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.
The first tyre produced by Giti Tire to attain A grade wet grip and fuel economy on the EU label tyre has secured its second VW Group fitment in as many months. This time, the Skoda Karoq will roll off factory lines on the GitiSynergyH2 in size 225/55R17 97V. The mid-sized SUV joins the light commercial Volkswagen Caddy 5 in selecting the version of the new tyre, specially developed in cooperation with the VW Group. The tyre is due to receive its aftermarket launch in March 2021, and will replace the GitiSynergyE1 and GitiPremiumH1, with which Giti launched its brand in Europe in 2016.
Volkswagen has added Goodyear to its list of approved tyre suppliers for the ID.3. The new electric car will wear Goodyear summer and winter tyres in a range of dimensions: The Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance in sizes 215/55 R18, 215/50 R19 and 215/45 R20, as well as Goodyear UltraGrip Performance and UltraGrip Performance+ winter tyres in sizes 215/55 R18 and 215/50 R19.
The Maxxis Mecotra ME3+ has been selected as the original equipment tyre on the 2021 Volkswagen Caddy 5. The Mecotra ME3+ tyre is a new version of the economy focused Mecotra ME3 replacement market product. The tyre was developed by the manufacturer specially for the new VW Caddy in size 205/60 R16 96H XL.
All four Giti Tire Motorsport cars achieved top three finishes in their classes at the Nürburgring 24-Hour. Terrible overnight weather at the Eifel circuit saw the race suspended for nine hours, and only 70 of the 97-car grid make it to the finish. Giti said that tyre management proved decisive in helping teams overcome challenging conditions. The Giti Tire Motorsport by WS Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 finished first in the SP8 class, while the Volkswagen Golf VII GTI Clubsport came in third in the VT2 class. In the SP3T class the trailblazing #gitiracing all-female racing team finished third in their Volkswagen Golf VII GTI TCR, overcoming a race crash and garage repairs to finish.
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