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The Volkswagen Group increased its deliveries of all-electric vehicles (BEVs) by 48 percent year-on-year to 321,600 vehicles in the first half of the year. The BEV share of total deliveries rose to 7.4 percent, up from 5.6 percent in the first six months of the previous year. The Group achieved the highest growth in Europe, where deliveries rose by 68 percent to 217,100 BEVs. Here, the Volkswagen Group is the market leader and gained market share. Significantly more customers of a Group brand took delivery of their all-electric vehicles in the USA, too. The increase here was 76 percent to 29,800 vehicles. In China, deliveries were around two percent below the previous year's level at 62,400 BEVs in a particularly competitive market environment. Recently, however, the trend here has also been positive. Following a lower first quarter, 18 percent more BEVs were handed over to customers in the world's largest automotive market in the second quarter than in the prior-year period. Worldwide, the increase in the second quarter was 53 percent to 180,600 vehicles (118,000), and the BEV share of total deliveries rose to 7.7 percent (6.0) in this period.

Around 68 percent of the Group's BEV deliveries were in its home region of Europe, followed by China with 19 percent and the USA with nine percent. Four percent went to other markets.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 164,800 vehicles by the end of June, slightly more than half of all BEVs in the Group. It was followed by Audi with 75,600 vehicles (group share 24 percent), ŠKODA with 31,300 vehicles (group share 10 percent), SEAT/CUPRA with 18,900 vehicles (group share 6 percent), Porsche with 18,000 vehicles (group share 6 percent) and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with 12,300 vehicles (group share 4 percent).

The most successful BEV models in the first half of 2023 were:

• Volkswagen ID.4/ID.5 101,200
• Volkswagen ID.3 49,800
• Audi Q4 e-tron (incl. Sportback) 48,000
• ŠKODA Enyaq iV (incl. Coupé) 31,300
• Audi Q8 e-tron (incl. Sportback) 19,500

The all-new Passat Variant will celebrate its world premiere at the end of August and Volkswagen is now publishing the first advance details of the next Passat generation. The new model is equipped with a host of innovations such as an intuitive display and operating concept, a high-quality interior, a new adaptive chassis control system, premium-class seats and plug-in hybrid drives with electric ranges of up to 100 kilometres. The all-new Passat Variant will be launched in the first quarter of 2024. It is the ninth generation of one of the world’s most successful mid-sized cars, with over 50 years of history and more than 30 million units sold.

When designing the all-new Passat Variant, Volkswagen fully exploited the potential of the modular transverse matrix in its new development stage – MQB evo for short. Kai Grünitz, Member of the Brand Board of Management responsible for Development: “With the all-new Passat, we have placed great importance on high ride and travel comfort that customers will feel immediately. Among other things, this is ensured by the longer wheelbase and the new adaptive chassis control with two-valve shock absorbers. At the same time, our new display and operating concept is very intuitive. Climate-controlled massage seats illustrate our premium standard in the interior.”

Interior architecture has been redesigned based on a new concept. Thanks to high-grade materials and effective noise insulation, the overall quality and comfort are taken to a new level. ergoActive front seats will be available as an option. These feature electrical adjustment (up to 14-way, depending on model and equipment) as well as differently configured massage and air conditioning functions.

New display and operating concept. The new interior architecture of the Passat Variant systematically implements feedback from Volkswagen customers with the goal of making operation as intuitive as possible. The Passat Variant will therefore be launched with a newly developed cockpit and new infotainment system. The new standard infotainment display measures 32 cm (12.9 inches). There will also be a new 38 cm (15-inch) display as an option or depending on equipment. Backlit touch sliders are located underneath the infotainment system display and are used to adjust functions such as the interior temperature and volume. Volkswagen will also optionally offer a new head-up display that projects the information onto the windscreen and thus into the virtual space in front of the vehicle. In addition, the multifunction steering wheel has buttons again – to make operation even easier.

More space in the rear. The all-new Passat Variant is much larger than its predecessor. The new length (14 centimetres more) increases legroom by another 5 centimetres. The luggage compartment capacity is also increased by 40 litres to 690 litres (when loaded up to the height of the rear seat backrests), and even by 140 litres to 1920 litres when the rear bench seat is folded down.

New DCC Pro and integration of the Vehicle Dynamics Manager. Numerous individual measures improve the running gear of the new model: increased camber stiffness and greater lateral force steering of the four-link rear axle (increased rear axle stability and thus increased driving safety), a new electromechanical steering setup, modified anti-roll bars and shock absorbers, and adaptations for different wheel rims. The more direct steering ratio and longer wheelbase of the Passat Variant have an additional positive effect on the driving characteristics.

