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Renault to name VW manager Luca De Meo as CEO

PARIS — Renault's board is set to meet later on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Luca de Meo, the former head of Volkswagen's Seat brand, as its next chief executive, two sources familiar with the matter said. The Italian-born executive, who stepped down from Seat earlier this month, is not due to take up his post at the French carmaker until towards July, due to negotiations around his contract, according to one of the sources. Renault declined to comment. De Meo is not expected to face any last minute hurdles in his nomination, and has already won tacit backing from parties including the French government, a Renault shareholder. His appointment fills one of the major gaps left at the firm as it tries to move past a year of turmoil following the 2018 arrest in Tokyo of former boss-turned-fugitive Carlos Ghosn, and reset its strained alliance with Japan's Nissan. Ghosn, who forged and oversaw the Renault-Nissan partnership for almost two decades, has since fled Japan and resettled in Lebanon, from where he has contested the financial misconduct charges against him and said the alliance was at risk of collapse. De Meo, along with Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, brought in last January from tire maker Michelin, will have his work cut out to turn around the firm. Like rivals, Renault is grappling with a downturn in demand, and has said it expects a slight decline in the car market in Europe, Russia and China this year. The firm has also presented 2020 as a make-or-break year for the alliance with Nissan and is under pressure to deliver on cost savings and joint projects. Automakers face pressure to meet stringent new emissions targets with less polluting models, and are also competing to produce innovations such as self-driving cars, which require large investments. De Meo, who speaks French, will be one of a growing handful of outsiders in senior company jobs in France. The 52-year-old started his career at Renault and has worked at Fiat and Audi among other brands. He is credited with revitalizing sales at Barcelona-based Seat, imbuing it with a more sporty image, though his portfolio will be markedly larger at Renault, whose brands include Dacia and Lada. Renault's finance chief Clotilde Delbos has been CEO on an interim basis since last October, when Thierry Bollore, a former Ghosn ally, was ousted by the board. Related Video:     Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Rumormill Volkswagen Renault

VW reaches out to diesel consumers with new website

Volkswagen is starting to get details out to the public about its diesel emissions evasions in the US, and the automaker now has a dedicated website for consumers. The first thing that visitors see is an apology video from Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn. The site also details all of the VW TDI's currently known to be affected here, including the 2009-2015 Jetta, 2009-2014 Jetta SportWagen, 2010-2015 Golf, 2015 Golf SportWagen, 2012-2015 Beetle and Beetle convertible, and 2012-2015 Passat. Although, the Audi A3 should be on there, too. The company repeatedly reassures owners that these vehicles are safe to drive and promises it's developing a fix as quickly as possible to make them emissions compliant. On the site's FAQ, VW also clarifies that there's still a stop-sale on all of these models with the 2.0-liter TDI, including certified pre-owned ones. That could change soon because the automaker believes that the 2016 model year examples are legal, but the Environmental Protection Agency needs to sign off before they could go to dealers. Until the diesels can be sold, there also won't be any TDI advertising by VW. "We are working at full speed on a technical solution that we will present to partners, to our customers and to the public as swiftly as possible," Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen passenger car division, says in a statement. He also offers an improved accounting of the number of vehicles affected. VW had previously said that there were 11 million with the emissions evading software worldwide. According to Diess, around five million of these came from the VW brand. Audi has said there about 2.1 million of its models affected globally with between 13,000 and 14,000 in America. DR. HERBERT DIESS, CEO OF THE VOLKSWAGEN PASSENGER CARS BRAND, EXPLAINS: "WE ARE WORKING AT FULL SPEED ON A SOLUTION." Wolfsburg, September 25, 2015 – In the press release dated September 22, 2015, the Volkswagen Group announced that Volkswagen Group vehicles worldwide are affected by the current issues regarding emissions. The internal evaluation revealed that approximately five million Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand vehicles are affected worldwide. Certain models and model years of these vehicles (such as the sixth generation Volkswagen Golf, the seventh generation Volkswagen Passat and the first generation Volkswagen Tiguan) are equipped exclusively with type EA 189 diesel engines.

Only VW, Volvo are doing enough to electrify in Europe, study says

Among major carmakers, Volkswagen and Volvo are doing enough to electrify their vehicle lineups in Europe, and the EU needs to set tougher CO2 emission limits if it wants to meet Green Deal targets, according to a climate group's study. Sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids almost tripled last year, boosted by tighter emission standards and government subsidies. This summer, the European Union is expected to announce more ambitious CO2 targets; by 2030, the average CO2 emissions of new cars should be 50% below 2021 levels, versus the existing target of 37.5%. Volkswagen aims to have 55% group-wide BEV sales in Europe by 2030, while Swedish carmaker Volvo, owned by China's Geely says its lineup will be fully electric by then. VW ID4 front three quarter dark View 19 Photos Based on IHS Markit car production forecasts, according to the study from European campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E), Volkswagen and Volvo have "aggressive and credible strategies" to shift from fossil-fuel cars to electric vehicles. Others like Ford Motor Co have set ambitious targets, "but lack a robust plan to get there," T&E said. Ford plans an all-electric lineup in Europe by 2030. T&E said BMW, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Daimler AG and Toyota rank the worst as they have low BEV sales, have "no ambitious phase-out targets, no clear industrial strategy, and an over-reliance in the case of BMW, Daimler and Toyota on hybrids." JLR, owned by India's Tata Motors, says its luxury Jaguar brand will be all-electric by 2025, but has been less specific about electrification of its higher-volume Land Rover brand. BMW and Daimler have been reluctant to set hard deadlines for phasing out fossil-fuel cars. T&E said even if carmakers meet their targets, in 2030 BEV sales could be 10 percentage points below those needed to meet the EU's Green Deal — which targets net zero emissions by 2050. Rather than a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, based on carmakers' existing production plans, the EU could set more ambitious targets, T&E said - an up to 35% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2025, around 50% by 2027 and up to 70% in 2030. "Targets need to be gradually tightened so that carmakers not only commit to phasing out fossil fuels, but develop a strategy that gets them there on time," Julia Poliscanova, T&E senior director for vehicles and e-mobility, said in a statement.