Where Volkswagen Cars Go To Die

Where Volkswagen Cars Go To Die:

An aging football stadium in Michigan. A decrepit paper mill in Minnesota. A sun-bleached patch of desert in California.

These are the lots where Volkswagen is storing the hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles that included software to help them cheat US emissions testing as the company races to buyback a huge chunk of its inventory ahead of a deadline agreed to as part of its settlement with the US government, per Reuters.

Under the terms of its landmark settlement with the US government, if 85% of the 500,000 cars VW promised to repurchase haven’t been bought back or fixed by then, the company will face higher punitive payments.

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How Volkswagen Quietly Stashed Half A Million Rigged Cars Around The Country

How Volkswagen Quietly Stashed Half A Million Rigged Cars Around The Country:

Volkswagen bought back hundreds of thousands of emissions-cheating cars. We just discovered what it has done with them all

As Bloomberg reports, the German automaker agreed last year to buy back about 500,000 diesels that it rigged to pass U.S. emissions tests if it can’t figure out a way to fix them. Except for a handful of 2015 models, VW dealers can’t sell the cars until – and unless – the company comes up with repairs to satisfy regulators. The question they face then is – what to do with the hundreds of thousands of diesel cars it is being forced to buy back?

Well, now we know… the company is hauling them to storage lots across America…

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FBI Arrests Volkswagen Exec Charged With Conspiracy To Defraud The US

FBI Arrests Volkswagen Exec Charged With Conspiracy To Defraud The US:

While various other carmakers, such as GM, Ford, Fiat and Toyota, have had their share of headaches in recent weeks worried if and when Trump will tweet about them next, the epicenter of all car scandals over the past two years remains Volkswagen, and sadly for the German carmaker things continue to get worse: according to the NYT, the FBI haed arrested a Volkswagen executive on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. 

Read moreFBI Arrests Volkswagen Exec Charged With Conspiracy To Defraud The US

Volkswagen To Cut 30,000 Jobs, 5% Of Workforce

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Volkswagen To Cut 30,000 Jobs, 5% Of Workforce:

Following a tumultuous year of declining sales as a result of its emissions-cheating scandal, today Volkswagen agreed to cut 30,000 jobs at the core VW, roughly 5% of its global salesforce of 624,000. After months of intense talks, labor and management agreed on a package to balance cost-cutting with investment as the auto industry shifts away from traditional combustion engines and adapts to car-sharing services and self-driving technologies.

The job cuts will come through attrition in the form of early retirement and not replacing workers that leave; the company vowed to refrain from forced layoffs until 2025. The savings comprise 3 billion euros at its German factories and another 700 million euros abroad. Argentina and Brazil will be hit hardest by the staff reduction outside Germany, with Volkswagen’s personnel chief Karlheinz Blessing describing the Brazil cuts as “brutal.”

Read moreVolkswagen To Cut 30,000 Jobs, 5% Of Workforce

Bailout World: Volkswagen “Cheating” Fine Is 20 Times Higher Than GM’s For ‘Killing 174 People’

Bailout World: Volkswagen “Cheating” Fine Is 20 Times Higher Than GM’s For ‘Killing 174 People’:

When bailout-darling GM ‘fessed up to an intentional ignition-switch defect, tied to at least 174 deaths, The Justice Department fined them $900 million (and no employees faced criminal charges). So, in this consequence-less world in which we live, when Volkswagen admits to literally cheating emissions-standards tests, it faces up to $18 billion in fines from The EPA, one has to wonder whether “we” have our priorities right?

‘World’s Poorest President’ Gets $1 Million Offer For Old VW Beetle

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Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica walks in front of his garage (Reuters / Andres Stapff)

World’s poorest president’ gets $1mn offer for old VW Beetle (RT, Nov 7, 2014):

An Arab sheikh seems to think the ‘world’s poorest president,’ Uruguay’s Jose Mujica, is in dire need of cash. He’s offered $1 million for Mujica’s iconic 1987 VW Beetle – but the pot-smoking leader says he will donate the money to the homeless instead.

“I didn’t give it any importance,” the humble ex-guerilla leader told a news conference, after the Uruguayan weekly Busqueda broke the story. He added that he has “no commitment to cars” and joked that his three-legged dog, Manuela, was pretty much the prime reason for holding on to the vehicle for so long.

