VW Is Said to Cheat on Diesel Emissions; U.S. Orders Big Recall

[gdm]

Bad news, maybe Lamborghini Urus ,VW Phaeton,Audi Q8,Bentley EXP10 are all on the list.

 

[SCOTT27]

Bad news, maybe Lamborghini Urus ,VW Phaeton,Audi Q8,Bentley EXP10 are all on the list.

I don't think they will stop anything that's in the pipe - five-by-five.
Or indeed anything they actually need.
They need the automotive equivalents of the second Death Star.

 

[donkeykong]

Wonder if Audi changes its "the truth in engineering" slogan.

 

[Marc-1]

World-respected study of NO2 emissions has just been published.

Understanding the Health Impacts of Air Pollution in London
Date: 14 th July 2015 FINAL
King's College London

For those who are interested:
A good starting point for this case might be page 66, Table 14 Numbers of deaths in specific years as a result of the changes in NO2 from 2008 to 2012 (RR 1.055).

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/HIAinLondon_KingsReport_14072015_final_0.pdf

 

[Wunderkind]

I think Mueller will milk Porsche and Lamborghini for the much needed cash to keep the ship steady.

Get ready for plenty of special editions and higher prices for options.

 

[Sunny]

I think Mueller will milk Porsche and Lamborghini for the much needed cash to keep the ship steady.

Get ready for plenty of special editions and higher prices for options.

I think they will spin off the unaffected companies - Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti to limit their liability. Lamborghini and Ducati being owned by Audi is probably more complicated to extricate.

I guess they were already anticipating the shit to hit fan and getting ready. June 15, 2015 news -

Volkswagen to be revamped into four holding companies -Handelsblatt
FRANKFURT, JUNE 15
Volkswagen's corporate structure will be overhauled into a decentralised system with four holding companies, Handelsblatt said on Monday, citing company sources.

Former BMW manager Herbert Diess will be in charge of one of these holding companies, which will include the VW, Skoda and Seat passenger car brands. The high costs of the German factories in VW's core business is an area with the biggest need for reform, Handeslblatt said.

The upmarket Audi, Lamborghini and Ducati brands will form another holding company and the commercial vehicles brands MAN, Scania and VW Commercial vehicles will form yet another, Handelsblatt said.

Porsche, Bugatti and Bentley will make up the fourth holding company, Handelsblatt said.

No-one at VW could immediately be reached for comment.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/15/volkswagen-autos-overhaul-idUSL5N0Z10R620150615

 

[Mr Robert]

Oh, in hindsight, they were chopping it up for sales.

 

[Wunderkind]

^ Sunny

Spinning off entire marques will be the last resort. It's just not feasible from an industrial standpoint as there is so much sharing in all facets and stages of car production for the next generation models between the marques. To put it simply, it's damn hard to unscramble scrambled eggs and even harder to do it without taking a heavy financial hit (billions of euros of restructuring cost).

 

[Mr Robert]

^ Sunny

Spinning off entire marques will be the last resort. It's just not feasible from an industrial standpoint as there is so much sharing in all facets and stages of car production for the next generation models between the marques. To put it simply, it's damn hard to unscramble scrambled eggs and even harder to do it without taking a heavy financial hit (billions of euros of restructuring cost).

But it would bring cash into VW, as buyers would have to sign up for support for a lot of years. Sure, you can buy the brand, but I don't think many players are ready to take up that just yet.

 

[Wunderkind]

But it would bring cash into VW, as buyers would have to sign up for support for a lot of years. Sure, you can buy the brand, but I don't think many players are ready to take up that just yet.

VW is cash generative. They can issue debt or new shares before they consider spin-offs. VAG's stock price is looking more and more like BP's right after the massive undersea oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[Giannis]

It's just not feasible from an industrial standpoint as there is so much sharing in all facets and stages of car production for the next generation models between the marques.

It's difficult, but it's possible.

It was the same case with Volvo, if you recall.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I think Mueller will milk Porsche and Lamborghini for the much needed cash to keep the ship steady.

Get ready for plenty of special editions and higher prices for options.

I really doubt it would work like that. If they thought they could get away with charging more for options than they do, then they'd be doing it already, irrespective of the emissions scandal. They'd be maximising their profit curve. Ideally they should be just before the point whereby any increase in prices results in a drop in demand sufficient to result in a drop in profit.

 

[EnI]

Similar reorganization has been on the table since Porsche / VW merger (or takeover or whatever it was). The plan was to make several AGs under the VAG Holding:

1. Main (VW + Skoda + Seat)
2. Premium (Audi + Lamborghini + Bugatti + Bentley + Porsche + Ducati)
3. Commercial (VW + MAN + Scania)
4. Financial Services

For some odd reason they'll have 2 premium divisions now (one led by Audi - incl. Lamborghini & Ducati; the other one led by Porsche - incl. Bentley & Bugatti).

