The Volkswagen campervan is going electric, and just like its split-screen ancestor the T1 and many models in between, the new ID. Buzz will roll off the production line on Continental tyres. Depending on model and market, VW will fit Continental EcoContact 6 Q tyres in sizes 235/55 R19 105T XL, 255/50 R19 107T XL, 235/50 R20 104T XL or 265/45 R20 108T XL.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has selected Apollo Tyres’ latest Vredestein Quatrac all-season tyre as original equipment for the new Caddy. It will fit the Quatrac in 205/65R15 99H XL to selected Caddy models manufactured at the Volkswagen production facility in Poznan, Poland.
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.
Continental today announced a voluntary tyre replacement program for 67,128 ContiEcoContact 5 tyres in size 235/55 R 17 103 H XL across Europe. However, the number of tyres being voluntarily recalled in the UK is far lower, with just 477 ContiEcoContact 5 tyres sold in the UK replacement market covered by the announcement. The reason for the recall? “In rare cases, if the affected tyres are used over a longer or repeated period of time, with heavy loading or possible overloading, a sudden loss of air may occur.”
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.
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.
About a year ago Continental announced its selection as a tyre supplier to the ID.3, and under this arrangement is providing original equipment EcoContact 6 summer tyres, WinterContact TS 850P winter tyres and AllSeasonContact all-season tyres. But tyres are only one of a host of Continental products and technologies going into the new all-electric range. The company is also supplying computer equipment, brake technology, hose lines, heat pumps and driver assistance systems.
Hankook is supporting Volkswagen’s 20,000km tour of Germany to test the national fast-loading network. Starting in Germany winter sports town Oberstdorf, the VW ID.3 will visit more than 600 VW dealers and charging stations on the 65-day ID.3 Germany Tour, running on Hankook’s new Winter i*cept evo 3 UHP winter tyres. The tour concludes on the northern island of Sylt. The campaign vehicle fits 215/55 R18 99V XL tyres, and will be driven by Rainer Zietlow from CHALLENGE4 agency, a driver with significant experience in long-distance rides and holder of world records on all continents. He is accompanied by co-driver Dominic Brüner. VW’s tour includes visits to Hankook’s European headquarters in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main and to the company’s European research and development centre in Hanover.
With the VW Fun Cup 2020 season ready to commence its reduced calendar of five rounds, Giti Tire has confirmed that it is maintaining its position as Official Tyre Partner. The tyre manufacturer will also participate, racing its fully livered GT Radial car. Ellis Hadley, senior test engineer at Giti Tire, will line-up on the grid alongside seasoned racing enthusiasts from the GT Radial Performance Centre (GTPC) network. The VW Fun Cup will start with a One Hour Sprint Race and a Four Hour Endurance Race on 8 August at Snetterton, before hitting Thruxton, Silverstone and the season finale at Oulton Park on 17 October. All cars in the competition run on GitiCompete GTR2 tyres.
On Wednesday (July 1, 2020), the public prosecutor and Police searched various Continental locations in Hanover, Frankfurt and Regensburg. The searches are related to investigations into the so-called defeat device used by Volkswagen in its diesel engine emissions management system.
Following the news that Volkswagen Group is planning to temporarily suspend production at its European plants due to the deepening impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, David Leggett, Automotive Editor at GlobalData, commented:
With 2019 annual sales of 88.4 billion euros, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand’s figures were 4.5 per cent higher than the previous year. As a result, Dr. Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG described 2019 as “a very successful year for the Volkswagen Group”. However, he went on to describe 2020 as “a very difficult year”:
Continental
VW; Yokohama
Hankook
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