If you’re even in the slightest preoccupied with what’s going on in the automotive industry, then you certainly didn’t miss the s**t storm that kicked off on March 29. That was when the media went ablaze with big titles reading Volkswagen is going for a name change.

And by media, we don’t mean only second-hand news outlets, but the giants of the industry too, who quickly jumped into the water to catch the golden fishy that was Voltswagen.

To recap things a bit, this is how it all went down so far.

On March 29, Volkswagen's American branch let slip through a press release apparently published by mistake (and quickly taken down) that its U.S. operations name will be changed to Voltswagen, with a T instead of a K. The news was first published by CNBC and quickly spread online.

At that point, despite the original source and others treating this as the real deal, we were still unsure what that was all about. First, you don’t go changing the name of a decades-old brand on a whim, and secondly, April 1 was just around the corner, and we all know what that means.

But then, on March 30, a more detailed press release was published, this time saying it will not be only the American operations of the carmaker that will suffer a name change, but it will also mark the separation, at least in name, between VW’s ICE and electric cars.

At about the same time, some of the carmaker’s social media channels, especially the ones on Twitter, began changing the banners to display the new name (in the meantime, they got changed back).

Things were beginning to look serious. The April 1 issue was completely forgotten, and people were becoming convinced this was really happening. Some got angry, others rejoiced, and just a few were still convinced this is just a prank.

Today, March 31, that minority apparently won. The Wall Street Journal published a statement from a Volkswagen Germany rep saying more or less this was just a prank, meant to “get people talking about the ID.4.”

And now the s**t storm changed direction, and everybody seems to be focusing on whether what Volkswagen did was good or bad.

It was neither. It was simply brilliant. Using minor resources, betting it all on the media’s craving for the sensational, and going against expectations by letting this slip before April 1, Volkswagen pulled what will certainly be one of the greatest pranks of the year.

Sure, the initial story was not retracted on a publicly official level by Volkswagen (yet), so there will still be those that claim this could be true after all.

You’re wrong. There is absolutely no reason for Volkswagen to change the name of its American operations, a name that has been around here in the States, often at the top of the sales charts, since 1955.

There is also no reason for the carmaker’s electric vehicles to be named anything other than Volkswagen. After all, it is exactly this association that is hoped to carry the ID. family (see, there already is a sub-brand for electric cars at VW) to the heights of glory.

And no, this apparently-backfiring prank will not bring Volkswagen to its knees, as some claim, and it’s not even a “lesson in how not to do marketing,” as some of my own colleagues claim.

That is exactly how you do marketing. The whole idea behind the concept is to get people talking, and what do you know, that’s exactly what we’re doing for the past three days.

Maybe Volkswagen will use Voltswagen in the future for something—there is a VW UK Twitter account by that name set up in 2019 that talks about EV-related topics, so the base to build upon is there. Or maybe nothing will come of it.

But the reality remains: this was a simple prank, turned gigantic by the gullible media (ourselves included), that surely made Volkswagen the talk of the week.

Sorry. Voltswagen.

WASHINGTON — Volkswagen AG's U.S. unit said a data breach at a vendor impacted more than 3.3 million customers and prospective buyers in North America.

Nearly all those impacted were current or potential customers of Audi, one of the German automaker's luxury brands.

Volkswagen Group of America said on Friday an unauthorized third party obtained limited personal information about customers and interested buyers from a vendor that its Audi Volkswagen brands and some U.S. and Canadian dealers used for digital sales and marketing.

The information was gathered for sales and marketing between 2014 and 2019 and was in an electronic file the vendor left unsecured.

The company told regulators the vast majority of customers only had phone numbers and email addresses potentially impacted by the data breach. In some cases, data also includes information about a vehicle purchased, leased, or inquired about.

VW said 90,000 Audi customers and prospective buyers had sensitive data impacted relating to purchase or lease eligibility. VW said it will offer free credit protection services to those individuals.

The sensitive data was comprised of driver license numbers in more than 95% of cases. A small number of records included additional data like dates of birth, Social Security numbers and account numbers.

