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Will VW's rumored 186-mile EV battery be enough?

Just as there continues to be a horsepower war in the realm of performance cars, there's an ongoing battle over driving range among electric vehicles. Both the Tesla Model 3 and Chevrolet Bolt are promising around 200 miles for a relatively affordable price in or around 2017. Plus, Nissan is reportedly nearing a 250-mile Leaf for about the same time and Ford might be joining the game, too. Volkswagen might be the latest potential challenger with some extra distance possible from its future EVs. According to Hybrid Cars, Volkswagen Chairman Martin Winterkorn tells Bild in Germany that the company is developing a new generation of battery tech with major gains, and it could reportedly provide a range of around 186 miles. That's more than double the current 83-mile EPA certified range for the e-Golf but falls short of the projections from competitors. Winterkorn didn't indicate exactly when this innovation would be ready for production, though. Especially in recent months, the German automaker is making serious moves towards big advancements in battery tech, and the company's platforms are largely already prepped to become EVs. The entire VW Group is reportedly considering moving to a single, unified lithium-ion cell design, and that switch could cut component costs by as much as 66 percent. In late 2014, the German automotive giant also bought five percent of the US-based startup QuantumScape. That business has claimed a staggering 430-mile range from its fireproof, solid-state lithium batteries, but the proof will need to be seen on the road – and in whatever the competition is able to accomplish whenever a car is finally available.

VW rearranges leadership as brand focuses on electrification

The Volkswagen overhaul continues into next year with a raft of new executive appointments that CEO Mattias Muller says will enable "Faster decision-making and more efficient action." One of the headline moves is Porsche head of design Michael Mauer taking over VW Group design, succeeding Walter de Silva who retired in early November after running the Group's styling bureau since 2007. Among the sheetmetal on Mauer's resume are the Mercedes SLK and SL from the late nineties, the 2007 Porsche Cayenne, the Panamera, and, most recently, the 918 Spyder. He will retain his current role at Porsche in addition to the new responsibilities. Here's hoping some of the excitement seen in the 918 filters its way down to VW's recently mundane offerings. Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn was head of Group R&D from 2000 to 2003, then went to Bentley, then left the company for the German Association of the Automotive Industry in 2012. He has been lured back to his old role in charge of Group R&D, taking over the shoes recently worn by Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, who resigned in early December while still suspended over his involvement in the diesel emissions fiasco. Ralf-Gerhard Willner takes over Group Product and Modular Toolkit Strategy, after leading development vehicle concept divisions at Audi and VW, and being technical director at Italdesign Giugiaro. He will play a huge role as VW evolves and expands its current platform strategy to include purpose-built electric cars and flat batteries. All those bottoms will be in chairs in Q1 of next year. The number of department heads that report directly to Muller has also been cut, giving Muller more time to focus on "overarching issues of the future." VW says that primary among them will be technology issues from EVs to digital integration. Back in October the company hired Thomas Sedran away from Opel as a lead strategist, his job being to figure out how each of those technical departments and the Group's brands navigate the marketplace and those "issues" from now until 2025. The press release below has more. Related Video: Volkswagen Group continues structural and staff realignment- Functions in CEO's area of responsibility reorganized- Muller: "Faster decision-making and more efficient action"Wolfsburg, 17 December 2015 - The Volkswagen Group is becoming more streamlined and speeding up its internal decision-making process. To that end, functions in the area of responsibility headed by CEO Matthias Muller are being restructured.

2023 Cadillac Escalade-V and Honda HR-V | Autoblog Podcast #735

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore and Senior West Coast Editor James Riswick have been driving some interesting vehicles, including the Cadillac Escalade-V, VW Jetta, BMW X3 and the new Honda HR-V. They also compare the Duramax-powered Chevy Silverado High Country to the 6.2-liter GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder drops in with a dispatch from the first drive of the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, previewing his upcoming review of the brand's first EV. Finally, they open the mailbag and help a reader pick a used car for under $20,000 in the Spend My Money segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #735 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V 2022 Volkswagen Jetta 2022 BMW X3 M40i 2023 Honda HR-V 2022 Chevy Silverado High Country w/Duramax vs. GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate w/6.2-liter Dispatch: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq Spend My Money: Sub-$20k used car Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: