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Audi planning A9 electric vehicle to challenge Tesla

It looks like we have another "Tesla Fighter" on our hands. Various higher-end automakers have announced plug-in luxury sports sedans that would likely take on the California-based electric-vehicle maker, and Audi now appears to have joined that group. The badge is A9, and it may be available to the public by the end of the decade, UK's Autocar reports. The Audi A9 E-Tron could be a beast. The car will deliver 429 horsepower via three electric motors – two driving the front wheels, one driving the rear. The sedan will be equipped with a 95-kilowatt-hour battery that will enable a 310-mile single-charge range (on the more generous European driving cycle). Lots of parts and features will be shared with the battery-electric SUV Audi is also planning. Where it really gets fun is the prospect of the sedan having "torque vectoring," in which power can be shifted from side to side in order to boost handling. Additionally, the car could have a wireless, inductive charging option as well as an auto-parking feature for positioning over the floor-mounted charging module. No word on how this car will be priced, but we're guessing quite high. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has gone on record saying that the German automaker wants to have three all-electric models available to the public by 2020, though hasn't said anything specific about a high-end battery-electric sedan that would be geared to take on the Tesla Model S. The company did introduce its E-tron Quattro concept last year, though, and Audi has said it aims to have as much as 25 percent of its sales be of the plug-in variety by 2025. There's a chance for that if the A9 e-tron is as enticing as it appears to be. Related Video:

The mood at this year’s Paris Motor Show: Quiet

The Paris Motor Show, held every other year in the early fall, typically kicks off the annual cavalcade of automotive conclaves, one that traverses the globe between autumn and spring, introducing projective, conceptual and production-ready vehicle models to the international automotive press, automotive aficionados and a public hungry for news of our increasingly futuristic mobility enterprise. But this year, at the press preview days for the show, the grounds of the Porte de Versailles convention center felt a bit more sparsely populated than usual. This was not simply a subjective sensation, or one influenced by the center's atypically dispersed assemblage of seven discrete buildings, which tends to spread out the cars and the crowds. There were not only fewer new vehicles being premiered in Paris this year, there were fewer manufacturers there to display them. Major mainstream European OEM stalwarts such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Nissan and Volkswagen chose to sit out Paris this year, as did boutique manufacturers like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. This is not simply based in some antipathy on the part of the German, British and Italian manufacturers toward the French market — though for a variety of historical and societal reasons that market may be more dominated by vehicles produced domestically than others. Rather, it is part of a larger trend in the industry. Last year, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would not be participating in the flagship North American International Auto Show in 2019 — and that it might not return. Other brands including Jaguar/Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Mazda and nearly every exotic carmaker have also departed the Detroit show. Some of these brands will still appear in the city in which the show is taking place, and host an event offsite, to capitalize on the presence of a large number of reporters in attendance. And even brands that do have a presence at the show have shifted their vehicle introductions to the days before the official press opening in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. In many ways, this makes sense. With an expanding number of automakers, with diversification and niche-ification of models and with wholesale shifts that necessitate the introduction of EV or autonomous sub-brands, there is a growing sense that, with everyone shouting at the same time, no one can be heard.

CARB has 20 days to confirm VW's 3.0-liter TDI emission fix

VW's diesel scandal has been in the headlines since last September, but solving the problem it proving difficult. Volkswagen Group has submitted a proposal to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fix about 85,000 vehicles with the 3.0-liter diesel V6 in the US, Reuters reports. CARB now has 20 business days to test if the plan actually reduces emissions. If accepted, VW could finally begin a recall and end the stop sale on vehicles with these engines. In a statement, CARB pledged to, "respond following a thorough and complete review to make sure the plan addresses the presence of the illegal defeat device and follows the necessary environmental, vehicle and public health and safety regulations." Neither CARB nor the EPA outlined the proposed repairs, but Porsche CEO Oliver Blume already suggested the fix for the engine in the diesel Cayenne. Examples from 2013 and 2014 allegedly need a new catalytic converter and software update, and those from 2015 and 2016 only need the improved code. It's not yet clear whether this procedure would work for all models with the 3.0 TDI. While the EPA issued the notice of violation against VW's 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel in September, the first one for the 3.0-liter V6 came in early November. By the end of the month, the agency broadened the scope to about 85,000 vehicles, including some examples of the VW Touareg, Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7, and Porsche Cayenne. The affected companies issued stop sales on new models with the engine. Audi eventually admitted to regulators that it didn't disclose three auxiliary emission control devices in the powerplant's code and promised to develop a software update to fix the problem. CARB gave the automaker 45 business days to submit the proposed solution. If accepted, this repair would allow VW Group to end part of the emissions scandal, but there's no guarantee the regulators consent to this solution. Just a few weeks ago, CARB looked at the automaker's plan to fix the 2.0-liter TDI and rejected it, claiming a lack of detail.