Drawing upon information from two anonymous sources, Russian newspaper Kommersant has named Moscow-based holding company S8 Capital as a potential purchaser of Continental’s assets in Russia, including its tyre plant in Kaluga. Kommersant shares that S8 Capital, owned by entrepreneur Armen Sargsyan, has already acquired a lift manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg from Otis Worldwide Corporation.
The VW camper is back in electric form as the ID. Buzz, and Hankook Tire says it is supplying tyres for models delivered with optional high-spec wheels. Volkswagen has also approved Hankook tyres as original equipment in the standard size worn by the ID. Buzz Cargo.
Although his name is first and foremost associated with Volkswagen, Continental also credits Prof. Dr Carl Horst Hahn, who died last weekend at the age of 96, as being one of the “formative personalities” behind the automotive supplier and tyre maker’s “success story.”
Following previous original equipment tyre deals with Volkswagen, Giti Tire has secured further OE fitment sizes on the award-winning VW Crafter. The manufacturer’s GitiVanHD1 is now specified in 235/65 R16 C115/113R and 205/75 R16 C113/111R for new Crafters coming off production lines. Giti’s first partnership on the VW van began in April 2020, with the 205/70R17 C115/113R. It was the Giti brand’s first European light commercial vehicle OE contract.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has opened the order books for prospective ID. Buzz owners in the UK, and this sheds further light on the tyres the all-electric campervan will wear. UK customers can choose from three trim levels: Life, Style and 1st Edition. Continental and Hankook are supplying original equipment tyres for these UK market models.
China’s ZC Rubber, manufacturer of the Westlake, Goodride, Chaoyang, Arisun and Trazano tyre brands, has shared news of its recent activities in the original equipment tyre supply business, a sector where it has been present for more than a decade. In recent months the company added Volkswagen and Ford/Lincoln to its OEM portfolio, joining firms such as Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Changan Auto, Great Wall Motor and Geely.
When Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles began manufacturing the ID. Buzz at its Hannover plant in Germany last month, it described the production start as a “milestone in the brand’s electrification.” VW intends to build up to 130,000 units a year, and Continental has already ‘outed’ itself as original equipment tyre supplier. But despite the German manufacturer’s long history of equipping VW campervans, the EcoContact 6 Q is presumably not the only tyre being supplied to VW production lines for the ID. Buzz.
Solicitors Slater and Gordon has announced that an out of court settlement has been reached in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation, whereby £193m will be made to the claimants by the Volkswagen Group, plus a separate contribution towards the Claimants’ legal costs and fees.
Volkswagen AG has stopped the production of vehicles in Russia until further notice. This decision applies to the site in Kaluga, which produced the VW Tiguan, Polo and Škoda Rapid and made 118,000 vehicles last year, as well as Nizhny Novgorod, where it built VW and Škoda models under a contract with GAZ Group. Vehicle exports to Russia have also been stopped with immediate effect.
Nexen Tire is an original equipment supplier to the VW Golf in the UK and Europe, and in other markets it is also supplying a Volkswagen model no longer sold here. The facelifted version of the seventh-generation VW Jetta will come with Nexen tyres as original equipment. Nexen Tire shares that it will supply its Nexen N’Fera AU7 all-season performance tyre as original equipment for the VW saloon.
New research by Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS) has found that only one in ten families have given up their second car since March 2020, despite additional finance pressures during lockdown and a sharp decline in miles travelled. The study from Volkswagen Financial Services UK shows that Brits are too attached to part with their extra cars, despite a huge reduction in commute pressures and daily miles travelled across the UK. Data shows that despite many families no longer requiring an additional vehicle, only 9 per cent of people gave up their second car.
Wolfgang Schäfer’s tenure as chief financial officer of German automotive technology company and tyre maker Continental ended abruptly on Wednesday amidst ongoing investigations into the supply of illegal defeat devices for diesel engines, but he’s not the only former Continental manager in the prosecutor’s sights. A representative from the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Hannover announced yesterday that they’re also investigating former chief executive officer Elmar Degenhart and a further ex-board member linked to the Powertrain division, as well as two employees below board level.
Guinness World Records has acknowledged the Hankook Tire-supported ‘Volkswagen ID.4: Great Roadshow through the U.S.’ as the longest continuous journey by an electric vehicle (non-solar) in a single country. The 35,000-mile trip took place between 13 July and 18 October. The team’s VW ID.4 visited all 48 contiguous US states in all-electric mode, thereby breaking the previous record that was set in 2019.
Hankook Tire confirms that its tyres will be original equipment on Volkswagen’s first all-electric SUV, the ID.4. The tyre maker will supply its Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 ev in numerous sizes from the vehicle’s market launch. OEM fitment on the ID.4 follows the pairing of prototype Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 ev tyres with the VW study ID. Crozz, the design of which the new ID.4 is based on.
Audi has approved three Nexen tyres for fitment on the new A3. The Korean tyre-maker will supply the N’Fera Sport UHP tyre, the N’Blue S summer eco tyre and the Winguard Sport 2 winter tyre for fitment on the premium compact Audi. The fourth-generation Audi A3, the marque’s premium compact car, was launched in Spring 2020, and is available in Sportback, built on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, and Saloon variants.
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