+++ AUDI has unveiled its all-new, fourth-generation A8. Noticeably missing, however, was the flagship sedan’s sporty S8 variant. It turns out Audi will launch the new S8 as well as its more potent S8 Plus variant in early 2018. Prototypes have been spotted but so far reveal few cues. The regular S8 is expected to continue with a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8. The engine will be borrowed from the Porsche Panamera Turbo and should deliver around 530 horsepower. In comparison, the current S8 produces 520 hp from its own twin-turbo V8. Of more interest to performance fans and tech buffs alike will be the S8 Plus. The new S8 Plus will adopt the plug-in hybrid powertrain of the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. This powertrain pairs the Panamera Turbo’s twin-turbo V-8 with an electric motor integrated with the transmission. In the Porsche the powertrain is good for 680 hp, but in the Audi it should be tuned to deliver a tamer 630 hp. The current S8 Plus produces 605 hp from a twin-turbo V8. Look for the new S8 to hit 100 km/h in about 4.0 seconds and top out at close to 300 km/h. The new S8 Plus should hit 100 km/h in well under 4.0 seconds and top out somewhere around 310 km/h. The S8 Plus won’t be the only plug-in version of the new A8. An A8 e-tron has already been announced. It pairs a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 with an electric motor integrated with the transmission. The setup is good for 449 horsepower and an electric-only range of approximately 50 kilometers. Fans looking for a pure electric A8 to take on the Tesla Model S and potential newcomers such as the Lucid Air and Fisker EMotion will be disappointed, however. Audi isn’t expected to have an electric A8 on sale until at least the next generation of the flagship sedan. +++
+++ In the United States, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is to expand the wireless spectrum for AUTONOMOUS car radar. The decision is expected to align US and European standards, potentially improving collision-avoidance systems. The Federal Communications Commission has moved to expand wireless spectrum allocation for collision-avoidance systems in modern vehicles. Automakers will benefit from a 5-fold increase in spectrum at the 76-81 GHz band. Vehicle radars will gradually be excluded from other currently-accepted bands to harmonize US regulations with Europe and other countries. “This is consistent with the spectrum that is available internationally, avoiding the need to customize the radars in vehicles for different markets”, the FCC said in a statement. The announcement follows other federal initiatives aimed at hastening deployment of advanced automated safety technology for vehices. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still working to implement regulatory reforms to pave the way for fully autonomous technology. In the meantime, most major automakers have agreed to voluntarily make automatic emergency braking standard by 2022, which could save thousands of lives annually. FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly said he was hesitant to approve the spectrum expansion, noting that the automotive industry was handed a 5.9-GHz band for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications systems nearly two decades ago but there is currently “little to show for it.” He admitted, however, that there may be a technological benefit to the latest spectrum consolidation that could make cars safer. “While long range radars have been operating in one gigahertz of spectrum at 76-77 GHz, a case has been made that short-range radars need four gigahertz of spectrum to provide the necessary higher resolution to detect and identify objects at close range”, he said. The spectrum band will also be made available to aircraft and airport equipment to help identify runway debris and avoid aircraft collisions on taxiways. +++
+++ Car makers from across the industry have written a letter asking CHINA to reconsider its plan to introduce stringent sales quotas for electric vehicles. The Chinese government is planning to introduce quotas that determine how many of each firm’s car sales must be electric-powered machines, with credits rewarding the sale of electric or plug-in hybrids. The plans calls for 8% of each firm’s sales to feature electrificiation by next year, 10% the following year, and 12% by 2020. By 2025, China wants a fifth of all sales to be what it calls NEVs (New Energy Vehicles). The letter, which comes from firms representing about 70% of the global car industry including companies from Europe, Korea, the US and Japan, calls for China to push back the plans by up to 3 years. It also asks China to soften what they deem to be over-stringent levies on car makers, based on the number of EVs sold. Chinese premier Li Keqiang and German chancellor Angela Merkel had originally agreed to less stringent quotas. The industry deems the plans too ambitious for the fledgling electric vehicle market, despite most firms planning a major expansion of their electric and plug-in ranges. The industry suggested in the letter that the quotas are instead based on the individual car makers’ production volume, in order to avoid unfairly high comparative quotas on smaller-volume companies. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda already previously pushed back against the plans, arguing that hybrid technology was the only practical, cost-effective bridge until hydrogen powertrains come to the fore. +++
+++ DAIMLER said it had struck a deal with workers to make electric car components and batteries at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Untertürkheim, near Stuttgart, in addition to combustion engines, transmissions, and axles. Untertürkheim is operating at full capacity. But the 19,000 workers at the plant demanded assurances that jobs would be guaranteed as the auto industry shifts to electric cars, which have fewer components than diesel or gasoline vehicles. Workers at Untertürkheim went on strike this month, leading to the cancellation of overtime shifts to make the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class model and forcing the management into talks. As part of the deal, Untertürkheim will become a competence center for integrating the electric powertrain into production, and will include a battery production facility, in addition to battery plants in Kamenz and Beijing. The agreement created more than 250 new jobs in the field of electric vehicle production, Daimler said. Powertrain modules for electric vehicles will be assembled in Untertürkheim and supplied to other locations like the Mercedes-Benz passenger car plant in Sindelfingen. “With this further development, Untertürkheim will continue to be the lead plant in the global powertrain production network”, Mercedes-Benz cars production chief Markus Schäfer said. The labor pact includes changes to the plant’s shifts and flexible workforce measures, as well as assurances that Mercedes-Benz will develop Untertuerkheim into a competence center to test electric-drive prototypes. “We are getting a project house in which experts from our research and development department will develop know-how for the electric drive systems of future EQ models”, Wolfgang Nieke, chairman of Untertürkheim’s works council, said in a statement. By 2025, fully electric vehicles are to account for between 15 and 25 percent of the total unit sales of Mercedes-Benz. +++
