Scelte strategiche Gruppo VAG

[Alain]

On 23/8/2023 at 14:03, 4200blu scrive:

Nuovi prezzi per le lamborghini in Germania, in media un aumento di 22%

 

 

 

 

282k di partenza per la Urus mi sembrano tantini, ormai sotto i 300 inclusi due optional una Lambo non la compri. 

[j]

 

 

[4200blu]

Bike leasing in Europe and the USA: Volkswagen Financial Services and Pon Holdings form strategic alliance

• VW FS acquires 49 percent stake in Pon bike leasing subsidiary Bike Mobility Services 
• Partnership to focus on accelerating expansion of bike leasing in Europe and the USA
• Market potential of EUR 10 billion in 2028 for European company bike leasing
• Bike leasing offers employees and commercial customers extra benefits and makes the e-bike more accessible to more people.
• Braunschweig, Amsterdam, Munich, 5 September 2023 – Volkswagen Financial Services ("VW FS") and Pon Holdings ("Pon") are intensifying their partnership in company bike leasing. Within this framework, VW FS will acquire a 49 percent stake in the Pon bike leasing subsidiary Bike Mobility Services (BMS). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on this strategic alliance was signed at the IAA Mobility motor show in Munich today. The aim is to jointly expand in the growing bicycle and e-bike leasing business in Europe and the USA.
   
  "Our partnership with Pon is another important step in our development into a broad-based mobility services provider, thereby supporting the strategic goals of the Volkswagen Group," said Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, at the IAA. "There is great potential in bike leasing as an additional profit pool, which perfectly complements our current mobility portfolio. We are thus systematically expanding our service offering for commercial customers and supporting our long-term growth in the European fleet business. We are determined to fully exploit the strengths of Europe's leading automotive captive company and the world's leading bike company." 
   
  Janus Smalbraak, CEO of Pon Holdings, added: "Together with VW FS, which already has a global footprint and global financial structure in place, I am convinced we hold a unique position to accelerate the international expansion of bicycle leasing together. The company bike fulfills a clear need of employees, employers and governments, which is why we have been able to grow the business so fast in the last five years. The e-bike plays a vital role in future commuting and the lease option provides employees with much broader accessibility made possible by their employers. The outlook for both Europe and USA is very promising. It is exciting to join Volkswagen in its further steps in the bike market and work together on mobility offerings."
   
  BMS is Europe's leading bike leasing company and operates in six countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, and recently the USA). It is currently providing company bikes to over 600,000 employees working in 65,000 companies from large corporations to SMBs. 90 percent of its lease bikes are electric, delivered and serviced through a network of 8,000 bike dealers. The BMS brands are BusinessBike, Lease a Bike and B2Bike. In Germany, VW FS and BMS have already been working together successfully for over three years. BMS is part of Pon.Bike, the world's leading bike company.
   
  Company bike leasing as a growth market
   
  Germany is a frontrunner in company bike leasing, where it is firmly established as a successful model for promoting employee motivation. It makes bikes, and especially e-bikes, broadly accessible for the whole employee base. Many enterprises of all sizes, from freelancers to large corporations, as well as public authorities and the public sector, now provide their employees with a company bicycle. The company bike, as an alternative means of commuting, helps to reduce congestion and emissions while improving health. Following the significant investments of national governments and municipalities in cycling infrastructure and mobility solutions, bike leasing is evolving strongly in many European markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia, the UK, and France. The European market potential for company bike leasing is estimated to reach EUR 10 billion in 2028.
   
  "The growth potential in the USA is also significant, with cities and state governments investing heavily in bike infrastructure," Janus Smalbraak noted. "BMS just opened its first US office in San Francisco and has already signed large corporations for company bike leasing. Our existing presence and retail relationships in the USA can help enhance our partnership and our offer to US employees, companies, and retailers."
   
  Cycling has experienced worldwide growth for many years. According to the the German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV), sales of the bicycle industry in Germany were at a record level of around EUR 7.26 billion in 2022. The main drivers of this positive development are e-bikes, which are becoming increasingly popular and accounted for 48 percent of total sales in 2022. In 2023, the association expects more e-bikes to be sold than conventional bicycles without an electric motor for the first time. This growth trend with e-bikes taking the lead is similar for the whole of Europe. This is also applicable to the USA, where the market ramp-up of e-bikes is only beginning. 
   
