VWCO finds new importer in Costa Rica On December 15, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus announced that Grupo Purdy has become the new importer of VW Camiones y Buses in Costa Rica, as part of its strategy to expand in Central America. The partnership is supported by investments in infrastructure, technical training, inventory, and the strengthening of a national service network to support commercial vehicle operations across the country. Grupo Purd...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/18

Embotech, Switzerland and CARIAD showcase safe autonomous driving in VW ID.3 On December 16, Embotech, Switzerland, and CARIAD announced that they have completed a proof of concept showing that Embotech’s Automated Vehicle Marshalling (AVM) system works smoothly with CARIAD’s software. The test was carried out using a Volkswagen ID.3. The results show that production-ready autonomous driving and parking can operate safely and efficiently in c...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/17

PowerCo begins Unified battery cell production at Salzgitter Gigafactory, Germany On December 17, PowerCo SE officially started operations at its Salzgitter gigafactory, Germany, and produced the first Unified battery cells made entirely in Europe. The new cells will now be supplied to VW Group brands for final road testing and are expected to be launched next year in the Electric Urban Car models from VW, Škoda, and SEAT/CUPRA. PowerCo aims to ...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/17

China releases 24th list of “Catalog of New Energy Models Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Breaks” On December 15, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the “Catalog of New Energy Models Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Breaks (24th List)”. The selected battery electric vehicle models consist of 78 passenger vehicles (including VW Group’s ID. UNYX 08 and Chery Exeed’s Sterra ET7), 43 buses, 53 tru...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/17

the 401st list of the “Announcement on On-road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products”. A number of products of independent automobile brands such as FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Changan Auto, and BAIC BluePark, as well as joint-venture automobile brands such as Dongfeng Nissan and VW Anhui, have officially passed the declaration process. From an MIIT press release...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/17

ing the use of recycled and renewable materials in its vehicles, such as Seaqual Yarn from ocean plastics and Dinamica microfibre, made with 73% recycled polyester. The company aims to reduce production waste by 60% by 2025 compared with 2010, supporting its goal of zero waste by 2050, in line with Volkswagen Group’s circular economy strategy. SEAT is also involved in research projects focused on vehicle component recovery and battery recycling...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/16

New FAW-VW vehicle model starts trial production in Tianjin On December 14, the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government announced the 2026 mass production of two new vehicle models of FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. (FAW-VW) in Tianjin. Specifically, the AU336 model is now under trial production. According to FAW-VW Tianjin Branch, the trial production of the AU336 is in parallel with the production of five mass-produced vehicle models. For t...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/16

VW shows off production-ready all-new ID. Polo prototype On December 15, VW announced the ID. Polo, the first of four new small and compact electric cars priced from EUR 25,000, to be launched from 2026. The company said that a fleet of almost production-ready ID. Polo prototypes is covering the final test kilometres in numerous regions worldwide, with its world premiere just a few months away. The ID. Polo measures 4,053 mm x 1,816 mm x 1,530 mm...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/15

VW Group begins real-world autonomous driving tests in Wolfsburg, Germany On December 12, Volkswagen Group started a new testing phase in Wolfsburg, Germany, with its self-driving research vehicle, Gen.Urban. After extensive testing, the vehicle can now drive autonomously in real city traffic. The project studies how passengers feel riding in a car without a steering wheel or pedals and what this means for future vehicle designs. A team from Volk...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/15

xpand its business, including with Japanese OEMs in India. Wheels India, which entered the alloy wheel business in FY 2021 with a plant at Thervoy Kandigai near Chennai, has begun supplies to Indian OEMs such as Tata Motors and Stellantis and has received new aluminium wheel orders from Hyundai and Volkswagen, with supplies expected to start next year. The firm is increasing annual capacity at Thervoy Kandigai from 0.5 million to 0.7 million whee...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/15

First cooperative vehicle model between VW Group, XPeng to roll off production line on December 31 According to multiple press releases dated December 10, the ID. UNYX 07 midsize battery electric sedan, the first cooperative vehicle model between VW Group and XPeng, will roll off the production line at VW Anhui on December 31. Built on VW Group’s CEA (China Electronic Architecture) architecture for the Chinese market, the ID. UNYX 07 is led by ...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/15

Turkish vehicle sales up 9.8% and production up 10.6% in November The Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) announced that Turkish vehicle sales of 137,347 units in November 2025 represented a 9.8% increase over November 2024. According to the data from Automotive Distributors Association (ODD), Renault sales were 15,813 units in November (11.9% market share), VW sales were 11,579 units (8.7% share), Ford sales were 10,617 units (8.0% share)...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/15

Automaker group warns Congress that China poses threat to U.S. auto industry On December 11, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Ford, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Stellantis and other major OEMs, urged Congress and the Trump administration to prevent Chinese government-backed automakers and battery manufacturers from opening U.S. manufacturing plants, warning the industry’s future is at stake. “Chi...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/13

factory in Spain. The plant was built in over two years with an investment of EUR 300 million. It covers 64,000 square meters and can assemble one battery system every 45 seconds i.e., up to 1,200 per day or 300,000 per year. Starting in 2026, the plant will supply batteries for the CUPRA Raval and Volkswagen ID. Polo. The battery systems will be transported automatically through a 600-meter bridge directly to the assembly area. The roof also hol...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/12

Mobileye Drive system powers MOIA’s ID. Buzz AD for Ruter and Holo Ruter, the public transport agency of Oslo, and Holo, an autonomous vehicle (AV) operator, have collaborated with MOIA, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, to deploy the ID. Buzz AD equipped with the Mobileye Drive self-driving system. Operations are planned to start in spring 2026. This step follows two years of testing by Ruter and Holo of autonomous development vehicles with Mo...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/12

ollaboration to fully resolve supply chain issues," Ford said in a statement. The exclusion of German automakers from initial license approvals reveals the subordination of commercial relationships to diplomatic considerations. Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had confirmed companies like Volkswagen were not included in the first licensing round. Japanese and South Korean companies are still awaiting approvals. (multiple sources on Dece...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/12

VW considers range extender cars in U.S., Europe to ease charging anxiety On December 11, multiple sources reported that VW Group is considering to offer electric vehicles with range extender technology in Europe and the U.S. as governments reduce support for BEVs and consumers continue to worry about patchy charging networks. VW is studying adding range extenders to its high-selling SUVs and sedans. The company has already incorporated range ext...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/12

plete range of services from early design concepts and hardware/ software development to production systems, to support the creation of modern, digitally enabled vehicles. UST will also help Italdesign grow globally by using UST’s presence in more than 30 countries. Italdesign has belonged to the Volkswagen Group since 2010. The deal still needs regulatory approval, and UST and Audi have not disclosed the investment amount or contract terms. Ba...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/11

MOIA partners Ruter and Holo to launch autonomous ride-pooling pilot in Oslo, Norway On December 10, MOIA, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, announced its partnership with Ruter, Norway, and Holo, Denmark, to expand shared, on-demand self-driving transport in Oslo, Norway. From spring 2026, MOIA will provide a full solution, including self-driving ID. Buzz electric vehicles, operating software, a user app, and support services.  The partnership ...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/10

new Mercedes CLA achieved strong five-star ratings across all four categories. It scored 94% for Adult Occupant Protection and 89% for Child Occupant Protection. The model also performed well in tests for pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcyclist safety. The Deepal S05, Mazda CX-5, Porsche Cayenne, and VW T-Roc also achieved five-star ratings. The electric Deepal S05 scored 94% for Adult Occupant Protection, while the Porsche Cayenne and VW T-Roc eac...

News  Updated at: 2025/12/10