Are they making a special "Porsche Group" (Porsche + Bentley + Bugatti) in case something goes completely wrong with VAG, and Porsche SE decide to sell their the stake in VAG but keeping the Porsche Group for themselves?

 

[Monster]

For some odd reason they'll have 2 premium divisions now (one led by Audi - incl. Lamborghini & Ducati; the other one led by Porsche - incl. Bentley & Bugatti).

Probably because there are more product synergy between Audi and Lamborghini rather than Porsche and Lamborghini. Plus Porsche and Lamborghini occupy a very similar market space.

 

[EnI]

But what has Bentley to do with Porsche? Or where's a synergy between Bentley & Bugatti?

It was said Porsche + Bugatti + Bentley will be "focused on sports cars & mid-engine layout". Really? What about all Lambo range then & Audi R8? Not mid-engined sports cars? And what has Bentley to do with it?

More questions than answers.

 

[Wunderkind]

I really doubt it would work like that. If they thought they could get away with charging more for options than they do, then they'd be doing it already, irrespective of the emissions scandal. They'd be maximising their profit curve. Ideally they should be just before the point whereby any increase in prices results in a drop in demand sufficient to result in a drop in profit.

Pricing is dynamic and you are right that they seek to price at the point where they could maximise profit. But at least in Hong Kong, the price of the facelifted 991.2 and its options are a fair bit more expensive than before. Case in point, 4 years ago, we had a facelifted 997 4S Cabriolet that was reasonably spec'ed and the price we paid (brand new) then can only buy a facelifted 991.2 coupe with minimal options today. Also, I think Porsche's pricing strategy nowadays is more influenced by the pricing points of its competitors.

 

[Wunderkind]

It's difficult, but it's possible.

It was the same case with Volvo, if you recall.

Just the transfer pricing of components being made in each factory in different locations (countries) will be a nightmare to unravel. Just ask what Aston Martin had to go through when it was sold by Ford, and multiply that by 100 times.

 

[Wunderkind]

Similar reorganization has been on the table since Porsche / VW merger (or takeover or whatever it was). The plan was to make several AGs under the VAG Holding:

1. Main (VW + Skoda + Seat)
2. Premium (Audi + Lamborghini + Bugatti + Bentley + Porsche + Ducati)
3. Commercial (VW + MAN + Scania)
4. Financial Services

For some odd reason they'll have 2 premium divisions now (one led by Audi - incl. Lamborghini & Ducati; the other one led by Porsche - incl. Bentley & Bugatti).

Are they making a special "Porsche Group" (Porsche + Bentley + Bugatti) in case something goes completely wrong with VAG, and Porsche SE decide to sell their the stake in VAG but keeping the Porsche Group for themselves?

That was just a management matrix made by the management to help stock analysts to understand the VAG better.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

The reorganization into these 4 components came to be after Piech was removed from the board. At that time, when the diesel revelation wasn't known, Piech was able to over-see everything but divisions and indvidual country markets weren't very nimble and responsive to a particular market's wants and needs. After Piech's removal, the logic was not to have all the eggs in one big basket, thus the reorganization. However, I am confident they knew what the finding of the emission studies were going to be as they were running out of excuses, and in hindsight, many of the reorganization decisions probably hinged on the eventual revelation of the "defeat device" so if things need to be shed for raising money, it'd make things a bit easier.

But what has Bentley to do with Porsche? Or where's a synergy between Bentley & Bugatti?

It was said Porsche + Bugatti + Bentley will be "focused on sports cars & mid-engine layout". Really? What about all Lambo range then & Audi R8? Not mid-engined sports cars? And what has Bentley to do with it?

More questions than answers.

Only thing I can think of is the shared RWD-based MSB platform in the upcoming Panamera and Conti replacements. Bentley and Bugatti have a more "luxury biased" perfomance whereas Lamorghini is more "razor-sharp sports biased" performance. However, there was chatter of the rear mid-engined Porsche that was going to be positioned between the 911 and 918 and compete with the Ferrari 458/488 and it was going to share its matrix with the R8/Huracan.

Also, in the last coule of years, there was chatter about VAG (the overall group, not the brand) changing its name to the resurrected moniker "Auto Union." I wonder if that'll be accelerated as a re-branding tactic....

 

[Mr Robert]

And so it begins....

http://www.derwesten.de/wirtschaft/...olkswagen-nach-diesel-skandal-id11165083.html