The automaker does not believe sensitive information is involved in Canada.

More than 3.1 million people affected are in the United States.

VW believes the data was obtained at some point between August 2019 and May of this year, when the automaker identified the source of the incident.

Volkswagen AG and BMW AG agreed to pay 875 million ($1 billion) in fines by the European Union for collusion that regulators said curbed the rollout of AdBlue emissions-cleaning technology.

VW must pay about 502 million euros and BMW will pay nearly 373 million euros, the European Commission said in an emailed statement on Thursday. The penalty for BMW is far below its initial provision of 1.4 billion euros. BMW did a U-turn in May in agreeing to settle the probe, after previously indicating it would fight the EU.

A settlement means companies agree to the EU’s charges in return for a lower fine and usually agree not to challenge the EU decision in court. Daimler AG avoided a fine for being the first to tell the EU about the cartel. All three companies could now face compensation lawsuits from customers.

The carmakers “possessed the technology to reduce harmful emissions beyond what was legally required under EU emission standards,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust chief, said in the statement. “But they avoided” competing “on using this technology’s full potential.”

Volkswagen preference shares fell 1.4% at 11:36 a.m. in Frankfurt. BMW shares fell 1.3%.

The fines come as German automakers start to emerge from a pandemic that slashed car sales. Vestager has previously showed little sympathy for a diesel-cheating scandal that the “car industry brought upon itself.”

The EU said the three carmakers struck a deal on AdBlue technology that adds urea to exhaust gases to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel cars. The companies reached an agreement on AdBlue tank sizes and ranges and a “common understanding” on AdBlue consumption.

Swapping commercially sensitive information “removed the uncertainty about their future market conduct” and restricted competition for product features useful for customers. The EU said the conduct lasted from 2009 and 2014.

Volkswagen “cooperated fully” with regulators, it said in an email statement. The EU fines punish discussions “that were never implemented and customers were therefore never harmed,” it said.

‘Large Fines’
“The large fines imposed in this case underscore the need for more comprehensive practical guidance” on how companies can cooperate without risking a breach of antitrust law. Existing rules “no longer do justice to the complex challenges facing the automotive industry in particular in the area of necessary technical cooperations.”

Volkswagen will consider an appeal before a mid-September deadline, it said, adding that regulators in China, South Korea and Turkey are also examining potential AdBlue collusion.

BMW said the EU had dropped allegations of joint development on software to restrict AdBlue dosing and efforts to curb a particle filter for direct-injection petrol engine. That lead to the lower fine, according to a company statement. BMW said the EU notice stated there’s no indication of collusion on the use of defeat devices to manipulate exhaust gas tests.

The EU case is the latest regulatory scandal for an industry that’s frequently tested the patience of authorities with emissions issues. VW is still dealing with the fallout of the so-called dieselgate affair, which has cost the company as much as 32 billion euros.

FRANKFURT, July 6 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is to sell a stake in its electric vehicle charging unit Electrify America, two people familiar with the matter said, as the carmaker looks for outside funds to build infrastructure for battery-powered cars.

Volkswagen is working with Citi (C.N) to look for a co-investor that is prepared to inject roughly $1 billion into the division, the people said, adding that the company is expected shortly to reach out to infrastructure groups and other potential investors.

Volkswagen, Electrify America and Citi declined to comment.

Set up in the aftermath of Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal that broke in the United States, Electrify America plans to spend $2 billion in the 2017-2026 period to expand charging stations for electric vehicles (EV).

The unit, whose main rivals include ChargePoint (CHPT.N) and Tesla's (TSLA.O) Supercharger, has 635 charging stations with around 2,850 fast-loading spots up and running, according to its website.

This includes ultra-fast high-speed of up to 350 kilowatt charging stations enabling owners to load their cars in under 20 minutes.

The company expects to install or have under development about 800 charging stations with about 3,500 fast chargers by December 2021, expanding to 45 states, including two cross-country routes. It also operates solar-powered charging stations.

