Giti Tire’s United States manufacturing facility in South Carolina has completed an audit by Volkswagen to supply two tyre sizes for the 2019 Volkswagen Passat. The plant can now officially begin producing the All-Season GitiComfort A1 as an original equipment fitment for the Passat in sizes 235/45R18 95H and 235/40R19 92H. Production commences in the first quarter of the year; these tyres are the US plant’s first original equipment supplied tyres.
Bridgestone is supplying Potenza branded slick tyres as a new chapter in its Volkswagen supply partnership begins at the Green Hell of the Nürburgring. Volkswagen’s electric ID. R will aim to beat the lap record for electric vehicles on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in summer 2019. Bridgestone is a long-term original equipment tyre supplier for the firm’s production vehicles, and the new deal sees the companies expand their partnership into motorsport. The ID. R is the racing forerunner to the new ID. product family – Volkswagen’s wide range of purely electric vehicles to be launched from 2020.
The recently announced partnership between Ford and Volkswagen in the commercial vans and medium pickup trucks arena served to highlight the strong global demand that both companies foresee in these two segments. The partnership was made public on the sidelines of the just concluded North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2019, in Detroit. It marks the first step in a partnership that seeks to leverage the complementary strengths of both automotive giants in a bid to boost their competitiveness.
Volkswagen and Tesco have announced the development of the largest UK retail electric vehicle (EV) charging network. The two companies will roll out more than 2,400 EV charging bays across 600 Tesco stores within the next three years.
We heard in June that Goodyear was supplying original equipment tyres to the new Volkswagen Touareg, and Apollo Vredestein now shares that it will supply two 18-inch fitments to the latest version of VW’s flagship SUV. Buyers selecting an all-season fitment as standard can select the Vredestein Quatrac 5 in size 255/60 R18 108V, while those preferring summer rubber can plump for the Vredestein Ultrac Satin in size 255/60 R18 108W.
Greenpeace anti-diesel campaigners held a peaceful protest aimed at blocking Volkswagen staff from entering the company’s head office in Milton Keynes on 20 August. Representatives from the organisation, which is demanding the manufacturer stops producing diesel cars, arrived at 7am and set up a ‘diesel pollution clinic’ outside the building’s entrance.
Volkswagen Group’s VW T-Roc, Seat Ateca and Škoda Karoq will run on Giti Tire’s GitiPremium SUVPX1 tyre. The three MQB-A1 platform models will fit the tyre in size 215/60R16 95V. All three models will be available across Europe, with the VW T-Roc made in Portugal, and the Seat Ateca and Karoq produced in the Czech Republic.
Investigators in the VW diesel scandal have taken a high-level manager into custody. Audi boss Rupert Stadler was detained on Monday due to the danger of evidence being suppressed. Stadler’s position at the top of the senior VW subsidiary and thus also on the VW Board, will be taken temporarily by the Dutchman Bram Schot, provided this is approved by the Audi board of trustees. The German press agency has discovered this through trusted informants. The 56 year old has been sales director at Audi for about nine months.
A range of Goodyear summer, winter and all-season tyres have been approved as original equipment fitments on the new Volkswagen Touareg. Goodyear reports that it has met Volkswagen’s requirements for tyres for global applications and will supply a total of nine tyre dimensions for fitment on the SUV.
The German government has ordered car maker Daimler to recall 238,000 vehicles in Germany after they were found to be fitted with illegal software that masks diesel emissions.
The latest generation Volkswagen Touareg, which has just had its world premiere in China, features one of the most powerful lighting systems on the market – the LED Matrix Headlamp, jointly developed by Hella and Volkswagen. Volkswagen will offer the innovative lighting system for the new luxury class SUV, under the ‘IQ.LIGHT – LED Matrix Headlamps’ designation.
The Volkswagen Atlas is not just the newest member of the VW family, it is also the largest. The seven-seater SUV is primarily aimed at the North American market; however, this heavyweight is also expected to attract buyers in markets such as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Kumho Tire reports that its Kumho Crugen Premium KL33 has been selected as an original equipment tyre for the Atlas, with models rolling off the Volkswagen production line in Chattanooga, Tennessee fitted with the tyre in size 245/60 R18 105T.
The GitiSynergyE1 has been selected as original equipment for the Seat Arona in size 205/60R16 92H. It is the third vehicle based on Volkswagen’s MQB A0 small car platform to roll out on a Giti Tire. The latest model in the steadily growing small SUV segment, the Arona is produced in Seat’s Martorell plant in Spain alongside the Ibiza.
As of January, a second size of the Yokohama BluEarth-A AE-50 is being supplied as an original equipment tyre for VW Tiguan models sold in Russia. Yokohama Rubber is supplying the size 215/65R17 99V tyre to Volkswagen Group Rus, the vehicle manufacturer’s local subsidiary. The tyre maker has supplied the BluEarth-A AE-50 for OE fitment on the Tiguan in size 235/55R18 100V since June 2017.
Two Falken tyres have been approved as original equipment on the new Volkswagen T-Roc. Following Falken’s approval as OEM supplier in August, the Azenis FK453CC and the Ziex ZE914A Ecorun will be fitted to the compact SUV in various sizes.
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