+++ Volkswagen vows to undercut the TESLA Model 3 by $7,000. The German automaker is confident it can ‘stop’ Tesla with its upcoming EV platform architecture. A Volkswagen executive has boldly declared that the company’s mass-market electric vehicle will undercut the Tesla Model 3 by at least $7,000. VW’s chief of corporate strategy, Thomas Sedran, is quoted as saying the vehicle could be up to $8,000 cheaper than the Model 3, which would bring the entry price down to just $28,000. The car will be inspired by the futuristic ID Concept that debuted last year in Paris. The final production design and size will likely be much closer to the current Golf, with an electric range of around 400 kilometers. The figure is based on the NEDC protocol, which is slightly more generous than EPA-based estimates. The budget EV will arrive in 2020, giving VW a few more years to wait for battery prices to continue sliding downward. The same MEB platform architecture will then be used for other models, including a compact crossover previewed by the ID Crozz. +++
+++ The British government helped to secure a more than $310 million investment from TOYOTA in its English plant with a letter reassuring the Japanese carmaker over post-Brexit trading arrangements. Toyota said on March 16 it would install its new car platform at its Burnaston plant. One source, who is familiar with the letter, said that Toyota delayed the decision due by the end of December while it weighed up a number of factors including Brexit. The business ministry has confirmed the existence of a letter but refused to release it. The source said the letter was similar to one sent to Japanese carmaker Nissan last year when it decided to build 2 new models at its northern English plant. The document sparked public and lawmaker concern about secretive deals. The source, who did not say when the letter was sent, said it contained several reassurances. “They received a similar set of warm words as Nissan on electric vehicles, commitment to further training and to ensure the competitiveness of the UK automotive industry”, the source said. A Toyota spokesman declined to comment on whether it had received such a letter. He referred to the company’s March 16 statement which said the British government was providing funding for training and research and development. Toyota also said at the time that “continued tariff-and-barrier free market access… will be vital for future success”. Britain said in March it would back up the investment from Toyota, which builds roughly 10 percent of Britain’s 1.7 million cars, by spending 21.3 million pounds to support skills and training, research and development and innovation, subject to an independent assessment. A spokesman at the business ministry declined to provide any comment for this story. Business minister Greg Clark said last year that assurances offered to Nissan were available to other firms. Reuters made a freedom of information (FOI) request to the business ministry to see documentation relating to the investment decision, which the ministry said included a letter. In its response, an official at the ministry refused to release the letter and a company briefing note, saying the information was “both highly commercially sensitive” and “would be likely to cause harm to the company’s commercial interests if disclosed”. Clark has refused to publish the Nissan letter. He said he will release the information when it is no longer commercially confidential. Many of the world’s biggest car firms are worried about the long-term viability of their British plants and are using their upcoming investment decisions to push for promises to maintain free trade after Britain’s exit from the EU, which is due to take place in March 2019. Toyota finalised its decision at a meeting between its Europe President and Chief Executive Johan van Zyl and Clark on March 15, the day before the official announcement, a third source, who is close to the company told Reuters. In response to the FOI request, the business ministry said there were three documents relating to discussions between the firm and top government officials since Clark was appointed in July last year: a letter, a confidential company briefing and an email exchange. It initially refused to publish all three but after Reuters appealed the decision, the department released a redacted email exchange. Reuters asked for correspondence between the company and Clark, a special advisor, a junior minister and the ministry’s automotive team. The email exchange included three messages which were written after a meeting between Clark and van Zyl. The emails are redacted so that it is not possible to know who received them. “We picked up from the recent meeting with Greg Clark that Toyota has a significant investment decision coming up before the end of the year, for a new European ‘architecture plant’ “, according to official correspondence dated September 9th. “Dr Zyl noted that uncertainties over future trade arrangements are a worry, and SofS (Secretary of State Clark) sought to reassure on the alignment of company and HMG (Her Majesty’s government) goals”. “It would be great to understand more about the decision, and if there are any ways in which HMG could help”, the email from the official said. Clark had meetings with Toyota officials in September, November and March, according to an official government log. Japan’s Nissan, Toyota and Honda account for around half of British car output. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with British Prime Minister Theresa May in April and called for a smooth Brexit to allow Japanese firms to continue to operate. Toyota has yet to say which models it will build in Burnaston over the next decade. +++
+++ After years of slow sales, VOLKSWAGEN is finally killing off the Touareg for the US market. Despite the ever-growing popularity of SUVs and crossovers, the Touareg never quite made a mark in America. Sales of the near-luxury SUV were down 26 percent in the first half of 2017, with just 1,630 units rolling off dealer lots. There’s no one reason for the decline in sales, but the premium price tag cannot have helped. The 2017 Volkswagen Touareg starts at $50,405 in the US, with the top of the range Executive trim starting at $61,105. For reference, the all-new 2018 Volkswagen Atlas starts at $31,425. Even the top-of-the-line Atlas SEL Premium with 4Motion undercuts a base Touareg at $49,415. The 2 models aren’t exactly direct competitors, with the Atlas offering more space and a four-cylinder, two-wheel drive model. It isn’t quite as premium as the Touareg, but it doesn’t have to fight heavy hitters from Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Cadillac. The all-new Tiguan will help fill the space vacated by the Touareg. The new model is larger than the outgoing one, and there’s a new compact crossover on the way that will slot below the Tiguan. +++