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VW may make Bentley a subsidiary of Audi

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen plans to make British luxury carmaker Bentley a subsidiary of its Audi division as it seeks economies of scale among its top-end brands, German trade publication Automobilwoche reported. Bentley, for now overseen by the head of VW's Porsche business, Oliver Blume, will from next year be part of Audi, where VW group Chief Executive Herbert Diess believes it has more potential, Automobilwoche cited company sources as saying. Synergies could include using Audi technology for a new Bentley SUV, it added. Volkswagen, which declined to comment on the report, is reviewing the future of its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati motorcycles as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this month that Volkswagen was working on plans to prepare Lamborghini for a stock market listing. Related Video: Audi Bentley Volkswagen

UCS replaces VW's green title with 'dirtiest tailpipe'

When it comes to tailpipe emissions, Volkswagen may have leapfrogged Ford and General Motors. Just not in the right direction. That's what the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is saying in the wake of the German automaker's diesel-emissions scandal. After recalculating what it thinks are the real-world diesel-engine tailpipe emissions levels now that we know about VW's "defeat devices," the UCS says the actual diesel emissions would cause the company's total fleet to worsen its environmental impact by about 25 percent. The VW diesels alone, which account for just 0.7 percent of new-vehicle sales, would most likely make up eight percent of total light-duty-vehicle tailpipe emissions, UCS says. Prior to the scandal, the UCS had VW tied with Toyota and Nissan for the third-cleanest fleet, behind Hyundai/Kia and Honda. The recalculated VW has been downgraded to Chrysler territory, which is, in effect, the bottom of the heap when it comes to tailpipe emissions. The UCS adds that the current VW diesels spew out the amount of emissions similar to a typical 2005 vehicle. So much for moving forward. You can read UCS' rather scathing synopsis here. UCS isn't the first entity to bump down Volkswagen's green-car credentials after the discovery that its diesels might be emitting as much as 40 times the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions during typical driving than official test results said they did, and isn't likely to be the last. In September, Green Car Journal stripped the 2009 VW Jetta TDI and 2010 Audi A3 TDI diesels of their Green Car Of The Year Awards. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) also removed VW diesel vehicles off of its "Green Scores" list last month.

Volkswagen, Bosch reach diesel settlement worth $1.6 billion

Volkswagen Group of America and automotive parts maker Bosch reached a settlement in which the two companies will pay a combined $1.6 billion because of their roles in the automaker's diesel-emissions scandal. VW, Europe's largest automaker, will pay about $1.2 billion to either repair or buy back vehicles. Bosch said separately that it will pay more than $300 million to owners of diesel-powered Volkswagens, Audis, and Porsches. The settlement stems from emissions issues related to about 78,000 VW-made cars and SUVs with 3.0-liter V6 diesel engines that were sold in North America. VW will recall and repair about 58,000 vehicles made for the 2013-through-2016 model years. The company will also buy back, offer a trade-in credit, or terminate the leases for about 20,000 cars for the model years 2009 through 2012. The older impacted models are the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7, while the newer ones are the Touareg and Q7 as well as Audi's A6, A7, A8, A8L, and Q5 models, and finally the Porsche Cayenne Diesel. Previous reports estimated the payout at closer to $1 billion. The US settlement follows one reached last year between VW and US regulators in regards to VW's 2.0-liter diesel engines. That settlement was estimated to cost VW about $15 billion and impacted owners of about 500,000 vehicles. VW has had a stop-sale on its diesel vehicles in the US since late 2015 after it was discovered that VW installed software in its diesels that allowed those vehicles to cheat emissions-testing systems. VW on Wednesday also reiterated that it would contribute $225 million towards environmental-remediation efforts in the US. Volkswagen of America CEO Hinrich J. Woebcken, in Wednesday's statement, said that "we will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders and thank our customers and dealers for their continued patience as this process moves forward." Related Video: News Source: Volkswagen via Automotive News-sub.req.Image Credit: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters Government/Legal Green Audi Porsche Volkswagen AutoblogGreen Exclusive Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal scandal settlement