Volkswagen News & Blogs

Volkswagen Teams With Stanford on a $5.75-Million Auto Think Tank

Not to be outdone by Lamborghini's recent investment in an advanced composites lab at the University of Washington, Volkswagen has announced its own $5.75 million outlay to underwrite a new joint effort at Stanford University aimed at accelerating all types of automotive-related technologies. Officially the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory (VAIL), it will complement VW's Electronics Research Laboratory, which also is located in Palo Alto, California. Volkswagen has been working with Stanford since 2005 when the two created an autonomous Touareg called "Stanley" that went on to win the DARPA Grand Challenge and followed it up in 2007 with a hands-free Passat entry dubbed "Junior" that took second spot in the annual Defense Advanced...
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VW Will Market its First EV in 2013

Speaking at an industry gathering in Munich last week, Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn confirmed that the automaker plans to introduce its first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) in 2013. The new car will be based on the firm's "New Small Family" platform that was originally displayed at various auto shows in 2007 as the space up! concept. Winterkorn indicated that it will be only one of several affordable zero- and low-emissions vehicles that VW plans to introduce during the remainder of this decade, in addition to developing an even more efficient line of conventional and hybrid models. While recognizing the growing importance of the EV as a viable transport module, VW's headman also was quick to point out there were both conceptual and...
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California Mandates Cooler Cars to Fight Global Warming

It's not quite what you think. But the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has just passed the first legislation requiring solar-efficient glass to be used in all new cars sold in that state starting in 2012. Beyond literally keeping occupants cooler in the summer, the coincident reduction in the use of air conditioning will help improve average fuel economy and decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. This new regulation will be enacted using a two-stage roll. From 2012-2015, all vehicle glass must be capable of rejecting at least 45 percent of the sun's total heat-producing energy, except for the windshield which will have a 50 percent rejection requirement. Starting in 2016, the numbers will rise to 60 percent all around. CARB data...
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Obama Plan Paves Way for Unified Mileage/Emissions Standards

President Obama today presented a landmark proposal aimed at moving the country ahead on the road to a clean energy economy. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden and flanked by members of his administration and key auto executives, Obama offered a comprehensive approach that will significantly boost fuel economy numbers and resolve the ongoing legal wrangling that has long set automakers and the state of California at odds over supplemental greenhouse gas emissions issues. The president, who characterized the existing rules governing fuel economy as "inadequate, uncertain and in flux," called for the adoption of a new single-standard formula that will accelerate the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirement to 35.5 mpg by 2016 -- four...
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VW and Toshiba Will Cooperate on Electric Drive, Battery Development

Volkswagen AG and Toshiba have signed a letter of intent that outlines plans to work together on a new generation of electric drive units, power electronics and high-capacity battery systems to be used in VW's new small family of vehicles. The statement by Volkswagen's Chairman of the Board Martin Winterkorn noted that the firm is currently moving ahead on the development of a number of future drive technologies and sees this new linkup with the Japanese battery maker as pivotal to VW's long-term success in the emerging electric vehicle arena. "I am convinced that this will be a major step forward towards the development of series production electric vehicles for our customers." Winterkorn also reiterated Volkswagen's objective to be "the first...
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