  "There are clear parallels to the automotive industry in the development of the bicycle industry. The higher the investment for a bicycle, the more relevant financial services are in order to boost and stabilize sales for manufacturers. Through the cooperation with Pon, VW FS intends to become Europe's largest captive in the bicycle industry," Dahlheim explained.
   
  Volkswagen and Pon: A long tradition
   
  The cooperation between Pon and the Volkswagen Group has a long tradition. For example, the Volkswagen Bus (Bulli in German) was created more than 75 years ago on the basis of a sketch by Ben Pon, Sr. The largest importer for the Volkswagen Group brands in the Netherlands is Pon. Just recently, Porsche and Pon announced the establishment of two joint ventures for the development of e-bikes and solutions in the field of micro mobility. In addition, the Volkswagen Group and Pon Holdings are together developing Europcar in the direction of a global mobility platform.
  The investment of Volkswagen Financial Services AG in Bike Mobility Services is subject to approval by the regulatory authorities and by the Supervisory Boards of Volkswagen AG and Volkswagen Financial Services AG.

(VW Media)

[pennellotref]

Un po' lungo ma interessante....

 

https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/vw-struggles-against-tesla-and-byds-better-pricing-and-tech

 

Cita

September 12, 2023 12:00 AM

 

Germany worries VW is heading down the road to nowhere

VW could be facing its biggest crisis since the 2015 diesel scandal.

Bloomberg

 

Shortly after taking the most important job in German industry, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume got some bad news.

A top executive had been dispatched to China to review the competitive landscape and his assessment was grim. At the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg -- a sprawling factory complex the size of Monaco -- he told his new boss that Europe’s largest automaker was losing the electric vehicle race in its most important market and had no prospect of catching up on its own.

VW had fallen behind in China during the pandemic and by the time the country began to reopen, BYD, Nio and other local brands had doubled the number of plug-in hybrid and full-electric models, with most being cheaper and better than VW’s offerings.

Those new competitors are now turning toward Europe as China’s economy stumbles.

The extra pressure comes as VW and other German manufacturers feel the strain of high energy prices in the fallout from the country’s long reliance on Russia.

Half a world away, Tesla has continued to expand and has laid claim to leadership in automotive innovation, undermining the German giant’s cash cow Audi -- alongside Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Instead of sleek Audi sedans claiming “Vorsprung durch Technik,” Teslas have become the choice for consumers wanting to show they are on the cutting edge.

The competitive vise squeezing VW from top to bottom and from the U.S. to China might evolve into its biggest crisis since the 2015 diesel-emissions cheating scandal.

The issues could be even harder to overcome and reflect the risks looming over Europe’s largest economy.

“The auto industry is faced with the question of whether and how we will be a global leader in the future,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich last week. “For our nation, where the auto industry accounts for a large share of value creation, this is not just an economic issue, but also a question of security.”

The time for VW to get its EV strategy right is running out. An inflection point is coming, and the group risks getting confined to the waning market for combustion-engine cars and lacking the volumes to support its bloated structure.

Its struggles are evident in a market value that is less than one-tenth of Tesla’s even though revenue is more than triple that of its Texas-based rival, and the competitive pressure is evident in the aggressive price war in China, where many brands are selling at a loss. 

The company has already spun off minority stakes in sports car maker Porsche and its heavy trucks unit Traton, and calls for a deeper breakup may grow louder if it starts losing market share in Europe, said Daniel Roeska, an analyst with Bernstein.

But Blume and his team are banking on VW’s vast resources paying off as electric vehicles go more mainstream.

“It’s a marathon, and not everyone in a marathon who comes out fastest will be seen first or at all at the finish line,” said Ralf Brandstätter, VW’s China boss.

At Europe’s biggest auto exhibition this year, China’s automakers showed that they are ready to take the fight to Germany.

