VW Boosts Investment in Electric and Autonomous Car Technology To $86 Billon (reuters.com) 34
Volkswagen has raised its planned investment on digital and electric vehicle technologies to 73 billion euros ($86 billion) over the next five years as it seeks to hold onto its crown as the world's largest carmaker in a new green era. From a report: Under a plan presented on Friday, Volkswagen said it would allocate nearly half its investment budget of 150 billion euros on e-mobility, hybrid cars, a seamless, software-based vehicle operating system and self-driving technologies. In last year's plan, the German car and truck maker, which owns brands including VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, had earmarked 60 billion euros for electric and self-driving vehicles out of the 150 billion budget. A global clampdown on emissions, partly triggered by VW's diesel pollution scandal in 2015, has forced carmakers to accelerate the development of low-emission technology, even for their low-margin mainstream models.
Re:Anyone who buys a VW product (Score:4, Insightful)
Like... Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Volkswagen?
Or do you just think it is smarter to be getting and constantly fixing Fords and Chevys.
The American Car Market isn't so appealing to most of us today. Which is why the American Car Companies have been switching over to Trucks. American Roads allow big trucks. So that is something they can make that Europe cannot compete with. But when their facing competition they normally get creamed by European and Asian Cars.
I do like Tesla as an American Car Brand... However they still need to mature in product quality. While the electric car has less parts that will fail, and cause problems from getting from point A-B They are a lot of little things that can add up.
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There's other non-american car brands that havent defrauded millions of people.
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There's other non-american car brands that havent defrauded millions of people.
In examinations, most of the other cars showed pretty much the same pollution behaviour as the VW vehicles [theguardian.com]. The only thing is that VW's engineers likely don't have as much experience in covering up cheating as the others.
To give credit where it's due, I heard that Ford engines may be the exception which aren't actually cheating. Can't guarantee there were no other honest companies, but I doubt it.
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Their new EV, the ID.3, is actually very good. Efficient, good charging, good ride and handling.
The interior looks a bit naff, the screen looks like they stuck an early 2000s tablet to the dashboard.
Mechanics laugh at modern German cars (Score:3)
But customers are NOT mechanics. In the US they depreciate swiftly in the used market because dealers know they have work to do to sort them out. The very successful owner of the lot I worked at refused to buy them and any trades were swapped off to other dealers to get them off the lot.
They're apparently intended for the lease market and used buyers don't matter because the manufacturer made their money. In a tech-illiterate world customers want the shiny and deserve it.
Wow (Score:2)
Now they nearing the fines they paid for their frauds.
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Volkswagens big switch to electric, so they do not have to lie about the pollution their cars generate. How efficient will they be, hey it's Volkswagen, no where near as efficient as they claim it to be. So I would imagine, charging at below freezing temperatures and discharging at much warmer temperatures on ultra high pressure low rolling resistance tyres with a gale force winds blowing from behind, down slow falling slope from it's highest point and driven by a midget and every possible accessory that ca
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I think due to the fraud problems with Diesel, is the reason why VW is ahead of the other traditional automakers (Not Tesla) in making electric automotive.
Part of the settlement was VW having to pay for an Electric Charging Infrastructure for that case, they might as well make and sell cars to use that infrastructure to help turn lemon into lemon-aid.
Electric Cars are the future, Ice Cars will be going away. Driving down the road today I see about 1 or 2% of the cars on the road being Electric. About 10
News for commuters (Score:3, Funny)
Based on the frequency of stories about electric cars and ride sharing services you would think this site was for taxi operators.
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Funny as your comment is the electric car and the change in personal transportation will be the single biggest change that people experience in the coming years, will have an enormous impact on both infrastructure development, the environment and one of the largest industries in the world. It may also be the first time in many many years that people have had to call an electrician to modify their houses.
Heck if car sharing (not ride sharing) services take off in the USA it may upend one of the great America
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Don't care (Score:2)
Trust (Score:3)
Wait a minute. (Score:1)
Huh, I always thought the Tesla market cap is ludicrous - it now stands at $383B. But VW is telling us they will spend $86B in 5 year just for electric & digital technologies, on top of the rest of their budget, which sort of puts things in perspective, given that their plan is to basically catch up to Tesla in e-vehicle technology (at the best case).
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(This says 40% in 10 years)
https://www.volkswagen-newsroo... [volkswagen-newsroom.com]
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I continue to back this, but I believe that by end of 2023, that EVs will account for more than 50% of all new passenger vehicle sales in the west as well as in China. In fact, I think that I am under-guessing this, and would not be surprised to see even new road-based commercial vehicles be over 50% EVs.
End of 2023 when EV sales are less than 3% now? That's way optimistic. This report says by 2040.
https://about.bnef.com/electri... [bnef.com]
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But, the fact remains that FEW analysts ever get anything right. Most are being paid to find issues with something and sway stock-buyers .
Look a the penalties and subsidies that China, Europe, America, etc give out. This will force the sales.
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Oh, I am aware of what a report says.
But, the fact remains that FEW analysts ever get anything right.
You never get anything right either WindBourne. Remember when you said this?
First off, new ICE cars will probably stop selling in about 2 more years. Certainly the luxury versions will because rich ppl will not want to put down 80K and in 2 years, have it be worth 10K. They are not stupid. [slashdot.org]
It's been two years already...analysts were much better predictors than you.
Quite the backpedal WindBourne (Score:2)
I continue to back this, but I believe that by end of 2023, that EVs will account for more than 50% of all new passenger vehicle sales in the west as well as in China. In fact, I think that I am under-guessing this, and would not be surprised to see even new road-based commercial vehicles be over 50% EVs.
But what did you say previously in 2018 WindBourne?
First off, new ICE cars will probably stop selling in about 2 more years. Certainly the luxury versions will because rich ppl will not want to put down 80K and in 2 years, have it be worth 10K. They are not stupid. [slashdot.org]
Guess what...It's now just over 2 years since you said that. Have new ICE cars stopped selling? Even the luxury versions?
Someone was certainly stupid WindBourne. (as always, it's you)
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Huh, I always thought the Tesla market cap is ludicrous - it now stands at $383B. But VW is telling us they will spend $86B in 5 year just for electric & digital technologies, on top of the rest of their budget, which sort of puts things in perspective, given that their plan is to basically catch up to Tesla in e-vehicle technology (at the best case).
That's not what I read:
Under a plan presented on Friday, Volkswagen said it would allocate nearly half its investment budget of 150 billion euros on e-mobility, hybrid cars, a seamless, software-based vehicle operating system and self-driving technologies.
In last year’s plan, the German car and truck maker, which owns brands including VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, had earmarked 60 billion euros for electric and self-driving vehicles out of the 150 billion budget.
It's a lot of money - but not that much (Score:2)
Not that much compared to their size, I mean.
Those people sell upwards of 10 million cars each year. They quote an investment budget of 150 billion in 5 years, that's $3000 per car. The rest of the price of the car accounts for actually building the car, dealer markup, marketing and a small profit margin.
The news is how they distribute the budget. Half of it will go to new technology development. That cuts a lot of the amount they usually spend for typical car company things. And they still need to do those
Hopefully, they mean this. (Score:2)
To contrast this (Score:2)
There's a Chinese company named Minghong. They make cars for people who don't think they need to compensate for lack of size of their body parts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]