Audi stays the course on EVs despite market slowdown siro, 12/09/2024 Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said the VW Group premium brand was committed to going fully electric starting in 2033 despite a market slowdown, as it launched two key EVs this year, the Q6 E-tron SUV and the A6 sedan, a sibling model. The last new Audi internal-combustion engine models will be launched in 2026, Döllner said Tuesday at the automaker’s annual news conference in Ingolstadt, Germany. Those models will be built on the new Premium Platform Combusion, or PPC, architecture, which will debut this year on the next-generation A5 and Q5. The A5 and Q5 will also benefit from a new electric/electronic architecture, Döllner said. The Q6 E-tron is the first model on the Porsche/Audi Premium Platform Electric, or PPE, architecture, which it shares with the Porsche Macan. It will arrive at dealerships in the second half after a delay of over two years partly due to software issues. “Our vision is quite clear. We’re fully committed to electric mobility,” Döllner said, adding that a combination of full-electric, ICE and plug-in hybrid models would be available in all regions for the 10 years, with an EV-only lineup expected around 2033. “But if there are waves or fluctuations in the transition … Continue Reading
How Volvo got customers to accept Ferrari-like wait times siro, 05/09/2024 “When I started at Volvo it was written in stone that if you ordered a car in three months you got your car,” Zurhausen, who is head of online business at Volvo Germany, told Automotive News Europe. Today, a customer often has to wait longer than 90 days. For example, because of software issues it will take almost two years for some customers of the EX90 flagship electric large SUV to take delivery. The wait time is up to four months on the new EX30 electric small SUV, according to Volvo Germany’s website. The EX30 was also delayed for a short time at the start of the year. “It is an achievement that the brand has developed to the point where people are willing to wait that long for a Volvo,” Zurhause said. “We’re not a Ferrari.” When asked why Volvo has been able to keep customers from switching to rival automakers, Zurhausen said: “We have the right products at the right time.” The executive, whose Volvo sales career has included providing cars to US military installations around the world and looking after large fleet customers such as Microsoft and IBM, said the automaker’s business in Germany — its fourth-largest … Continue Reading
Automakers struggle with Europe’s EV charging issues siro, 06/07/2024 The comments Sander and de Meo made last week at events in Brussels — where the European Commission has set a target to eliminate emissions from new vehicles sold just over a decade from now — speak to anxieties that have flown under the radar relative to the race to lower costs and increase battery range. These are among the more nuanced complications that the industry and regulators have little time to resolve. The EU should take inspiration from the region’s efforts to develop a European standard for mobile phone telecommunications, which led to the creation of the Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSM, de Meo said. “In Europe, we invented the GSM standard, and this thing was copied everywhere,” he said. Regulators do not necessarily see a role for themselves in this process. Klaus Müller, president of Germany’s Bundesnetzagentur, who oversees the country’s electricity and telecommunications markets, believes that setting a common EV charging standard in the EU is not a job for the bloc’s 27 regulators, but one “for the car producers and their self-governing bodies.” “It’s more practical to rely on industry standardization,” he said in an interview this week. One automaker that hasn’t complained about … Continue Reading
Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass construction is ongoing siro, 04/03/202428/03/2024 Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass construction is ongoing | Automotive News Skip to main content NEWS OPINION DATA CENTER VIDEOS EVENTS & AWARDS JOBS Resource Center +MORE Advertise Leading Women Network Podcasts Webinars In the Driver’s Seat Publishing Partners APCO HOLDINGS: Strategies for handling new F&I dynamics APCO Holdings: Connected cars create new challenges and opportunities in F&I APCO Holdings: The Wild Ride into the Future of F&I Allstate: Compliance standards are changing. Here’s what you need to know. Allstate: The ABCs of maximum F&I effectiveness Ally All Ears Podcast Episodes | The next evolution in virtual F&I Ally All Ears Podcast | How F&I is driving dealership profits Ally All Ears Podcast | building customer loyalty during challenging times Ally All Ears Podcast | reducing friction in the purchasing process Ally All Ears podcast: Tips for maintaining sales and F&I momentum in a higher-interest rate environment Ally and APCO: Adjusting to the changing F&I landscape Ally: All Ears Podcast : EVs & the service department of The future Ally: All Ears Podcast Protecting your dealership and inventory against weather-related events Ally: All Ears Podcast Protecting your dealerships against cyber-attacks Ally: All Ears Podcast | AI and its impact on auto … Continue Reading