Archive for Volkswagen

Here’s yet another concept car in the up! range of cars. We’ve previously seen the up! and the larger space up!. Here comes the 3+1 seater E-Up!, which as you can probably tell is powered by an electric motor. The electric motor is rated at 40kW continuous with a burst power of 60kW, and torque is rated at 210Nm. Although this is a concept car for now, Volkswagen confirmed a production EV version will be launched in 2013. Quite interestingly the 3+1 seating is similiar to the Toyota iQ.

This is how VW’s Martin Winterkorn sees mobility in the near future. Cars with pure petrol and diesel engines – which in the foreseeable future will continue be unbeatable for mid- to long-range distances – will be supplemented by cars like the E-Up! in upcoming years, especially in the city. This can be a reality in 5 years time. But production numbers of an electric car can only match that of a Polo in current times only in 2020, and that’s earliest!

The E-Up! weighs just 1,085kg, and out of that the lithium ion batteries housed in the underbody (protected by a crash-protected tray) alone takes up 240kg. The electric motor is lighter at 140kg. The E-Up! is meant to be charged at home in the owner’s garage, or on the road when a charging infrastructure has been set up.

Volkswagen predicts that quick charging infrastructure could possibly allow the E-Up! to be charged up to 80% of its battery life within an hour’s time. At home, a regular 230V outlet can do the same in 5 hours tops.

So in terms of cost according to European electricity rates, the E-Up! can go 100km for 2 Euros (actual range has not been revealed by Volkswagen). The charging port is hidden behind the Volkswagen logo at the front. The solar panel on the roof can generate a small amount of electricity, enough for some auxiliary electrical systems and to cool the interior by powering the car’s ventilation system.

Click here to read the rest of 3+1 seater Volkswagen E-Up! concept EV

A German paper managed to get a scoop on a rather interesting concept car that Volkswagen plans to show at the Frankfurt show that’ll open in just a few days time. This concept car is supposedly called the Volkswagen L1 Concept and guess what its rated fuel consumption is – 1.49 liters per 100km! Most people are calling it a 1 liter car, which it actually is not, but nevertheless a “1.49 liter car” is still impressive.

It’s a small 3,800mm long two seater car and you sit in it in tandem – which means the driver at the front and the passenger behind him or her. The L1 Concept is powered by a twin-cylinder diesel engine mated to a 7-speed twin clutch transmission. It’s only got 29 horsepower but at a kerb weight of 380kg, that’s more than enough. CO2 output is rated at just 39g/km.

UPDATE: We now know more information about the new L1. The official fuel consumption has been rated at 1.38 liters per 100km. The 800cc two-cylinder diesel engine is essentially half of Volkswagen’s BlueMotion 1.6 TDI engine and it makes 27 PS (39 PS in “sports mode”) and 100Nm of torque at 1,900rpm, but is assisted by a 14 hosepower electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery situated at the front of the car. The hybrid unit sends power to the wheels via a 7-speed DSG transmission.

The electric motor sits between the TDI engine and the DSG gearbox. This sounds like a motor assist system but the motor is capable of running on its own as a zero emissions EV with the TDI shut off via decoupling from the TDI with an auxiliary clutch. When its time for the TDI unit to be restarted, this electric motor acts as a start-up generator.

To retain the L1’s aerodynamic shape, door mirrors have been eliminated. While they’re at it, they also took out the rear view mirror though since it is inside the car it doesn’t improve aerodynamics. Instead, functions of both the door and rear view mirrors have been replaced by cameras which send images to OLED displays on the left and right of the instrument panel. There are no doors – the passengers get in from the top.

The L1 is built around a safety cell made out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, which itself weighs only 124kg. If you add everything else in, the L1 tops out at 380kg kerb weight, which is pretty damn light. The weight is well acounting for – 122kg goes to teh drivetrain, 79kg for the chassis, 35kg for the interior furnishings, and 20kg for the electricals. The L1 measures 1,200mm wide, 3,813mm long and 1,143mm tall, which Volkswagen says is similiar to the length of a Volkswagen Fox and the height of a Lamborghini Murcielago.

Look after the jump for more shots of the L1.

Click here to read the rest of 2-seater Volkswagen L1 Concept consumes just 1.38 liters of diesel per 100km travelled!

Talks of some kind of business deal between Proton and Volkswagen have surfaced in the papers again, this time on a car assembly deal for passenger cars without taking up stake.

