2002 Volkswagen Jetta Tdi Diesel No Reserve Must See on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota holds onto crown of World's Largest Automaker

Although there were hints and allegations that the Volkswagen Group might have taken the global sales crown for 2014, the final tally puts Toyota at the top with 10.23 million sales in 2014. We should really say it keeps Toyota at the top, since that makes three years in a row the Japanese company has been No. 1. Volkswagen Group came in second with 10.14 million units sold, General Motors in third with 9.92 million units sold. This the first time for both Toyota and Volkswagen to pass 10 million sales in a single year. Toyota, including its Hino and Daihatsu divisions, did it with a three-percent increase in company-wide sales on the back of strong demand in Japan and the US. Its strength in developed markets might be the reason it loses the title this year, though; Toyota forecasts a two-percent gain in sales outside of Japan, but a nine-percent drop in its home market because of a new consumption tax that encouraged buyers to purchase before the end of last year. On top of that, turmoil in Southeast Asian economies like Thailand and Indonesia depressed sales in 2014 and they're facing more headwinds. The company envisions 10.15 million sales in 2015. Volkswagen, on the other hand, "has a jet engine strapped to its back called 'China,'" where Toyota is out-of-sorts. Volkswagen Group sales fell 2.9 percent in the US last year, while Toyota gained 6.2 percent here. But Volkswagen roped in 3.7 million sales in China, a 12-percent increase. Toyota enjoyed a huge bump of 12.5 percent in China, but that only got it to 1.03 million units, missing its yearly target and leading to trouble with its Chinese dealers over unsold inventory. With Toyota on the Chinese sidelines while Volkswagen guns for No. 1 status and pledges more production capacity in China – sales there are expected to top 25 million units this year – it looks like this could be the year the VW Group takes over the lead. That would be three years ahead of its original target of 2018. An analyst in Japan said Toyota is more focused on "keeping profitability than chasing numbers" – profitability is an issue for VW right now – so Toyota might not be back at the top "for [the] coming years." News Source: Bloomberg, Automotive News - sub. req. Earnings/Financials GM Toyota Volkswagen Car Buying Daihatsu sales volkswagen group

Volkswagen Tiguan arrives with chiseled looks, GTE plug-in model [w/video]

After a long run, Volkswagen has finally retired the first-generation Tiguan crossover in favor of the larger, more chiseled second-generation model. The new compact is longer, wider, and lower than the more upright CUV that came before it. Yet, as we covered in our original post, the new Tig is also over 100 pounds lighter. The bodywork is conservative but handsome; typical of newer VWs. We see plenty of Passat and Touareg in the fascia, which features a three-bar grille that integrates neatly with the slightly canted, rectangular headlights. The beltline looks higher than today's Tiguan, and sits below a more aggressive greenhouse, which is a welcomed change after the soft, crossovery looks of the last-gen model. While VW has only released European powertrain options – there are eight engine options, split evenly between gas and diesel and boasting anywhere from 123 to 237 horsepower – we'll expect a far smaller roster for the US. Look for VW's familiar 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder to feature prominently in both front- and all-wheel-drive models, while we're personally hoping VW will see the light and offer a 2.0-liter TDI Tiguan. Of course, there's more than just gas and diesel for the new Tiggy. The all-new GTE model promises plug-in capability. Expect 31 miles of electric range and 215 system horsepower. There are even solar panels on the roof which could generate up to an extra 600 miles per year of driving range. VOLKSWAGEN REVEALS ALL-NEW EUROPEAN TIGUAN AT THE FRANKFURT INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW Based off the MQB platform, the new European Tiguan revolutionizes the compact SUV • Powerful, authentic SUV design of the new Tiguan was completely reconfigured. • Tiguan is the first Volkswagen Group SUV to be based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB). • Longer, wider, lower – new vehicle architecture enables sportier proportions • Tiguan makes its debut at the IAA in an R-Line version, a classic on-road version and a version with an off-road front end. • Volkswagen is also showing the Tiguan GTE in Frankfurt with a plug-in hybrid drive and 1.9 litre per 100 km fuel consumption. • Newly conceptualised solar roof module for the Tiguan GTE increases its electric driving range. • Front Assist with City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring, active hood, Lane Assist and the Automatic Post-Collision Braking System are fitted as standard.

Audi's Project Artemis woes could delay range of VW Group EVs

Two years ago, Audi's then new CEO Markus Duesmann announced his first big initiative called Project Artemis. The plan's marquee component is "to implement a new lighthouse project for Audi in record time," being "a highly efficient electric car scheduled to be on the road as early as 2024" on a brand new platform that would be shared with Porsche and Bentley. An ex-VW and -Porsche man named Alex Hitzinger, who'd also spent time at Apple working on the tech company's electric car, was brought on board to lead Project Artemis and come up with new ideas. Parent Volkswagen Group said it wanted to become "as agile as in a racing team," removing the bureaucratic molasses and bottlenecks interfering with getting the best product on the road in the best time. However, in any grand venture, failure comes before success. Automobilwoche reports that Artemis is struggling through issues large enough to push the product plans back by years. The issue, as it was with the ID.3 lineup on the eve of that car's launch, is software. Well, that's the latest, largest problem; Artemis has already been through copious struggles before getting to the software bit. Two months after Hitzinger came on, in December 2020, VW raised its EV volume target from 50% to 70% by 2030. That necessitated a rethink of the VW Group's entire platform strategy considering the far greater production scale. Hitzinger only lasted six months in the job, ousted in May 2021, supposedly because Audi believed his ideas were "not suitable for profitable series production" among other reasons. By that time, the pace of software development was already said to be six months behind schedule, with the Car.Software division working on VW.OS 2.0 "not yet running at the speed hoped for." Internal frictions were noteworthy and costly as well. VW's commercial division plant in Hanover was meant to build Artemis vehicles for Audi, Porsche and Bentley, but Automobilwoche reported in January of this year that Porsche paid a ""small three-digit million amount" — like $100 million or so — to get out of the deal mandating its vehicles come from the Hanover facility.    So Audi effectively brought Artemis in-house to lead vehicle development, and Car.Software turned into Cariad to get VW.OS and VW.AC, which stands for Automotive Cloud, to market.  The first Audi vehicle under Project Artemis was planned to arrive by the end of 2024, a production version of the Grandsphere concept.