Apparently it was Mexico’s ambassador to Uruguay who earlier suggested that Mujica sell off the car. They joked about how he could get 10 4WD trucks for the money, according to an anonymous source within the embassy.

Read more‘World’s Poorest President’ Gets $1 Million Offer For Old VW Beetle

European Car Sales Drop To 20-Year Low

European Car Sales Drop To 20-Year Low, Germany Clobbered (ZeroHedge, June 18, 2013):

When the S&P, always so conveniently ahead of the curve, yesterday revised its forecast for Europe from growth in the second half of 2013 to 2014 one couldn’t help but golf clap, as well as wonder if they finally started looking at the fundamental depressionary reality on the ground instead of the rating agency’s infamous “models.” A depressionary reality confirmed by the latest car sales number for May which just hit a fresh 20 year low.

From AP:

European car sales hit their lowest level for the month of May in 20 years as the region’s recession dragged on, the European automakers’ association said Tuesday.

They meant depression instead of recession, but it’s an honest mistake.

Read moreEuropean Car Sales Drop To 20-Year Low

Study: Audi, BMW And VW ‘Among Worst For Engine Failures’

Hmmh.


Audi, BMW and VW ranked in the bottom 10 of a study into engine reliability



German cars ‘among worst for engine failures’ (Auto Express, Jan 18, 2013):

German-made cars are not as reliable as many believe, according to new research. Warranty Direct has studied its claims data to compile a list of the manufacturers with the most reliable engines – and Audi, BMW and Volkswagen all finished in the bottom 10 out of a total 36 makers.

In fact, the only firm whose cars had a worse engine failure rate than Audi was MG Rover. MINI wasn’t much better, finishing third from bottom, while its parent company BMW came seventh from bottom. And, despite its reputation for rock-solid reliability, Volkswagen came ninth from bottom.

Read moreStudy: Audi, BMW And VW ‘Among Worst For Engine Failures’

Unprecedented Implosion Of European Car Sales (Chart Of The Day)

Chart Of The Day: The Unprecedented Implosion Of European Car Sales (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2012):

The graphic below, which presents an unvarnished picture of Europe’s true economic state, needs no explanation:


Source: FT

In the context of the above, no explanation is also needed that quietly, and without much fanfare, French car-maker, Peugeot, and Europe’s second largest after VW, was recently GMed, and received a government bailout.

Carmaker Peugeot gets $9.1B government bailout

The French government has agreed to underwrite up to €7 billion ($9.1 billion) of bonds issued by Banque PSA Finance SA, the financing unit of carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, allowing the French automaker to offer low-cost credit to its dealerships and clients amid a slump in sales.

Read moreUnprecedented Implosion Of European Car Sales (Chart Of The Day)

Here’s a Corporate Tax Loophole a Porsche Could Drive Through

Here’s a Corporate Tax Loophole a Porsche Could Drive Through (Daily Finance, July 9, 2012):

For years, much of the tax-paying American public has been appalled by the loopholes that U.S. corporations and rich individuals use to reduce their tax liability to the IRS.

Read moreHere’s a Corporate Tax Loophole a Porsche Could Drive Through

U.S. Government Blocks Sales Of Fuel-Efficient Cars

Flashback:

Who Killed The Electric Car? (Documentary)


U.S. Government blocks sales of fuel-efficient cars (Natural News, June 15, 2012):

The development of affordable “green” cars and trucks – electric vehicles or hybrids designed to dramatically curb the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels – is supposed to be a primary goal for the Obama administration and a number of government and industry leaders. But what about diesel-burning vehicles that already get more than 70 miles a gallon?

Yes, you read that right. There are already vehicles on the road – nice vehicles, not bread boxes with weed-eater motors on wheels – that get better than 70 miles to a gallon of diesel fuel. Only, you can’t buy one here in the United States. More on that later.

Read moreU.S. Government Blocks Sales Of Fuel-Efficient Cars

VW Passat BlueMotion Sets New World Record After Going 1,527 Miles Without Refueling

Gavin Conway, writer for the Sunday Times, buckled into a Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion and embarked on a journey. This trip was not your typical Sunday jaunt, nor was it what we’d call a grocery run. Let’s just say that Conway had Guinness World Record visions dancing in his head. Followed by independent representatives who verified the run, Conway and the Passat hit the French roads and never looked back.