Their ranks at the Munich show more than doubled compared with 2021, and BYD positioned its Seal sedan -- which will start at about 45,000 euros ($48,000) when it goes on sale later this year -- as a direct rival to Tesla’s Model 3 and several of VW’s electric cars.

VW symbolizes the “economic miracle” of Germany’s postwar recovery like few other companies. The ongoing challenges of the company and country are still equally intertwined.

Both are heavily exposed to the risks posed by China’s growing industrial and political ambitions.

The Asian superpower is Germany’s largest trading partner and the source of nearly 40 percent of VW’s global deliveries last year.
Also, the struggle to pivot to cars that rely on software more than horsepower is indicative of Germany’s difficulties adapting to the digital era.

Like Germany, VW is complex and slow-moving. The company employs nearly 700,000 people across more than 100 factories around the world. It makes everything from exotic Lamborghini supercars to thrifty Skoda hatchbacks and powerful Scania trucks. Complicated internal power dynamics bog down change, while hubris has been fueled by decades of success.

“The car industry in Germany is closely intertwined with other branches in the manufacturing and services sector. Production still has not reached its pre-pandemic level, making it an important factor behind the ongoing weakness of the German industrial sector,” Martin Ademmer, economist at Bloomberg Economics, said.

Propelled by government policy, China’s shift to EVs is happening even faster than other countries. EVs are set to account for half of all cars sold in the world’s biggest auto market by mid-decade.

China’s threat to German automotive supremacy was on display in Munich. BMW executives marveled at the sleek Cyberster roadster from SAIC's MG brand. The Cyberster will go on sale next year starting at about 57,000 euros, in line with BMW’s gasoline-powered Z4.

Over at BYD, VW’s top labor representative Daniela Cavallo intently watched its presentation.

“Our international competition is not sitting idle,” said Hildegard Müller, head of Germany’s auto lobby, the VDA. “Our companies are mainly generating their profits abroad, helping to keep jobs in Germany. But the pressure is rising because of weak economic growth and conditions that are no longer internationally competitive.”

Alongside a smattering of technical advances, German brands focused on heritage -- something Tesla and Chinese rivals could not match.

At Mercedes-Benz’s stand, the automaker had a mocked-up electric version of its experimental C111 supercar from 1970.

BMW’s Neue Klasse deliberately recalls its groundbreaking line of cars from the 1960s, and VW displayed the GTI electric-car concept, evoking the sporty version of the Golf.

With Blume now in the job for a year, the contours of his response to the alarm bells from last October are taking shape. The effort involves a host of new partners, a third try at a competitive electric-car platform and overhauling management at Cariad -- VW’s in-house software developer that has failed to keep pace with Tesla and other rivals.

“Every company has to start with itself -- to innovate, to develop and at the end to perform,” Blume said at the auto show in Munich. “It’s up to us.”

The most aggressive move was paying $700 million for almost 5 percent of Chinese automaker Xpeng.

The stake in the money-losing company, which is not in the top 10 for EV sales in its home country, was the price VW was willing to pay for access to a technology platform to help fast-track its mainstream electric-car offerings. It was widely taken as a last-ditch attempt at a turnaround.

Already with three joint ventures in China, the Xpeng deal was preceded by new cooperation agreements with a battery maker, an autonomous driving specialist and an infotainment developer.

The expanded roster of Chinese partners piles on complexity and deepens entanglements in a country increasingly antagonistic toward the West.

For the 55-year-old Blume, who has been at VW since joining a trainee program in 1994, the approach sticks to a familiar playbook: When in doubt, expand. It’s a common strategy for a group that operates 10 brands and counting.

VW is structurally skewed toward expansion, with the main power players keen to protect their turf and agreements often requiring time-consuming horse trading.

There are the descendants of Ferdinand Porsche, who created the concept for the iconic Beetle and are keen to keep dividends flowing; VW’s home state of Lower Saxony, which has a special blocking minority; and the company’s powerful works council.

“VW is like a big tanker ship that needs time to make a turn,” said Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Belgian manufacturer Umicore, which has a deal to supply the automaker with battery materials. “Once the tanker ship starts to turn, you cannot stop it.”