At Volkswagen's Power Day in March, Electrify America Chief Executive Giovanni Palazzo, who joined Volkswagen from Daimler (DAIGn.DE) a decade ago, said that the group was planning to expand further.

Volkswagen, which will present its new strategy on July 13, is currently trying to consolidate its various charging efforts under the Charging & Energy business area led by Elke Temme, a long-time executive at Germany's top utility RWE (RWEG.DE). read more

Charging infrastructure has attracted several sectors, including utilities, carmakers and big oil firms, all hoping to cash in on a rising demand for electricity in the wake of a global EV rollout.

Sources told Reuters last week that Renault (RENA.PA) and Shell (RDSa.L) were both interested in becoming co-owners in Ionity, the European EV charging joint venture owned by BMW (BMWG.DE) Hyundai (005380.KS), Ford (F.N), Daimler and VW. read more

A few years back, Volkswagen paraded its new California camper van in front of us, seemingly rolling out the carpet for its campers' return to the United States market. But the California never came, which first disappointed diehard Veedubbers, and then a far wider audience as Americans turned to campers and RVs as a pandemic-proof way to travel. It felt like VW sensed America was ready to embrace its vans again, only to once again snub us.

So what's the deal? Why won't VW entrust its eggs to the camper van basket by offering the California in the States, or spearhead its EV transition with a pop-top ID.Buzz? And now that everyone in America seems to have been driven camper-crazy by COVID, has VW's hesitance blown an opportunity? Much to VW's chagrin, we decided to find out.

Before we go any further let's clear up what exactly it is VW has been denying us. The current VW California is based on the T6.1 Transporter van, which is directly descended from the iconic Type 2 that the words "hippie bus" bring to mind. In the nearest English-speaking market where it's sold—the United Kingdom—its base model is the California Beach Camper, whose 2.0-liter turbodiesel hauls around a body with a manual pop-up roof and an extendable awning. By U.S. standards, it'd fall under the smallest category of motorhome, Class B, as opposed to the Class Cs often built on cutaway chassis, or the purpose-built and occasionally amphibious Class As.

Being small doesn't make it cheap, however, as California Beach Campers start at the equivalent of $76,350. That's a lot of money for how much vehicle you get, though it's actually on the lower end for what you can expect to pay for a Class B camper. According to The Wayward Home, Class Bs bottom out at $74,000 here in the U.S. with the Pleasure-Way Tofino, a Ram ProMaster-based camper made comparable by its pop-up roof.

The VW is smaller than the Pleasure-Way Tofino, but that's an advantage if parking space is strictly limited, and the VW isn't significantly more expensive. A VW van is also a significantly more romanticized vehicle than a rebadged Fiat, which does wonders for customer loyalty and thus resale value. So, while VW spokesperson Jessica Arntson tells us that Californias "would be fairly expensive, and the market would be limited as a result," there's still a clear value angle VW could play if it so chose.

Why, then, has VW folded on what's clearly not a bad hand?

Well, buying in would, for starters, require federal homologation, development for which a 2017 study by the Center for Automotive Research determined would easily cost a European carmaker more than $10 million per model. Hypothetically, it could be possible for VW to spread that cost more evenly by homologating more of the T6 lineup and competing in more market segments to recoup its investment. The Transporter, for example, could fight for a piece of the commercial van pie, which according to Car Sales Base accounted for more than 496,000 sales in 2019. But VW, which has more data to work with than we do, evidently doesn't think the U.S. van market is worth contesting, which is why it doesn't try.

And if bringing the Transporter stateside isn't worth the trouble, then the California doesn't even come close, as it accounts for only a small minority of sales of T6 variants. In 2017, the most recent year which VW Commercial Vehicles has disclosed global production of the California, the camper accounted for just over 15,000 vehicles, or about a sixth as many as the Transporter van. VW doesn't share its per-vehicle profit margins, but new cars are famously not as lucrative a business as their high prices may lead you to believe; the California would more than likely face a long, slow slog toward breaking even.

