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Lamborghini could be sold or spun off from the Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is reportedly considering a sale or stock listing for its high-end Lamborghini brand. The German automaker is looking to fold the Italian supercar brand into a separate legal entity, reports Bloomberg, which cites "people familiar with the matter" who don't want to be identified "because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made." Any of this sound familiar? The goal of spinning off Lamborghini would be to stockpile more cash and other resources for VW's massive planned push into electric vehicles. Back in March, reports circulated that Volkswagen's "Vision 2030" corporate plan might include plans to focus on the brand's core brands — VW, Audi and Porsche. That means the futures of fringe players like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, motorcycle brand Ducati and design firm Italdesign (and note this isn't a comprehensive list of brand's under the expansive VW Group umbrella) are up in the air. VW, according to the report, is targeting a market value of $220 billion, which is a big jump from the brand's current $89 billion valuation. Bloomberg pegged Lamborghini's valuation at around $11 billion back in August, buoyed by sales and profits generated by the introduction of the Urus sport utility vehicle. On the flip side, Lamborghini is currently grappling with how best to update its supercar lineup in the face of ever-increasing emissions regulations.

Piech is back (kinda) at VW

Before the company was rocked by the diesel emissions scandal, you would've thought that the ouster of Ferdinand Piech as chairman of the Volkswagen Supervisory Board in April was the biggest corporate news from the automaker all year. After all, the longtime exec was a towering figure in the German auto industry. He wasn't gone for long, though. In a fascinating article, The Wall Street Journal breaks down how Piech is now wielding influence within the giant corporation yet again. Piech's continued sway has come in part because two people close to him have started running the company. His resignation reportedly came because Piech was supporting Matthias Muller as next group CEO, rather than Martin Winterkorn. Now, Muller has achieved exactly that role. In addition, Hans Dieter Potsch has taken over as supervisory board chairman. He's also the chief financial officer at Porsche SE, the family holding company that controls a vast swath of VW stock. "The Porsche-Piech family will exert more influence over the company in the future," an anonymous person close to the board said to The Wall Street Journal. Piech appears fully aware of his changing fortunes within the company, too. According to the WSJ, he and his wife Ursula arrived at the VW factory's main gates in a red Bentley the day after WInterkorn's resignation. If you find all of these corporate machinations fascinating, then the piece is well worth a read.

VW recalling 2.64M vehicles worldwide over engine, light issues

Volkswagen is staging a massive, worldwide recall that's already grown from 1.68 million to 2.64 million vehicles and covers three different issues across a number of vehicles. We already reported on 61,000 Tiguans getting recalled over lighting issues - that was just in the US. Globally, however, VW will be recalling 800,000 Tiguans, according to Automotive News, with the focus on CUVs built between 2008 and 2011. The issue with the Tiguan relates to a simple fuse swap, so this is rather unremarkable, aside from the sheer number of vehicles being fixed. The real, troubling issues relate to gearboxes and pickups.
239,000 Amarok pickups (pictured right) are being recalled over fuel leaks, while 1.6 million vehicles are being recalled to swap the synthetic oil in dual-clutch transmissions with mineral oil. Now, the transmission issue is one for the global Volkswagen Group to address, not just the VW brand - vehicles from Audi, Škoda and Seat use the same seven-speed DSG and are covered under the recall, as well.
Why the switch from synthetic to mineral oil? Apparently, using the synthetic oil in a DSG and then subjecting it to stop-and-go conditions or heavy loads in a hot and humid climate can lead to electronic malfunctions, according to a Volkswagen press release. The switch, from the sounds of it, is largely a preventative measure.