Search Results Found For: "VW diesel"

Are plug-in hybrids the next Dieselgate?

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) don’t get much respect in the EV industry these days. They’re the epitome of a transitional technology, and it would be hard to argue that many of them justify their price premiums over plain hybrids. It’s widely believed that, thanks to ill-considered government incentives, many PHEVs are bought by drivers who never… Read more »

Florida awards VW settlement funding: $68 million for electric transit buses, $57 million for school buses

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $68 million in grants for the purchase of 227 electric transit buses in 13 counties. The funds came from Florida’s $166-million share of Volkswagen’s $15-billion federal settlement for the Dirty Diesel Debacle. The electric buses will replace existing diesel buses in Alachua, Broward, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Leon,… Read more »

MAN Truck and Bus to transition from diesel to all-electric trucks and buses starting in 2024

MAN Truck and Bus, a commercial subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, began electrifying in 2020. It currently offers a few electrified versions of its trucks, buses and vans. Now the company says it will make the transition to all-electric powertrains, beginning in 2024. In a recent interview with Handelsblatt, MAN CEO Dr. Andreas Tostmann said… Read more »

Louisiana to use VW settlement money to install 82 charging stations

Louisiana may be more famous for étouffée than electric vehicles, but money from Volkswagen’s dirty diesel settlement will finance several measures to clean up the air in the Pelican (or Petroleum) State. Louisiana received $19.8 million from the 2016 settlement. Around $12 million went to replace 351 diesel school buses (some with propane or CNG… Read more »

Are German dealers sabotaging VW’s EV efforts?

The Volkswagen Group is by far the most charged of the legacy automakers—it’s making massive investments in electrification, converting entire factories to EV production, and rolling out fast charging networks across the US and Europe. Chairman Herbert Diess recently won an important vote of confidence from the company’s board, which agreed to back his ambitious… Read more »

VW: German auto industry push to subsidize hydrogen is “nonsensical”

The latest battle in the War of the Energy Storage Media has broken out in Germany, where the Volkswagen Group and an auto industry lobbying group (the German Association of the Automotive Industry, or VDA) are at daggers drawn over the government’s proposed plan to implement the EU’s renewable energy directive. Germany’s Federal Ministry of… Read more »

VW to shift to dealer agency model for EV sales

It’s no secret that auto dealerships are a major bottleneck for EV sales. Legacy automakers may cast an envious eye on Tesla’s direct-to-customer sales model, but they cannot practically (or legally) cut the dealers out of the equation. Now Volkswagen may have found a way to solve this dilemma, at least in Germany. VW has… Read more »

New York State pledges $24 million in VW settlement funds for electric transit buses

New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have announced that over $24 million is available to replace diesel-powered transit buses with new all-electric buses. As part of the state’s $128-million allocation from the federal Volkswagen Settlement, NYSERDA will invest $18.4 million to fund… Read more »

EU regulators charge BMW, Daimler and VW with colluding to evade emissions rules

Are the authorities “piling on” the Volkswagen Group? In 2017, the poor little automaker pleaded guilty to fraud and obstruction of justice in the dirty diesel debacle, and has already agreed to shell out some $30 billion in atonement. Now the mean old US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued the company and ex-CEO Martin… Read more »

New book: the Dieselgate scandal was not an isolated incident, was not a secret, and is not over

The “Dieselgate scandal,” or as we like to call it, the “dirty diesel debacle,” was a catalytic event (pun intended). It led to some major changes at Volkswagen, and shook up the European auto market. However, only time will tell how much of this change will prove to be permanent. The Volkswagen Group has announced… Read more »