Even so, seeing how much RV and camper sales swelled in 2020, and how their momentum has carried forward into 2021, it still looks to laymen like VW has squandered a golden opportunity.

Those with a closer eye on the RV market, though, question whether the demand heightened by COVID-19 will be sustained, like Lenny Sims, J.D. Power's vice president for business development and strategy and an RV expert. Sims observed the RV market enter 2020 in something of a slump before you-know-what happened, propelling the segment to an unprecedented, 20-percent growth over 2019.

"[In general], the RV market has, obviously in the last year, done extremely well: It's set record-breaking numbers through essentially the pandemic," Sims told us. "Going into early 2020, the market was down year-over-year to '19, so 2020 was starting out as a down year for RVs, and as a byproduct of COVID, the general public started leaning toward RV-ing as a way to escape the quarantining that everybody was dealing with."

He went on, "That's been a big driver. It's dried up the used market, which has increased those values. It's dried up the new pipeline and inventory that was out there; a lot of manufacturers were simultaneously closing down as the demand came, and some of them have reopened and are building new products again, but not at the volume or the fashion that they were previously."

Many RV and camper manufacturers are selling everything they can build, Sims said, but all are hesitant to cash in on the craze by investing in production capacity. Demand isn't guaranteed to stay high, and everything from COVID's longevity to the comeback of other forms of travel and the economy could affect the RV market.

"The biggest question on the go-forward is starting to expand into a couple of other influences," Sims continued. "Sure, they might meet demand, but then the demand's gotta stick around, and essentially that is, 'Do people keep RV-ing?' Because it is about COVID. Is COVID going away? Is there gonna be another version? All those drivers that boosted this market in the first place, are they gonna go away?

"Secondarily is that there are a lot of brand-new RV-ing consumers to this market, so while they've had record-breaking sales in the last year... how many are gonna stay RV-ing after the coast is clear, so to speak, and they can get back to doing what they were doing for recreation previously?"

And then there's the third consideration. "Simultaneously, another factor that could come into play is, what does the economy look like?" Sims asked rhetorically. "If the economy goes south, and consumer confidence drops, those RVs are the first things people are gonna sell. And then you have a flood of RVs back in the market."

For now, inventory has remained low and demand has stayed high. That, according to Sims, is what we know for sure. He observed things starting to plateau: "[It's] not climbing at the rate it was, [and] it's not declining."

But what goes up must come down. "I think the falloff will occur at some level," Sims said. "I mean, that is the million-dollar question right now. It will go down, there's no question about it. But for right now, it's very, very strong."

In short, then, it seems bringing the California to the States is a costly proposition to VW that's all but certain not to offer a return on investment. In other words, despite how we see it on our side of the fence, there hasn't really been an opportunity to miss. As for why VW seemed to court America with it by letting the automotive press drive it across the Golden State, that was simply because VW corporate wanted to launch the California in the state it was named for.

"Germany wanted to launch the car in California because of the 'California' nameplate—so they had their media program here," Mark Gillies, VW of America's head of communications, told us. "We asked if we could hang onto the vehicles for a while after they were done, and we put some journalists in them for fun. That's really it—we stressed hard that there were (and are) no plans to bring the vehicle stateside."

While the California 6.1 is incontrovertibly not coming to America, the outlook needn't be as gray as a winter's day. VW has confirmed its electric van, the ID Buzz, will make it Stateside, so with the biggest hurdle cleared, perhaps there's hope for pop-top electric vans yet.

Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess is advocating for the future of electric vehicles. He's praised Tesla and Elon Musk, brought Musk on camera to talk to his team, and pointed out VW's struggles and shortfalls while referencing Tesla's successes. Apparently, these may not be things you should do as head of a German automaker.

According to recent reports out of Germany, CEO Diess and the leading supervisory board have been unable to agree on terms that would secure the chief's future as leader. The Supervisory Board, complete with shareholder representatives and key members from Volkswagen and many other VW Group brands reported to Handelsblatt via Teslarati:

“After intensive discussions, the leading supervisory board members from the Porsche and Piëch families, the state of Lower Saxony and the employee representatives were unable to agree on a compromise on the future of the 63-year-old.”

