal and state claims, Automotive News reports. We'll see. Based on fines for each of the 482,000 diesel vehicles with this evasive software in the US, VW could be on the hook for $18 billion from this lapse. In addition, 11 million units are potentially affected across the globe, and the company is already setting aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.25 billion) in expected costs. The automaker's stock on the German exchange is being hit hard by this scandal. The original discovery of high pollution levels in VW's 2.0-liter TDI engine began with researchers last summer, and the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board had been working on the problem for months before the EPA issued its notice of violation on September 18. A criminal investigation has now begun. The day before his resignation, Winterkorn issued a video where he apologized profusely for the scandal and promised to make things right.