Volkswagen will slim down its model portfolio, streamline the number of variants offered and increase vehicle costs in a bid to improve profitability, the company has confirmed. VW sold almost 84,000 Golfs in Germany in 2018 with more than 58,000 models in different configurations. A small minority of Golfs were identical. Over the next five years, VW intends to optimise vehicle manufacture by removing poor-selling engine and trim variants. Next year, VW will axe 25 per cent of its engine and gearbox variants in Europe, concentrating on the high-demand variants, to simplify production. For example, cars with automatic transmissions and four-wheel-drive systems sell poorly across the VW range. VW鈥檚 Chief operating officer Ralf Brandstatter said that internal combustion cars within Volkswagen鈥檚 range are likely to increase in cost to help fund Volkswagen鈥檚 movement towards e-mobility and cover off the rising cost of diesel technology. There has been a strong customer shift away from diesel engines following the Dieselgate scandal; as a result VW will be limiting the number of diesel engines in its range.
Other low-demand equipment packages and optional extras will either be assimilated into other packages or discontinued. Volkswagen also aims to implement more CO2 reduction measures in the production of its vehicles, with aims of meeting the new European standard of 95g/km of CO2. The company is planning to offer carbon-neutral electricity for most European markets, allowing customers to charge their vehicles without impacting the environment. Three electric vehicles, the new e-Golf, e-Lavida and e-Bora, will be introduced to the Chinese market by the middle of next year, while the e-Polo will follow. It鈥檚 unlikely these vehicles will be offered in Europe. VW鈥檚 SUV segment will also expand over the coming years; eventually one in every two Volkswagens sold will be an SUV the firm predicts. The T-Roc Cabrio will debut in the European market in the second half of 2019, along with new Golf and the first of the new all-electric I.D. Volkswagen states it intends to 鈥渄emocratise e-mobility鈥?with the I.D. 鈥渆-mobility accessible and affordable for everyone,鈥?in the same manner as it did with the original VW Beetle. The new I.D. will have an all-electric range of up to 341 miles on the WLTP cycle, and will be priced similarly to the new Golf diesel. Like all new Volkswagen cars, model complexity will be restricted in the I.D. Volkswagen is aiming for customers to be able to configure their cars within 10 minutes.
In 2012 Tesla stopped production of the Roadster to concentrate on its new Model S sedan, which was acclaimed by automotive critics for its performance and design. It came with three different battery options, which gave estimated ranges of 235 or 300 miles (379 or 483 km). The battery option with the highest performance gave an acceleration of 0 to 60 miles (96 km) per hour in slightly over 4 seconds and a top speed of 130 miles (209 km) per hour. Unlike the Roadster, which carried its batteries at the front of the car, the Model S had its underneath the floor, which gave extra storage space in front and improved handling because of its low centre of gravity. The Tesla Autopilot, a form of semiautonomous driving, was made available in 2014 on the Model S (and later on other models). Beginning in 2012, Tesla built stations called Superchargers in the United States and Europe designed for charging batteries quickly and at no extra cost to Tesla owners. Later versions of those stations were called Tesla Stations and also had the capability of complete replacement of the Model S battery pack. The company also branched out into solar energy products. The following year Musk made a series of tweets about taking Tesla private, claiming that he had secured funding. In September 2018 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged him with securities fraud, alleging that his tweets were 鈥渇alse and misleading.鈥?Later that month Tesla鈥檚 board rejected a proposed settlement from the SEC, reportedly after Musk threatened to resign. However, news of the rejected deal sent Tesla鈥檚 stock plummeting, and the board quickly accepted a less generous settlement, the terms of which included Musk stepping down as chairman for at least three years. However, he was allowed to remain as CEO.
In the wake of beating around Michigan International Speedway in a C400 amid our Best of the Best testing a few months prior, I was disappointed by its elements. It felt substantial as the body sloshed around when adjusting the infield street course. There surely wasn't an issue in the force office, however, with 329 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque accessible from the turbocharged V6 making the C400 absolute brisk off the line. Everything makes for a cushy and quick road auto with a perfectly trimmed inside that peculiarities S-class levels of extravagance now. Andy, who went on the first commute of the new C-class recently, let me know that the less capable C300 was the handler of the gathering. It would appear, he's privilege. Our 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4matic tips the scales at just about 100 pounds not exactly the C400 4matic, which most likely helps it feeling lighter on its feet.
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