Not long ago, Diess talked about the necessity to cut some 30,000 jobs due to VW Group's lack of commitment to the future of electric cars. The CEO himself is a huge advocate of EVs who has been touting VW's future as the global leader in the space, with a lofty goal of taking on Tesla. However, others at the German automaker, as well as various shareholders, aren't all on board with Diess' aggressive goals.

Members of the board noted that Diess' plan lacks style, it's too quick, and there's no real strategy as to how it's supposed to work. The fact that Tesla will soon open a factory near Berlin, Germany, and Diess has become somewhat buddy-buddy with Elon Musk may also play a role here. Folks at VW may not want to be repeatedly compared to Tesla, and you'd better bet some of them would rather not have Musk telling them how they should operate.

Sadly, if Diess is removed, VW's position as a potential massive EV leader may suffer. If it wasn't for the CEO's commitment to a future of electric cars, the automaker may not be headed in the direction it is today. Perhaps Diess can find a place at another company that's going headfirst into the future. Would Elon Musk hire Diess to head up Tesla Europe? Think about the connections he'd bring. What about Ford? VW and Ford are already working together.

The global chip shortage is continuing to wreak havoc for the car giants

Oct 28 2021

Key Points

Volkswagen and Stellantis blamed the chip shortage for their disappointing results.
“It was a challenging quarter,” VW CEO Herbert Diess told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Thursday.
“Our volume brands suffered most because of semiconductor supply,” Diess said, referring to Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen.

Volkswagen and Toyota face production cuts due to chip shortage

Thu 19 Aug 2021

Volkswagen and Toyota have become the latest carmakers to warn about production cuts because of the global computer chip shortage.

German car manufacturer Volkswagen said a semiconductor supply crunch could force it to slow production lines during the autumn, adding to cuts that have been in place since February. Japanese firm Toyota also reported that it would slash output by 40% in September.

Carmakers have struggled after a recovery in demand stretched supply chains earlier this year, with Covid-19 outbreaks across Asia hitting chip production and operations at commercial ports.

Volkswagen Sees Global Chip Shortage Worsening in Second Half

July 9, 2021

BERLIN— Volkswagen AG warned that the global shortage of semiconductors affecting car production would worsen over the next six months, joining a chorus of auto companies that have dialed down their outlook for the rest of the year.

The warnings mark a shift for the industry after auto CEOs and industry analysts had predicted the chip crisis would bottom out in the second quarter, leading to a gradual improvement over the next six months.

“The impairment from the shortage of semiconductors has shifted and will more likely lead to impairments in the second half of the year,” Volkswagen said in a statement on Friday.

AlixPartners, a global industry consulting firm, predicted in January that the chip shortage would cost global auto makers $61 billion in lost revenue this year. But in May, AlixPartners revised its projection upward to $110 billion.

VW Group reports strong Q1 but chip shortage will damage Q2

11 May 2021

In its first quarter results for 2021 VW Group has reported a 21.2% increase in global vehicle deliveries on the same period last year, reaching 2.4m passenger and commercial units.

The carmaker also reported that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in Q1 doubled to 133,300. Production is up in the first quarter by 16.1% to more than 2,300 units. However, the bottleneck in semiconductor supply currently affecting the automotive industry worldwide is expected to hit second quarter results for the company.

The Wolfsburg-based automaker revealed this week that it had roughly doubled its deliveries of EVs during 2021, with battery-electric models accounting for 5.1% of its total deliveries during the year, compared to 2.5% in 2020. The Volkswagen Group reports that it had delivered 452,900 battery-electric models over the course of the year, out of a total of 8,882,000 vehicles sold globally by its brands.


Perhaps most encouragingly for EV sales, 10.5% of the Volkswagen Group's deliveries in western Europe were battery-electric models, up from 6.2% in 2020. If the automaker can keep this momentum going, almost doubling the share of BEVs it sells each year in western Europe and other regions, it should be well on its way to achieving its long-term targets when it comes to electrification.