Powered by a 1.6-liter common rail TDI engine with stop-start technology and equipped with low-rolling resistance tires, longer gearing and aerodynamics modifications, the Passat BlueMotion is one heck of an example of efficient motoring and Conway’s drive put the vehicle’s fuel-sipping abilities to the test. Conway hit the French autoroutes to determine just how far the efficient Passat could travel on a single tank, which holds 20.4 gallons of diesel. During his three-day record-setting run, Conway averaged 45 miles per hour and discovered that the BlueMotion’s efficiency was simply amazing. After completing the journey, the Volkswagen Passat clocked 1,526.63 miles, setting a Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled by a production passenger car on a single tank of fuel; the 74.8 miles per gallon (U.S.) it got ain’t too shabby either. Hit the jump for more on the Passat BlueMotion’s record-setting run.

[Source: Volkswagen | Image: Media Inventions Ltd.]

PRESS RELEASE

1,527 MILES ON ONE TANK: PASSAT BLUEMOTION SETS NEW WORLD RECORD

A Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled by a standard production passenger car on a single tank of fuel.

The attempt, carried out by a team from The Sunday Times, involved driving from Maidstone in Kent to the South of France and back. The Passat BlueMotion finally ran out of fuel close to Calais after completing a distance of 1,526.63 miles.

The route mainly followed French autoroutes, but included some town driving, resulting in an average speed of just over 45 mph.

Read moreVW Passat BlueMotion Sets New World Record After Going 1,527 Miles Without Refueling

UK: Sewage Powered VW Beetle Hits The Road

See also:

Volkswagen introduces world’s most economical car

Water Powered Car: 1 Liter of Water for 80 km


A Volkswagen Beetle powered by gas from sewage has taken to the road for the first time in Britain.

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The converted Beetle car that runs on methane gas Photo: SWNS

The Bio-Bug was launched on Thursday by Wessex Water, which is generating methane from human waste at a sewage treatment works near Bristol.

The company claims the prototype is able to cover 10,000 miles annually on the waste from 70 households.

If the trial proves successful, Volkswagen will consider converting some of its fleet of vehicles to run on biogas.

Read moreUK: Sewage Powered VW Beetle Hits The Road

VW shares slumped over 40% in the last 10 trading days

VW shares fell 13,98% today.

3 Months: (Durchschnitt = Average)
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Hedge funds build up short bets on VW again

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A new Volkswagen UP! car is seen during the ceremonial announcement of the New Small Family vehicles production at the Volkswagen car manufacture plant in Bratislava June 2,2009. (REUTERS)

LONDON (Reuters) – Hedge funds have increased their bets on a fall in voting shares in Europe’s biggest carmaker Volkswagen, according to data on Tuesday, despite the heavy losses suffered by such funds last year.

Hedge funds shorting VW (VOWG.DE) were caught out in October when VW shares more than quadrupled after Porsche announced it had effective control of 74.1 percent of VW.

This left less than 6 percent tradeable in the market and saw funds scrambling to cover their positions.

Nevertheless, figures from Dataexplorers on Tuesday show that stock out on loan — a good indication of short interest — for VW’s ordinary shares has doubled in the past month to 2 percent of total issuance.

Read moreVW shares slumped over 40% in the last 10 trading days

Porsche $24 Billion of Options Profit in Peril as Volkswagen Fights Merger

porsche
Porsche automobiles sit lined up in the Porsche Forum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany on Nov. 25, 2008. Photographer: Hannelore Foerster/Bloomberg News

May 26 (Bloomberg) — Porsche SE, struggling to combine with Volkswagen AG, is in danger of losing some of the 17.3 billion euros ($24.3 billion) in profits recorded from holding VW options because it may not have the money to exercise them.

Porsche bought options and Volkswagen stock for more than three years and controls more than 70 percent of Europe’s biggest automaker. Now, Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche may be unable to raise the money needed to cash in the options, according to research by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. and FAIResearch GmbH & Co.

