This year’s National Franchised Dealers Association Summer 2016 survey, published today, had 1,746 respondents from a total participating dealer network of 4,090, which equates to a response rate of 43 per cent. This is the highest return ever, surpassing last winter’s high of 39 per cent. There were 28 franchise networks in the survey which represent a range of dealer sizes and ownership type from across the UK.
GSF Car Parts has invested in 10 new VW Caddy vans to be used across the branch network. The vehicles will be added to the existing fleet rather than used as replacements, enabling more frequent local trade customer deliveries. The vans have been selected using criteria to evaluate a full range of factors including load capacity, fuel economy, purchase price and anticipated running cost – with VW Caddy scoring well across the board.
Volkswagen Motorsport India has confirmed its appointment of MRF Tyres as sole tyre supplier to the Vento Cup race series. MRF takes over from JK Tyre, who served as tyre partner for the past six years.
Matthias Müller, the boss of Volkswagen has rejected calls to offer the same sort of compensation to offer European customers in the same way as American drivers when the carmaker agreed to a $14.7bn settlement in the US over its emissions scandal.
Falken Tyre Europe has been made the original equipment tyre supplier to Seat’s first SUV, the Ateca. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries brand will roll off the production line fitted with the Falken Azenis FK453CC and Ziex ZE914A tyres. Falken will deliver FK453CC tyres in size 215/50R18 92W and the ZE914A tyre in size 225/55R17 97V.
Existing lab tests designed to ensure emission limits are met have been shown to be inadequate and this is why the UK has secured a tough new Europe-wide ‘real driving emissions’ test. From next year, vehicles will have to meet emissions limits in real driving conditions across a wide range of typical operating temperatures. This will improve consumer confidence in manufacturers. The UK will be working to ensure that the new rules for real driving emissions and type approval are robust, deliver the expected outcomes and that manufacturers behave consistently.
Several online sources are reporting that a number of German car manufacturers are planning to recall large numbers of vehicles as part of the ongoing vehicle emissions scandal. Sources suggest Mercedes, Opel and Porsche as well as Volkswagen and its Audi brand are to recall certain diesel vehicles. BBC news reports that over 600,000 cars are set to be recalled, citing German media reports.
Volkswagen is to offer “substantial compensation” and initiate a car buy-back scheme in US following the diesel emissions scandal. However, there are not expected to be any such measures in the UK or Europe. Final details of what the company is offering are expected to be announced in June, but what is offered is expected to be “substantial”. In the 24 hours after VW made this deal public, Mitsubishi announced that 625,000 of its cars came with inaccurate emissions figures. This was followed by the news that Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG is launching an internal investigation into its own emissions testing.
A simple “trick” – or perhaps we should say “cheating” or “fraud” – has been common practice in the European automotive industry, to the displeasure of environmental organisations: Place a car with excessive tyre pressure on a dynamometer and – voilà – lower fuel consumption levels and emissions are recorded thanks to the ‘optimised’ rolling resistance. Mitsubishi has conceded carrying out this practice in Japan with test data submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. This time round it doesn’t affect, as in the case of Volkswagen and its ‘cheat’ software, millions of vehicles, rather ‘only’ 625,000 small cars, the majority of these off-take production for Nissan.
Remus has launched a new range of exhaust systems for Volkswagen’s flagship Golf VI and its extensive variants. The company has added fitments for the popular cabriolet version and the redeveloped Scirocco coupe too, with options for the 1.2 engine and both power variants of the 1.4s, and the ability to take advantage of the firm’s Powerizer system for extra power.
Volkswagen could face fines of up to £60 billin after the US Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against it for violating clean air laws. It alleges that Volkswagen installed ‘defeat devices’ in almost 600,000 diesel vehicles in the US to cheat emission tests. The Justice Department recently filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, which accuses Volkswagen of four counts of violating the US Clean Air Act. In theory, Volkswagen could be handed fines of about £25,000 per vehicle found to have violated the law.
AirREX’s has released transformable air-suspension kit for almost all variants of the Volkswagen Passat. The supplier has different kits to fit all engine types from the launch spec to the present day, offering a near ‘plug and play’ fitment. The kit should appeal to enthusiasts that want the look and convenience of a fully adjustable air-ride kit, but without the usual hassles of fitting that go with custom installs, AirREX states.
Car leasing company, Flexed.co.uk states that there has been a surge in electric car interest in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The Yorkshire-based company has found that both private and company buyers want to make the switch to green motoring after worrying how much their cars really are polluting the environment. Eco-consciousness is […]
Emissions testing fraud should be investigated thoroughly and those responsible should face appropriate sanctions, said MEPs in a resolution passed on Tuesday 27 October. They said that the EU emissions testing system should be strengthened to ensure that EU emission limits are respected and that vehicles exceeding these limits are discovered quickly. They also recommended considering whether to establish an EU-level surveillance authority.
The Volkswagen Group has reported third quarter 2015 pre-tax losses of 2.522 billion euros as a result of the emissions scandal the firm is embroiled in. The losses are attributed to 10.2 billion euros of special charges in the first nine months of the year. In addition market observers are concerned about the firm’s continued corporate policy.
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