"The Group tripled its BEV deliveries in the largest North American market year-on-year to 37,200 vehicles, making it the number two for battery- electric vehicles," the automaker added.

Which EVs sold best for the Volkswagen Group?
The breakdown by model is quite illuminating, with the ID.4 in the number one spot accounting for 119,600 deliveries globally. It's worth noting that the ID.4 is now produced in China as well for the local market, and will gain yet another home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, later this year, with current US models being imported from Zwickau, Germany.

The Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback landed in a somewhat distant second place with 75,500 vehicles delivered, being a hot seller in Europe but not available stateside. In fact, Volkswagen has had trouble keeping up with demand for the ID.3 on its home continent, and it seems like the small hatch is bound to remain there, with VW not being in a hurry to offer it outside of Europe.

The Audi e-tron saw 49,200 deliveries, but the pricey model will likely be surpassed by the volume-oriented Q4 e-tron, joining the lineup now. AUDIThe Audi e-tron and the Sportback variant came in third among the Group's best-sellers, with the automaker delivering 49,200 units over the course of 2021. The model was among the first to arrive, but is also a bit pricey.

The Skoda Enyaq iV was the fourth best-selling VW Group battery-electric model, based closely on the VW ID.4 and offered primarily in Europe.

The Volkswagen e-Up! small hatch came in fifth with 41,400 units delivered, already behind the newly launched ID.3 despite having been on the market a bit longer. This model is not offered stateside either, but continues to be popular in Europe.

Last year "was very challenging due to global semiconductor shortages, but we nevertheless consistently implemented our clear future course towards New Auto," said Christian Dahlheim, head of Volkswagen Group Sales. "The doubling of our battery-electric volumes and the high demand for all our vehicles clearly show that we are on the right track. This is something we will build on in the current year and continue to drive forward our transformation."

More Volkswagen EVs are on the way this year, with the coupe-shaped ID.5 sport utility set to join the ID.4, but not in the US. The biggest EV launch of the year will likely be the production version of the ID.Buzz, set to be revealed in March ahead of the start of US sales in 2023.

When it comes to other VW Group brands, Audi has just brought the Q4 e-tron stateside, which is expected to become the volume EV offering from Ingolstadt in the US. The Porsche Macan EV, meanwhile, will take an extra year to get here, slated to land in 2023.

Volkswagen has announced it has passed a resolution that gives a go-ahead to build a new plant that will build the upcoming all-electric model, the Trinity. The up-and-coming flagship model was first announced in 2021, which will spearhead the next generation of zero-emission VW cars.

The new factory will be built near VW's main plant in Wolfsburg. It's a key component of the largest modernization program in the history of Volkswagen’s main location. VW said investment totals to around €2 billion or around $2.2 billion with the current exchange rates.

"The decision by the Supervisory Board is an important milestone for the transformation of our brand and the future of the Wolfsburg production facility. We are thus strengthening and sustaining the competitiveness of the main plant and giving the workforce a robust long-term perspective," Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter said."We are setting benchmarks in the automotive industry with Trinity and the new factory and turning Wolfsburg into the global lighthouse for cutting-edge and efficient vehicle production. This reaffirms that the economic transformation of Germany as a center of industry can be achieved."

Construction for the new Wolfburg plant for the Trinity is set to begin as early as spring 2023. Building and environmental law will be taken into consideration, so the new site will meet high environmental standards.

VW added that the Trinity will roll off the assembly line in 2026. The net carbon neutral model is said to be built using the most innovative manufacturing methods, which will become a model for the gradual transformation of all other Volkswagen manufacturing sites worldwide. The target production time per vehicle is 10 hours.

VW boasts that the Trinity will be ready for Level 4 autonomous driving at launch, plus it will have a short charging time and a range of over 700 kilometers (435 miles).

