|
|
| Line 4: |
Line 4: |
|
| |
|
| == Developments == | | == Developments == |
| ''See also: [https://forum.investmentwiki.org/t/volkswagen-electric-vehicles/210 Live Developments in Forum]'' | | ''See also: [https://forum.investmentwiki.org/t/volkswagen-electric-vehicles/210 Live Developments in Forum]'' |
| | |
| === January 2024 ===
| |
| January 16, 2024: Volkswagen is in talks with France’s Blue Solutions to use its technology to develop “solid-state” electric car battery following delays encountered by its joint partner QuantumScape, a source told Reuters. Blue Solutions is already developing solid-state batteries for Daimler electric buses that have a charging time of 4 hours but is working on a passenger car battery that have a charging time of 20 minutes<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-rivals-plug-away-solid-060301899.html</ref>.
| |
| | |
| January 12, 2024: Volkswagen Passenger Cars said it doesnt expect the Red Sea attacks to lead to any significant restrictions on production. “Volkswagen is in close coordination with the shipping companies and is monitoring the situation closely in order to assess the impact on production and market supply and - as far as possible - avoid it,” a spokesperson said told Reuters. “Almost all the major shipping companies began rerouting their ships in December already. This will ensure that freight reaches its destination, albeit with a slight delay,” they added<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vw-passenger-cars-does-not-114258818.html</ref>. The statement comes after Tesla said it will suspend production in its Berlin plant from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11 due to lack of components. S&P Market Intelligence data, 67% of EV battery components imported in Europe came from Asia<ref>https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/12/volvo-cars-pauses-production-due-to-red-sea-attacks-as-u-s-britain-airstrikes-hit-yemen/</ref>.
| |
| | |
| === December 2023 ===
| |
| December 22, 2023: The prices of used EVs are falling faster than that of ICE vehicles due to a lack of subsidies, limited charging infrastructures, a desire to wait for better technology and rising borrowing costs which makes them expensive. Problems with the $1.2 billion secondhand EVs market can destroy billions of dollars in earnings for the leasing industry, according to Christian Dahlheim, head of Volkswagen Financial Services. The problems are expected to rise next year when many of the 1.2 million EVs sold in 2021 will enter the secondhand market. Prices for used cars declined by around a third in the year through October, higher than a 5% decline in the overall used market, according to sales data from IseeCars.com, a car and dealer ranking website<ref>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-12-22/bmw-tesla-and-other-electric-used-cars-are-proving-tough-to-sell</ref>.
| |
| | |
| December 20, 2023: Volkswagen, Audi, Porche and Scout Motors Brands will implement Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) in their electric vehicles, starting in 2025. Volkswagen Group of America said the agreement will give customers access to more than 15,000 additional charging points<ref>https://media.vw.com/en-us/releases/1774</ref>. Volkswagen Group said in July 2023 that it was in talks with Tesla to give customers access to NACS<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-discussions-tesla-over-charging-171951015.html</ref>, joining<ref>https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/09/tesla-ford-gm-ev-charging-partnerships.html</ref> other automakers such as Ford and General Motors. By using NACS, automakers would save on costs dedicated to the construction of charging points. “We think we can save up to $400 million in the original three-quarters of a billion dollars that we allocated to this, because we’ve been able to do it faster and more effectively,” General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, said in an interview with CNBC.
| |
| | |
| December 19, 2023: Volkswagen said it will take over the state subsidy for its ID vehicles ordered before December 15. Vehicles ordered this year will receive a subsidy of up to 6,750 euros while vehicles registered between January 1 and March 31 will receive a subsidy of 4,500 euros, as was the case in the state subsidy. "We see it as our responsibility to support the system change towards electromobility," said Imelda Labbé, Volkswagen board member for sales, marketing and aftersales<ref>https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-brand-take-over-german-govts-share-ev-subsidy-2023-12-19/</ref>.
| |
| | |
| December 16, 2023: Germany’s EV subsidy which has paid around 10 billion euros since 2016, will end abruptly today following a revised 2024 budget, the Economics Ministry said. The subsidy was supposed to be in force until the end of 2024<ref>https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/germany-end-e-vehicle-subsidy-programme-2023-12-16/</ref>.
| |
| | |
| September 27, 2023: Volkswagen is negotiating a new production deal with workers at its Zwickau plant after terminating its long-standing three-shift agreement. "The aim is to reach a new agreement, jointly supported by the company and the employees, which takes into account the current market situation and ensures the economic viability of the site," Volkswagen said. The three-shift deal currently in place will run until the end of 2023. Volkswagen produced 218,000 vehicles in 2022 at the Zwickau plant, below the 360,000 capacity<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-terminates-three-shift-production-085022842.html</ref>.
| |
| | |
| === September 2023 ===
| |
| September 26, 2023: Volkswagen spokesperson said the company will suspend production of ID.3 and Cupra Born electric cars at its Zwickau and Dresden plant due to reduced demand. Production at the Zwickau plant will be reduced from October 2 to October 13 while production of ID.3 will be suspended on October 2 and will start production on October 16. Volkswagen declined to state the number of employees affected<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-temporarily-pause-production-two-160657089.html</ref>.
| |
| | |
| September 14, 2023: The Zwickau plant will not extend the contract of 269 employees due to current market conditions. Volkswagen had initially planned to give permanent employment to 540 staff it hired in recent years. “Volkswagen continues to be 100% convinced of the path to electromobility … however, in light of the current market conditions we can not extend 269 contracts which will run out shortly after a 12-month duration,” its spokesperson said<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-reduce-staffing-electric-zwickau-103946014.html</ref>.
| |
| | |
| September 13, 2023: The low demand for electric vehicles threatens the Zwickau plant with job cuts. Around 2,500 temporary employees in the plant are likely to be affected by job cuts. The ID vehicles including Audi Q4-etron and Cupra Born are manufactured in the plant under the MEB platform. A works council meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow to discuss the situation<ref>https://www.automobilwoche.de/bc-online/volkswagen-werk-zwickau-e-auto-krise-stellenabbau-geplant</ref>. Zwickau plant has an annual capacity of more than 200,000 electric vehicles and employs 10,700 staff<ref>https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/volkswagen-sachsen-gmbh-zwickau-plant-5901</ref>.
| |
| | |
| == Volkswagen All-Electric Vehicles Deliveries == | | == Volkswagen All-Electric Vehicles Deliveries == |
|
| |
|