Volkswagen have already identified a base in Indonesia for the Touran MPV, but they have also been looking for a way to assembly their passenger cars here in Malaysia. Other than Proton, DRB-HICOM was also a potential partner name that came up in the past.

Datuk Syed Zainal confirmed sometime last week that Proton was indeed in talks with a foreign car company and hoped that something can be agreed upon before the end of the year. He did not mention which company this is, but in a Reuters report a Volkswagen spokesperson managed to be reached for comment and he confirmed that they were in talks with Proton. According to the spokesperson, the confirmed plant in Indonesia was not sufficient to serve the entire ASEAN market – it looks like they’re planning to come to this region in a big way!

These talks with Proton could be the reason why the reviewed NAP announcement has been pushed to the end of next month instead of being announced this month as previously indicated. “It’s a complicated matter. We cannot rush,” said MITI minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed. Proton is of course at the center of the Malaysian automotive industry, thus most decisions will actually surround the company.

The foreign car company was referred to by Datuk Syed Zainal as potentially Proton’s “missing link”, which means the talks could extend beyond Proton being a contract assembler for Volkswagen – Proton could be asking to license or collaborate on certain Volkswagen tech such as platforms or engines, especially diesel engines!

If you’ve been looking to get a Mk6 Golf GTI or a Scirocco from Volkswagen Malaysia and are exploring for tune-up options, Cartrade-ABT is already one step ahead of you. They’ve showcased the gorgeous ABT Scirocco and the ABT Golf GTI Mk6 at their Bangsar showroom last weekend.

While the confirmed prices for the Mk6 GTI and the Scirocco are not out yet (the Scirocco is rumoured to be priced at about RM240k+), pricelists for the ABT kits for the two cars are already out. But potential customers wanted to see the bodykit in flesh first before committing so Cartrade-ABT flew two units in.

ABT VSR GTI

ABT Wheels Package (19 inch with Continental tyres and spacers) – RM23,500
ABT Aerodynamic Package (ABT bodykit with quad pipe stainless steel rear muffler) – RM18,500
ABT ECU Performance Tuning (upgrade to 260hp and 360Nm) – RM6,000
Total: RM48,000
Full package price: RM47,000

ABT Scirocco

ABT Wheels Package (19 inch with Continental tyres, ABT sport springs and spacers) – RM21,500
ABT Aerodynamic Package (ABT bodykit with quad pipe stainless steel rear muffler) – RM18,500
ABT ECU Performance Tuning (upgrade to 240hp and 340Nm) – RM6,000
Total: RM46,000
Full package price: RM45,000

Of course if you just want to go fast without the ABT Kit, you can opt for just the ECU tune-up (via OBD) package for RM6,000. I’n not sure on when the GTI will be arriving but the Scirocco should be very very soon.

Look after the jump for photos of the two ABT cars.

Click here to read the rest of Abt kits for Scirocco and Golf Mk6 to be available in Malaysia; previewed over the weekend

If the Volkswagen Polo were the price of a Honda City or a Toyota Vios, would it be part of your consideration if you were looking for your first non-national car? Volkswagen definitely hopes so, and even after 1) talks with Proton hit a dead end and 2) a US$140 million assembly base has been identified in Indonesia, it is still trying to negotiate a deal for local assembly of Volkswagen cars in Malaysia.

The most recent potential partner seems to be DRB-HICOM but The Edge claimed last month that talks between VW and DRB-HICOM had hit a wall. Read it all here in this Bloomberg story. It could be something to do with the upcoming National Automotive Policy review that is supposed to be revealed at the end of this month.

Source

As it turns out, the 3-door Volkswagen Polo is just as handsome looking at the 5-door Volkswagen Polo. Volkswagen has definitely got its baby B-segment hatchback’s styling sorted out nicely. Most importantly to me, the Polo now looks unisex, while its predecessor looked a little feminine to me.

6 engines will be available with the car, with the most fuel efficient being a 75 PS turbodiesel that uses only 3.3 liters per 100km and puts out only 87g/km of CO2. The most powerful engine so far is the 1.2 liter TSI, putting out 105 PS thanks to its direct injection and forced induction. Of course, that’ll only be until the Polo GTI hot hatch is unveiled, which could feature either a 150 PS or 180 PS engine, assuming it mimics what’s offered with the hot version of the Ibiza.

Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery of the 3-door Polo.

