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VW & Chinese Firm BYD Partner For Electric Cars

Volkswagen seems to be on a real tear these days with continuing rumors of them acquiring Porsche outright, and sales numbers indicating that they could displace GM and become the second largest automaker in the world. And now word comes out that VW will be partnering with the Chinese automaker BYD to make electric cars.

A memorandum of understanding was signed last week between Volkswagen and Chinese automaker BYD to partner “in the area of electric mobility” and vehicles using lithium-ion batteries. “Hybrids and electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role [for VW], of course. Particularly for the Chinese market, potential partners such as BYD could support us in quickly expanding our activities,” said Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board for Technical Development at Volkswagen.

A memorandum of understanding (or MOU as the MBA types like to say – essentially it’s the legal version of a promise ring) was signed by BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu and VW’s Martin Winterkorn in Wolfsburg, Germany last week. Chairman Wang Chuanfu seems to be quite the interesting guy in addition to working with VW. There are reports on the net that he drank (as in swallowed) battery fluid as a stunt recently. I don’t know any more than that, and I didn’t really want to know … the rumors are creepy enough.

Anyway, this is very interesting news that seemed to pop up out of nowhere and caught everybody by surprise. Sure, VW, like very other carmaker on the planet, is interested in EVs and getting as much of a jump as possible. And partnering with a Chinese firm makes a lot of sense, especially if China decides to start taking care of the environment (no grantees there yet). And perhaps VW was spurred to action by another German automaker (cough-cough, Daimler) hooking up with another EV (cough-cough, Tesla) automaker, but who knows.

What is known is that Volkswagen is one of the biggest selling brands in China, and that EVs are going to be pushed into the mainstream, kicking and screaming if necessary, by a combination of proactive government regs, carmakers’ desires to maintain profitability, and the environment letting us know that burning oil is a real killer.

What will come of VW partnering with BYD? Obviously some sort of EV product for the home (Chinese) market, and potentially for the Euro market as well. North America? Time will tell, but by inking this partnership, Volkswagen could have an arrow in its quiver all ready to go if the need or opportunity presents itself in the North American market.

Source: AutoBlogGreen

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2011 Volkswagen Touareg spotted

Volkswagen is preparing its 2011 Touareg, and the company’s most expensive expensive Stateside offering is slated to lose weight. Although the German automaker is reportedly aiming for a 600 pound drop, shedding 300 pounds is said to be more realistic, and the going speculation is that the mass will be taken out of the SUV’s exceptional four-wheel-drive capability.

In terms of its sheetmetal, the Touareg is being designed by Walter de’Silva, the pen behind the Audi Q7, TT, and A5 among other VW Group products.

Part of the diet challenge is that the SUV is also widely expected to gain a third row, going from a five-seater to a seven-seater, in part to distance itself from its newer, less-expensive Tiguan brethren.

If Car and Driver’s sources are on their game, word is that the U.S. engine lineup won’t change, but the European V10 diesel will be swapped out for the Audi V8 TDI (already employed in the Q7), and the W12 will go on hiatus, possibly to return in sunnier economic times. There will also be a hybrid in the offing, with the same supercharged 3.0-liter V6 setup seen in Porsche’s Cayenne Hybrid.

[Source: Car and Driver]

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Caterham Sales Up

Amidst all of the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments about the current world economic situation, Caterham, of all people, is selling more cars now then they were this time last year. And no, it’s not because car buyers suddenly got an infusion of taste.

It would seem that why sales are up, is because former super car owners, looking to cut costs, are deciding to go the Caterham route, rather than more traditional high performance cars.

According to sources, this past April the small volume British company saw both a Ferrari F430 and Porsche 911 Turbo traded-in for the Caterham Seven, and that was just keeping up with a continuing trend. And really, apart from a lack of roof and most creature comforts (heaters are for sissies anyway), a Caterham Seven can easily run with the likes of a Ferrari F430 or a Porsche 911 Turbo … up till about 140 or so. Then the laws of aerodynamics take over, and the brick-like Caterham just can’t get the air to move out of the way fast enough. But when it comes to getting to that sort of speed, Caterhams accelerate like the proverbial bat out of Hell.