Volkswagen Group achieves solid results in 2021 and drives forward its transformation to NEW AUTO

Wolfsburg, 2022-03-11

The Volkswagen Group proved the robustness of its business model in 2021. The company increased its overall resilience and improved its capabilities to cope with constraints. Overhead costs were successfully reduced, capex discipline was high and the break-even was lowered. At the same time Volkswagen drove its transformation to NEW AUTO forward. A solid profit was achieved despite strong headwinds from semiconductor shortages that led to a decrease in vehicle sales of around 600,000 units compared to 2020. This was 2.4 million fewer units than 2019. Although sales volumes were down 6 percent on prior year, sales revenue increased by 12 percent to EUR 250.2 billion. Operating profit before special items almost doubled compared to 2020 and reached a solid level of EUR 20.0 billion. The Automotive Division generated a strong net cash flow of EUR 8.6 billion, a 35 percent year-on-year increase.


[ . . . ]

Due to the global semiconductor shortages, vehicle sales of the Volkswagen Group in 2021 declined by 6.3 percent to 8.6 million. However, the successful e-offensive continued to pick up speed with global deliveries of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) almost doubled to 452,900 units. The Group is the European market leader for BEVs with a market share of about 25 percent and achieved the number two position in the key US market with about 7.5 percent. In China, 92,700 BEVs were delivered, more than four times the figure for 2020.

Volkswagen Delivers on NEW AUTO Strategy, Laying Basis for 2022

Wolfsburg, 2022-03-15

Volkswagen Group delivered on its NEW AUTO Strategy last year, laying the basis for future profitable growth and improving the resilience of its business model in a difficult environment. Volkswagen last year reached the turnaround in key regions of the world, successfully ramped up e-mobility, built up software capabilities and raised efficiency.


<< Strong regions: turnarounds in North and South America, leading market position in China >>

The Volkswagen Group has made significant progress in its business across all regions in 2021. Its global footprint combined with the right local strategies and product mixes was key.

In North America, the Volkswagen brand returned to profitability after several years in all three markets: Canada, the United States and Mexico. The updated model portfolio of five SUVs including the all-electric ID.4 was well received. These models accounted for more than 75 percent of sales in the United States (375,030 units). The upcoming battery-powered ID. Buzz1 will be the emotional driver for the brand’s rebirth in this region.

The Volkswagen brand achieved a turnaround in South America as well. The consequent customer-orientation with new models like Taos and Nivus laid the ground for reaching profitability and a positive net cash flow.

In Europe, the Group’s early decision to go electric and start the largest e-offensive of the industry paid off further. It was the market leader in 2021: every fourth battery-electric vehicle was from Volkswagen Group. Thus, it overfulfilled its CO2 fleet target in the European Union including Norway and Iceland based on preliminary figures.

In China, the most important growth market worldwide, the Group continues to be very profitable and is in a strong market position. With 16 percent market share, it has almost twice the size of the second biggest competitor. The Volkswagen brand is the most successful brand with a market share of 11 percent. Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini achieved sales records. The Group could have sold significantly more vehicles in 2021, but was unable to meet the high demand due to semiconductor shortages.


<< Successful e-run up: No. 1 in Europe, No. 2 in the US, China increased more than fourfold >>

The Volkswagen Group’s successful e-run-up picked up further speed last year. The deliveries of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) almost doubled in 2021 to more than 450,000 units. Thus, the company was No. 1 in this segment in Europe and No. 2 in the United States. In both markets, it has achieved higher market shares in the BEV market than in the total market. BEV deliveries in China increased more than fourfold last year to 93,000 units. A new sales approach targeting younger customers, including 120 pop-up stores in Chinese malls, successfully paved the way to at least double BEV sales in the Group’s largest single market this year.

The iconic new ID. Buzz, which has been revealed by the Volkswagen brand last week, will give the e-offensive additional momentum. The icon is not only full electric but will also be used in future autonomous mobility concepts such as ridepooling.


[ . . . ]

Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess is an outspoken admirer of Tesla and its boss Elon Musk, praising the EV maker for its achievements and innovation on several occasions.