The 78-year-old maker of the 911 sports car piled up more than 9 billion euros in debt and hasn’t been able to raise the financing even after the options contracts surged in value along with the sevenfold gain in VW shares since 2005, according to the analysts. Porsche is attempting to negotiate a merger with Volkswagen and seek an investor to provide cash after its bid last year fell apart when VW’s home state of Lower Saxony vetoed the proposal and its car deliveries fell 27 percent in the six months ended Jan. 31.

Read morePorsche $24 Billion of Options Profit in Peril as Volkswagen Fights Merger

Porsche on the financial brink

German car maker Porsche is struggling to raise €1.75bn (£1.54bn) to cover debts and unwind derivative positions stemming from its botched attempt to take over vastly-bigger Volkswagen.

Porsche’s shares fell 3.1pc in Frankfurt on Monday after it emerged that the company had obtained a €700bn loan from Volkswagen as long ago as March. A Porsche spokesman said the group is negotiating bridging finance with a variety of banks, including the state lender KfW.

It is understood that Porsche is also in talks with the Bank of Tokyo for a €750m loan, and is seeking help from the regional government of Baden-Wurttemberg.

The crisis is yet another headache for the German authorities as they put together a rescue deal this week for Opel, most likely with Fiat. Separately, the hotel and retail group Arcandor said it faced collapse without a €650m state bail-out. Arcandor’s share price fell 20pc. The company owns the Karstadt department stores, Quelle, and Thomas Cook. It employs 50,000 workers.

Porsche acquired a 51pc share of VW earlier this year after a series of derivatives deals that tripled Porsche’s debt to €9bn.

The takeover bid went badly wrong, forcing Porsche chief Ferdinand Piech to press instead for a merger of the two car makers on increasingly less favourable terms.

Read morePorsche on the financial brink

Volkswagen introduces world’s most economical car

While we don’t have a great deal of information available at this stage, we do know that …

Volkswagen is set to reveal the world’s most economical non-hybrid car to shareholders attending the 42nd annual general meeting of Volkswagen AG in Hamburg.

The single-seater is capable of 0.91 litres per 100km (or 258mpg in the old measure) and can manage a top speed of 123km/h.

The prototype, as shown here, was built in conditions of such great secrecy that little more is known about the car, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted after next week’s meeting.

6 Mar, 2009

Source: CarAdvice

Volkswagen Will Cut All 16,500 Temporary Jobs Worldwide This Year


Two workers install a VW logo in the wall of a Volkswagen center in Berlin

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, said it will cut all 16,500 temporary jobs in global operations as the recession and tight credit sap purchases.

“There’s no way around this,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said in an interview with Germany’s weekly Spiegel magazine published today. The financial crisis “is really brutal,” the CEO added. Company spokesman Stefan Ohletz confirmed Winterkorn’s published remarks by phone.

Responding to the worst car markets in almost two decades, Volkswagen shuttered five German factories this week, affecting two-thirds of its 92,000-strong German workforce. That’s on top of a three-day shutdown at the main plant in Wolfsburg.

Read moreVolkswagen Will Cut All 16,500 Temporary Jobs Worldwide This Year

Porsche looks to cut costs amid sharp drop in sales

Porsche yesterday ann-ounced a cost-cutting programme and further production cuts after the German sports carmaker and owner of a majority stake in Volkswagen reported a fall in half-year operating profits and a sharp drop in sales.

Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche’s chief executive, said the company had initiated a programme to cut costs by far more than €100m ($128m) and would idle its plants for another 19 days before this year’s summer break.

Porsche, like many other carmakers, has already halted production longer than usual over the Christmas break.

Related article:
Porsche Faces Frankfurt Investigation Over VW Trading (Bloomberg)

Mr Wiedeking’s comments came as Porsche’s sales dropped by 27 per cent in the first six months of its fiscal year, which ended today.

“It is fair to say that operating earnings in the first half of the year were down by the same extent as the company’s sales,” Mr Wiedeking said at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

But overall earnings, boosted by VW option trades, would exceed the €1.66bn of the first six months of the previous fiscal year, Mr Wiedeking said.

Porsche has used a controversial options strategy to gradually take over VW, Europe’s largest carmaker with a revenue 15 times larger than Porsche’s.

Read morePorsche looks to cut costs amid sharp drop in sales