2014 Volkswagen Beetle on 2040-cars

Auto blog

European car sales up 8% in February

Three weeks ago an analyst increased projections for European car sales this year, expecting them to climb three percent compared to last year instead of 2.7 percent. That number is a postive sign after years of hard times but it turns out February was especially good, overall European sales climbing eight percent on a wave of southern European recovery and discounts - and this comes after five months of gains including January's 7.2-percent jump over the year before.
The only country of Europe's five largest markets to post a decline was France, just as it did in January, Germany, the UK and Italy posting solid double-digit numbers, Spain rocking the charts with an 18-percent increase because of a government program to encourage trade-ins.
The only brand to miss the wave was Volkswagen, dropping 0.8 percent as it watched the double-digit growth at sister brands Audi, Seat and Skoda lift the Volkswagen Group sales up by seven-percent. Peugeot overcame flat sales at Citroën to improve the group by 3.5 percent, BMW and the Mercedes-Benz/Smart combo rose by four percent, the Fiat group jumped 5.8 percent, Ford was up 11 percent, the Renault Group 11.5 percent, General Motors 12 percent and the Toyota clan by 14 percent.

Vahland leaving VW over dispute on how to run NA region

On November 1, Winfried Vahland was supposed to take over Volkswagen Group's recently created North American region that combines Canada, the US, and Mexico. But the longtime exec has instead decided to leave the automaker after a dispute over how to manage the new combined region. Vahland is currently the boss at Skoda, and in a statement about his departure the Czech company said: "Differing views on the organization of the new Group region have led to this decision; this decision is expressly not related to current events on the issue of diesel engines." Vahland is leaving at his own request, the announcement says. Vahland was appointed to run to North American region during VW's massive corporate shakeup on September 25. The decision was part of the automaker's plan to put a greater emphasis on regions and brands, rather than on centralized authority. According to Automotive News Europe citing a report from Germany's Auto Bild, Vahland was passed over for the CEO job, with Matthias Muller taking that position. Amidst the changes, Michael Horn remained at the helm of Volkswagen Group of America, reporting to the new regional boss. Vahland joined the automaker in 1990 and started running VW's operations in China in 2005. He became boss at Skoda in 2010. "In the last 25 years, Prof. Vahland made a great contribution to the company. We respect his decision and thank him for his exceptional performance," Muller said in the departure announcement. Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland leaves Volkswagen Group 14.10.2015 Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland leaves Volkswagen Group Mlada Boleslav, 14 October 2015 – After 25 years of successful work in Volkswagen Group, most recently as Chairman of SKODA, Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland is leaving the company at his own request. Prof. Vahland will therefore not be taking up the position of overall responsibility for the North American Region (NAR). Differing views on the organisation of the new Group region have led to this decision; this decision is expressly not related to current events on the issue of diesel engines. Prof. Vahland began his work in Volkswagen Group in 1990. After holding several key positions at home and abroad, he took over Group responsibility as President and CEO of Volkswagen in China in 2005 and contributed significantly to the successful new direction of Volkswagen in China. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of SKODA in 2010.

Audi's CEO might not have known of VW emissions scheme

There's been no shortage of finger-pointing when it comes to finding people to blame for the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal that broke last September. One rather powerful executive, however, appears to have escaped blame. That would be Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, whose company sold about 85,000 diesel vehicles with emissions-cheating software, Reuters says, citing people familiar with the process. US law firm Jones Day questioned executives at both VW and its Audi unit and has found no evidence that Stadler was complicit with the plan, which involved programming Volkswagen-made diesel engines to produce artificially low emissions when the vehicle was being smog-tested. In Audi's case, the engine type in question was the 3.0-liter V6 diesel. Officials with both VW and its Audi unit declined to comment, according to Reuters. That engine was used for the Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7 since the 2009 model year, in addition to the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne. Audi also sold the VW Group 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the A3 from 2010 to 2013 and 2015. VW has reached an agreement with US regulators concerning that engine, which is also not connected to Stadler. Last month, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag published specifics on how the 3.0-liter diesel cheated the emissions-testing process, including records that the motor was programmed to shut of its emissions-control equipment after 22 minutes of running, or about two minutes longer than typical emissions-compliance testing. Audi said last November that it would work on a software update for the V6's emissions-control system that would be submitted to both the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but the VW unit hasn't reached any settlement with US regulators implying that a solution was agreed upon. Volkswagen's settlement with the EPA will cost Europe's largest automaker as much as $15 billion in the form of buybacks, lease buyouts, vehicle repairs, and investments in zero-emissions technology. VW sold about a half-million vehicles in the US that contained the so-called "cheat" software. Related Video: News Source: Reuters Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal scandal Rupert Stadler