Volkswagen also offers a further developed generation of the adaptive chassis control for its bestseller: the optional DCC Pro with two-valve shock absorbers. This system continuously reacts to the road surface and driving situation while taking into account parameters such as steering, braking and acceleration manoeuvres. The ideal damping is calculated for each wheel and adjusted at the shock absorbers in fractions of a second. The driver has the option of adjusting the DCC to suit individual preferences – from very comfortable to very sporty. In other words: more comfort and more dynamics.

A Vehicle Dynamics Manager is also part of the standard equipment – an MQB system that celebrated its debut in the current Golf GTI. The system controls the functions of the electronic differential locks (XDS) and the lateral dynamics components of the controlled shock absorbers in the DCC Pro system. Thanks to the Vehicle Dynamics Manager, handling is made more neutral, stable, agile and precise by wheel-specific brake interventions and wheel-selective adjustment of the shock absorber hardness.

For powerful illumination of the road. In its premium specification packages, the Passat Variant will be offered with a new generation of IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights. These powerful headlights are flatter than the previous version and have a new high-performance main beam with a range of around 500 metres. At the rear, the new model has a continuous horizontal LED strip for the tail light clusters.

TDI, TSI, eTSI and eHybrid. Thanks to MQB evo, different drive types are possible for the all-new Passat Variant. It will be offered with turbodiesel engines (TDI), turbocharged petrol engines (TSI), mild hybrid turbocharged petrol engines (eTSI) and plug-in hybrid systems (eHybrid). The electric range of the new plug-in hybrid drives has been increased to up to 100 kilometres compared with the predecessors, depending on equipment. In addition, AC charging will be faster in all eHybrid versions, and DC charging will also be possible as standard for the first time.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Today, the Volkswagen Group and its Elli brand became the first automotive company to start trading on the German electricity market of Europe's largest power exchange, EPEX Spot. The basis for electricity trading is a stationary storage system made of e-up! batteries and a new, digital electricity trading platform from Elli. In the future, the stationary storage system – the so-called "PowerCenter" – will store the energy traded on the electricity market. The pilot project is being driven forward jointly by Elli and Volkswagen After Sales and is a first step on the way to the planned Smart Energy Platform. In the future, Volkswagen and Elli want to anchor the growing storage capacities of electric cars and batteries in the energy system and make an important contribution to the energy transition.

"Elli will significantly advance electric mobility and the energy transition," says Elli CEO Giovanni Palazzo. "We are already Europe's largest mobility service provider in the field of charging and energy. We want to further expand this leading position and develop Elli into a leading trading company for battery flexibility. Electricity trading is a major milestone on this path. Our long-term goal is clear: We want to give our customers a clear advantage in terms of electricity prices and at the same time develop new, high-revenue business models that will strengthen Elli in the long term," added.

Kora Töpfer, Head of German Public & Regulatory Affairs at the European Power Exchange EPEX Spot, adds: "We are pleased to welcome the Volkswagen Group and Elli as the first automotive company to trade with us on the German electricity market. Our continuously growing electricity exchange needs companies that want to get involved in trading and control the growth of renewable energies with us in order to compensate for fluctuating demand and energy supply. With Elli, our broad and diverse trading community is expanded by another significant member, for the benefit of the entire market and all trading participants. After all, more activity also means more trading opportunities for all market participants."

This is how Elli electricity trading works: The focus is on an intelligent platform for trading, controlling and optimizing batteries. Bids can be automatically placed on the stock exchange via the platform. The trading results are translated into a timetable and the battery is automatically charged or discharged. Electricity is purchased during periods of low prices (with a tendency towards a high share of renewables) and sold during periods of high prices (with a tendency towards a low share of renewables). As a result, not only can trading revenues be generated, but a better use of renewable energies can also be achieved. The stationary battery storage uses 28 battery systems and 34 e-up! cell modules.

In this pilot project, Elli is gaining valuable experience for the development of a smart energy platform, which can later be used for larger and more complex applications. For example, Elli is currently investigating the possibilities and scalability of large-scale storage systems together with the battery company PowerCo. In the future, the growing e-car fleet can also be integrated into the energy grid via Vehicle-2-Home and Vehicle-2-Grid and serve as a mobile power bank. Thanks to intelligent charging tariffs and algorithms, Elli is already making it possible to charge the car exactly when there is a lot of renewable energy available at low cost.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Volkswagen presents the first facts and pictures of the new T-Cross: The car comes to customers with its revamped design, enhanced standard equipment, new technology features and a newly designed high-quality interior. Pre-sales are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2023. In just four years, the T-Cross has captured a top position among compact SUVs: around 1.2 million people have already chosen this versatile Volkswagen. With an average of 300,000 units produced every year, the T-Cross, which is also offered outside Europe under the names Tacqua and Taigun, is currently one of the most successful Volkswagen models worldwide.