Related Posts:
Volkswagen Polo: 5-door version.
Volkswagen Polo GTI 1.8T Test Drive Review
Volkswagen CrossPolo 1.6 Test Drive Review

Click here to read the rest of New Volkswagen Polo gets 3-door variant

Volkswagen has converted its South American centric Volkswagen Gol into a front wheel drive car-based single cab pickup, or “ute”, whatever you prefer calling it. The Gol-based ute is called the Volkswagen Saveiro and is powered by a 1.6 liter inline-4 flex-fuel engine thats shared with the Gol, producing 104 horses at 5,250rpm and 156Nm of torque at 2,500rpm if you fuel it with ethanol (minus 2 horses and 3Nm if you use regular petrol). The Saveiro is not a new name – it’s traditionally used a old time ago for car-based pickups in the Volkswagen family, and the last model was based on the Volkswagen Fox if I am not mistaken.

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Saveiro car-based ‘ute’

At first, the figure was said to be about US$47 million, but the latest is a whopping US$140 million! It’s heartbreaking I know but yes, we’re talking about Volkswagen’s investment in Indonesia to build an assembly plant there that will first only have CKD assembly and paint shops, but will later become a full fledged manufacturing plant complete with stamping and the whole works, if all goes well!

Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board head Muhammad Lutfi has revealed that US$140 million will be invested over the next 2 years on the 50,000 Touran a year factory, and the Indonesian government will support them with tax incentives.

Lutfi added that MPV manufacturing in Indonesia is on average 30% cheaper than any other ASEAN countries because of government incentives. Toyota and Honda also makes their MPVs there (remember the Toyota IMV project?), with the latest being the Honda Freed, which is being assembled at Honda’s plant in Karawang.

More and more automotive companies may be looking at Indonesia soon. Four Chinese brands have entered Indonesia in the last 2 years – Chery, Foton, Great Wall and Geely. Their economy is forecasted to grow 4% this year, and they are said to be the 3rd fastest growing economy in Asia after China and India. It’s also the world’s fourth-largest country by population.

Indonesian citizen earnings are slowly rising to point where a majority can abandon their motorcycles for cars, and proof of that is in the increasing gridlock problem in Jakarta. The buses and taxis share the same jam and there is no MRT. The first will only begin construction in 2011 and operational by 2016.

You can also look at P.T. Astra International’s stock prices and earnings – they are a large automobile conglomerate in Indonesia and have partnerships with Toyota, Daihatsu, BMW, Peugeot, Nissan Diesel, Isuzu, and Honda.

Previously a Volkswagen spokesperson said their Indonesian vehicle assembly plant is a first step towards Volkswagen’s long term ASEAN market development. Volkswagen can also use their Indonesian plant to supply CKD kits or complete vehicles to Japan, thanks to the Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement.

Source

The Volkswagen Scirocco will be eye-catching enough on Malaysian shores when it gets here, but if that’s not enough for you, you can fit this bodykit from JE Design which also features scissor doors! It won’t come cheap though – the doors itself go for €1,559 (RM7,750) while the bodykit goes for €919. A 30mm lowering kit goes for €219, a sport exhaust system (€899) and to finish it off you can fit a set of 19-inch alloy wheels in silver (€2,810) or graphite (€2,930). In the engine department, the 2.0 TDI engine’s 140hp and 320Nm gets boosted up to 180hp and 400Nm.

Click here to read the rest of Scissored Scirocco kit by JE Design

A German magazine reported last week that Volkswagen is looking to take up a 10% stake in Japanese carmaker Suzuki. Taking up stake and collaborating with the Japanese company in various areas such as network and product collaboration will allow Volkswagen to enter the Indian market with more success than they currently are having. Suzuki currently dominates the Indian market through the local JV, Maruti Suzuki.

The small little cars that Suzuki and Daihatsu are so good at building at seems to be a secret art that no one else can master. Most of the time the cars come out too cramped as there is not very efficient use of space, or they end up being too costly to manufacturer and price at the appropriate price tag that it needs to have.

Suzuki could benefit from Volkswagen’s technologies such as various fuel-saving tech such as FSI, TSI, TDI diesel and even hybrid tech, and Volkswagen could definitely use Suzuki’s access in India, and perhaps its K-car platforms in case it wants to do something smaller than the NSF (the Up! concepts – future Lupo).

Either way, investors seem to think positively of such a deal, as Suzuki shares went up by nearly 7.7% before settling down up 5.5% at 2,195 Japanese Yen.