The company’s faster models, such as the Cosworth-powered CSR260 can easily out accelerate most supercars, and even the base models are pretty darn quick, able to post zero to sixty times and skidpad numbers in the top two or three percent of the car world. And some of the higher output models have been known to comprehensively beat things like Suzuki Hayabusa super bikes.

And Caterhams don’t cost nearly what Porsches or Ferraris cost. Shoot, they seemingly cost about the same as a Hayabusa or a Ducati. In the US, Caterham’s range starts at around $30,000.

Yes, they’re kits and yes, you have to build them yourself (or have someone build one for you), but they are seriously high performance cars. Even with smaller four cylinder engines, a Seven can go from zero to sixty in the five second range and corner at around one G. Since they only weigh around 1000 pounds, performance come easy to a Caterham Seven.

Source: Jalopnik

Photo from Flickr user exfordy

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Ventross Nissan GTR Skyline R35

Lighweight dry carbon fiber aerodynamic package with a front fascia replacement & a full lower rear diffuser. Referring to the VTR Aero Carbon Fiber Front Bumper & Rear Diffuser, Vorsteiner’s Carbon Fiber Honeycomb Matrix structure gives the parts superior firmness, forces and stability compared to the old traditional hand laid carbon fiber and fiberglass materials.

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Volkswagen Presses Forward With Chattanooga Plant

Months before the full impact of the current global recession kicked in, Volkswagen made a commitment to build a one billion dollar manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The plant, which will be the first one VW has operated in the US since shutting down its Westmoreland, PA facility in the late 1980s, is expected to build about 150,000 cars annually.

Daytime Fireworks Display Marks Start Of Construction

Volkswagen Presses Forward With Chattanooga Plant Yesterday, local and state officials were joined by Volkswagen representatives to begin work on the plant, building a symbolic wall to stress the automaker’s commitment to the Tennessee Valley. In an unusual move, the automaker also launched a daytime fireworks display to herald the start of construction on a plant that may employ as many as 2000 people directly.

The site Volkswagen chose is located on 1580 acres and will soon house several buildings including a body shop, paint shop, assembly and offices. The mid-size model to be manufactured at the plant will be U.S. specific, perhaps based on an existing VW platform but designed more like an American model. Volkswagen says that 30% of the cars will come equipped with the company’s clean burn turbo-diesel technology. The first cars are expected to roll out sometime in 2011.

Volkswagen Aims To Triple Market Share

The Chattanooga plant represents a commitment Volkswagen made last year to triple its annual sales in the US market within the next ten years. That announcement looked overly ambitious when it was first made, but given the decline of Chrysler and General Motors, Volkswagen may be able to step in and grab market share, perhaps well before the first model rolls out. Year to date, Volkswagen says that its US market share surged by 43%

Last month, I reported that VW’s Audi unit decided to not construct an assembly plant in North America for its upcoming Q3 compact SUV, choosing to use VW’s SEAT plant in Martorell, Spain to build the vehicle. Audi officials noted that no additional factory capacity was needed, choosing to grab an underutilized facility in the Volkswagen Group arsenal instead.

The New #1 Automobile Manufacturer?

With the Tennessee plant coming online and other strategic moves underway for Volkswagen — including a pending full merger with Porsche — the German automaker is on track to reach their next goal which is to overtake Toyota as the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. That goal looked unrealistic just months ago, but given Toyota’s own troubles, VW may soon become the new #1.

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No Automakers Meet Obama’s New Fuel Economy Standard [I Feel Gassy]

No Automakers Meet Obama’s New Fuel Economy Standard [I Feel Gassy] The just-announced fuel economy policy changes demand 42 MPG for cars and 27 MPG for light trucks. A look at the data shows not a single automaker currently meets the new guidelines proposed today.

Using the Model-Year 2009 Fleet Fuel Economy standards provided by the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA), we determined the current ratings for passenger cars and light trucks and compared them to the goal for each of the greater automakers selling cars in the U.S. A few automakers, probable KIA and Hyundai, report their given conditions separately since of a different ownership arrangement. We also took a look at what barriers exist for them reaching those standards.