While the German executive's "bromance" with the US billionaire entrepreneur has annoyed some members of VW Group's board, especially works council boss Daniela Cavallo, Diess has made it clear that Tesla cannot be ignored. In November 2021, he gave this reply to those who criticized him for comparing VW with Tesla, as per a Reuters report.

"Even if I no longer talk about Elon Musk: he'll still be there and revolutionizes our industry and keeps getting more competitive quickly."
Needless to say, Diess has continued to give credit to Tesla even after he made the above statement in November 2021. Most recently, the CEO praised Tesla's Giga Texas plant during his visit to Austin for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival this past weekend, where the VW ID. Buzz has made its first public appearance.

In a post on LinkedIn (embedded at the bottom of this page), Diess noted the ID. Buzz saw an enthusiastic reception by the public and revealed that he also met with Texas governor Greg Abbott. In that context, he acknowledged the governor's merits in attracting Tesla to Austin and said the company's Gigafactory Texas will set new benchmarks in the industry.

"Elon's new factory - he calls it 'the machine that produces the machine' is impressive: 1.2 km long, 400m wide: all under one roof, no logistics from cell production to the final assembly. Once up and running it will very likely set some new benchmarks."In this context, the executive highlighted the importance of VW's decision to invest $2.2 billion into a new electric vehicle plant near its headquarters in Wolfsburg. Without this new facility, Diess reckons VW wouldn't be able to compete with Tesla, which is getting ready to open another plant near Berlin, Germany, later this month.
"I am so happy that we decided a new plant for Wolfsburg. Without that - no chance to compete."

Set to open in 2026, Volkswagen's new state-of-the-art facility will have an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles. The first model to be built there will be the Project Trinity electric sedan.

Tesla is getting ready to start production at Gigafactory Texas, with the Model Y crossover being the company's first to roll off the assembly line powered by 4680-type cylindrical cells.

We can't help but wonder whether Herbert Diess visited Tesla's Austin factory during his stay in the Texas capital. There's no indication that he did, although we'd assume his buddy Elon Musk would have been glad to give him a tour of the facility had Diess asked him to.

It was a veritable "cartastrophy" when the Felicity Ace caught fire before ending on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. You've probably heard by now Lamborghini is forced to restart production of the Aventador to produce the Ultimae cars that were on board. In fact, the Volkswagen Group had quite a few high-end vehicles on the cargo ship, many of which were on their way to customers.

The Dutch side of Top Gear magazine has gotten a hold of the complete list of cars that perished on the Felicity Ace, and it's a doozy. Aside from the crop of brand-new Bentleys, Audis, Porsches, and Volkswagens, there were several privately owned cars. One that immediately caught our attention was a JDM-spec 1996 Honda Prelude SiR, allegedly the 65th car ever built.

Other interesting cars on the list include a 1977 Land Rover Santana, which was built in Spain under license from Land Rover by using complete knock-down kits. Also worth mentioning are a 2015 Ford Mustang GT, a 2018 Nissan Versa Note, MAN TGM truck, and a 2007 BMW 750i. There were also a dozen of Fendt tractors, a 2014 Kia Soul, and a single Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 listed separately because it was someone's car.

Speaking of personal vehicles, an Audi TT Roadster died together with the ship, as did a Q2, an E-Tron GT, a Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Jetta & Taigo, along with a Mini Countryman. It was truly a nightmare for the VW Group to lose so many cars as the list shows they took a big hit when the Felicity Ace went under. Here are some double- and triple-digit losses:

Make and Model Number of Cars

Audi A5 Convertible 84
Audi A5 Coupe 43
Audi A5 Sportback 147
Audi E-Tron 121
Audi Q3 297
Audi Q3 Sportback 144
Bentley Bentayga 77
Bentley Continental GT 38
Bentley Continental GTC 50
Bentley Flying Spur 25
Lamborghini Aventador 15
Lamborghini Huracan 20
Lamborghini Urus 50
Porsche 23 made in Zuffenhausen, 19 in Leipzig, and 126 in Bratislava
Volkswagen Caddy 47
Volkswagen Golf 199
Volkswagen ID.4 159
Volkswagen T6 116