Modern exterior design and fresh new colours. From the outside, the updated T-Cross is immediately recognisable by the new design of its front and rear with new integrated LED headlights, LED daytime running lights and LED taillight clusters. The IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights are a completely new Volkswagen development and are offered for the first time on the T-Cross. Three new, fresh colours have been added to the model range: the solid colour Grape Yellow (a crisp, sporty yellow), Clear Blue Metallic (an elegant and friendly light blue) and Kings Red Metallic (a vivid, striking red).

New infotainment system generation and high-quality interior. The central element in the interior of the new T-Cross is the free-standing infotainment display. The standard touchscreen measures 20.3 cm (eight inches) across the diagonal; the top-of-the-range version has a 9.2-inch display with a diagonal of 23.4 cm. In addition, all versions of the four-door five-seater will now be fitted with digital instruments as standard. The dash panel in the T-Cross has also undergone a complete redesign: as in larger VW models, the dash panel features soft-upholstered and significantly higher-quality surface materials. The same applies to the front door trims of the Style and R-Line versions. A manual air conditioning system is on board as standard, and the Air Care Climatronic automatic air conditioner with back-lit touch sliders is available as an option.

Well thought-out and variable, transport of e-bikes is now possible. The T-Cross has always had one of the most spacious and versatile interiors of all compact SUVs. It impresses with its proven operating concept, well-arranged space for up to five people, a rear bench seat that can be moved by 140 mm and an extremely flexible luggage compartment. When all the seats are occupied, the T-Cross offers a luggage compartment capacity of between 385 and up to 455 litres when loaded up to the height of the rear bench seat. When the rear bench seat is folded down (60:40 split), this creates a flat load area with a stowage volume of up to 1,281 litres (loaded up to the height of the front seat backrests). The front passenger seat can additionally be folded down as standard from the Life specification package and up. The continuous load area from the rear to the front is then 2,398 mm long and can stow everything from surfboards to paragliders.

Volkswagen has also increased the drawbar load of the T-Cross by a considerable margin: from 55 to 75 kg. This additional 20 kg increases the maximum load that can act vertically on the removable towbar (optional). The new T-Cross therefore offers greater scope towing a heavy trailer. At the same time, the maximum permitted weight of bicycles that can be transported on a carrier mounted on the towbar is increased – something that is particularly important for transporting e-bikes.

Travel Assist offers significantly improved comfort. The new T-Cross is one of the only vehicles in its class in the world to be optionally equipped with Travel Assist for greater longitudinal and lateral vehicle control. Depending on the traffic ahead and the permitted speed, the T-Cross can control the vehicle’s speed with automatic acceleration and braking. Within the system limits, Travel Assist can also include speed limits, bends, and roundabouts in its control interventions. At the same time, Lane Assist can help to keep the vehicle in its lane. The new T-Cross can automatically perform stop-and-go operations when fitted with the DSG.

LED headlights, LED taillights and "Digital Cockpit" as standard. The significantly upgraded basic version of the T-Cross will now include features such as the new LED headlights (instead of halogen), new LED taillight clusters, a multifunction camera, Dynamic Road Sign Display, the Digital Cockpit, and a new, free-standing infotainment display for all versions. The next step up is the Life version, which includes, for example, new 16-inch alloy wheels and a leather multifunction steering wheel. The top versions are the Style (for more elegance) and R-Line (with sporty accents) specification packages. The new T-Cross models are powered by the well-known, efficient TSI engines from Volkswagen.

Availability of the new T-Cross. Pre-sales and activation of the online configurator for compact SUV will start in the fourth quarter of 2023. The market launch for dealers will begin in the first quarter of 2024. Despite the extensive enhancements, the new T-Cross will still be offered at a very attractive base price.

The production of the bestseller in its current version is already sold out in many European markets for 2023 and will be available in Germany for a short time. New vehicles that Volkswagen customers configure and order after the final sales based on the current model will already be part of the new T-Cross generation when they are delivered in the first quarter of 2024. Volkswagen is therefore giving customers and media an early glimpse of this major T-Cross update.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com