John & Angela wrote:
wilber1 wrote:
Dieselgate may be expensive for VW but it isn't killing its world wide sales.
VW, worlds #1 car maker
They have big plans for the Electric vehicle market but they are late to the game. They have some catching up to do. The demand is there but the manufacturing facilities take years to ramp up. They are looking at a dealerless business plan as well as there is very little follow up revenue in the electric vehicle world. I think all the manufacturers will have to do this. Tesla has it sort of figured out. They are only producing 80,000 cars a year right but are ramping up to 400,000 once the gigafactory is on line in a few years. VW will have to get at it fast. There will be no shortage of jobs for engineers in the next decade. Less laborers though. Times are a changing.
Not what it seems by VW. China is using more electrical vehicles, and Europeans want more Electrical Delivery vehicles, but small diesel sales are on the up. VW said the Golf Bluemotion which is a hybrid they are releasing in NA is not the same vehicle they are releasing globally. You guessed it , will have Diesel engines instead.
We will still offer small capacity diesel engines in the next Golf because they remain important in many markets, and because for customers who do high mileages they will remain the most economical
A bit more on that by VW explains the strategy better
"We will still offer small capacity diesel engines in the next Golf because they remain important in many markets, and because for customers who do high mileages they will remain the most economical choice," Diess explained. "But 48v allows you to recycle energy more efficiently than 12v and to use it to drive the car with an electric motor of about 10- or 12kW, at a much lower cost than you can with a full hybrid powertrain today. So for those who drive mostly in the city or only cover 6000- to 10,000 miles a year, the new mild hybrid solution should be better."
It would not make business sense for VW to combine such 48v mild hybrid technology with a modern small-capacity diesel engine, however - since doing so would result in a car too costly to appeal at the value end of the Golf model range. "Diesel hybrid is too expensive for this part of the market," Diess explained.