The inclination to grow to fix a problem is also evident in VW’s efforts in the U.S. The German automaker has struggled to play a major role in the market ever since Beetle mania faded in the late 1970s.

The latest push includes a new $2 billion factory in South Carolina to revive the off-road Scout brand, which has been dormant for four decades.

Beginning in 2026, the plan is to make battery-powered SUVs and pickups as a retro-themed answer to Tesla’s Cybertruck and models from U.S. EV startup Rivian.

VW’s messy transition to EVs has its roots in the diesel-emissions cheating scandal. For years, the company had pushed “clean diesel” as a fuel-efficient alternative to plug-hybrids, only to eventually acknowledge that those claims were bogus and millions of its vehicles had emitted illegal amounts of pollution.

The revelations tarnished Germany’s reputation for engineering prowess and triggered a catch-up strategy under Blume’s predecessor, Herbert Diess.

The former BMW executive, who joined just before the diesel-cheating revelations, vowed to carry out historic change, but he ruffled feathers, especially at VW’s works council, while software issues caused new models to flop and others to get delayed.

In early 2022, as pressure on Diess grew, VW hired McKinsey to help figure out a plan to fix Cariad.

Developers from Audi, Porsche and the software unit struggled with infighting due to brand allegiances and were overwhelmed by the task of building out two new platforms -- one for Audi and Porsche and another for other VW Group brands.

Ineffective top-down decision-making and managers with no experience overseeing software development made the situation worse.

Diess wanted to disrupt VW’s culture -- zipping over the water of the Wolfsburg factory canal on a hydrofoil and donning a Batman mask to promote new models -- but by last summer, his shock-and-awe approach had outlasted its welcome.  

The situation at Cariad remained so dire that after taking over in September, Blume created a “savior crew” to develop a new strategy and cancelled the five-year financial planning update that autumn.

As a VW lifer, Blume -- also head of the Porsche brand, which is close to the Porsche-Piech family -- is well-schooled in navigating the company’s factions. While that might bring calm to Wolfsburg, there are questions whether adding yet more partners in China will pay off and how Blume’s steps to finally squeeze more returns from VW’s mass-market brands are any different from previous attempts that failed to deliver.

His key priorities involve fixing Cariad, stabilizing market share in China, growing in the U.S., raising the VW brand’s profit margins and building a competitive EV portfolio at Audi. None of it is quick and easy.

In his first year on the job, he swapped out the Audi chief, tasked the namesake VW brand with finding savings to boost earnings by 10 billion euros by 2026, and started a portfolio review for possible asset sales.

While VW is dogged by complexity and power struggles, it has deep pockets to fight back. Its auto division had 33.6 billion euros in net liquidity at the end of June. And after listing a minority stake in Porsche a year ago, there are plenty of other options to raise more money if needed.

“Competition should spur us on, but not scare us,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a speech at the car show.

“In the 1980s, it was said that Japanese cars would overrun all other markets. Twenty years later, it was cars 'Made in Korea,' and today it’s supposedly Chinese electric cars.”

 

 

[j]

VOLKSWAGEN

Possibili tagli a Zwickau: non ci sono ordini per le elettriche

Secondo la stampa tedesca, il costruttore tedesco avrebbe intenzione di tagliare alcune centinaia di lavoratori temporanei a causa della bassa domanda per le Bev. Preoccupati sindacati e politici locali. 

 

https://www.quattroruote.it/news/industria-finanza/2023/09/13/volkswagen_possibili_tagli_a_zwickau_non_ci_sono_ordini_per_le_elettriche_.html

[j]

Volkswagen
Dresda, a rischio la produzione di auto

La Volkswagen potrebbe interrompere la produzione di auto in una delle fabbriche simbolo dell'era della presidenza di Ferdinand Piëch. Secondo indiscrezioni della rivista Automobilwoche, il costruttore di Wolfsburg sarebbe intenzionato a fermare l’assemblaggio delle ID.3 a Dresda e a procedere con una conversione delle attività industriali.

 

https://www.quattroruote.it/news/industria-finanza/2023/09/18/volkswagen_a_rischio_la_fabbrica_trasparente_di_dresda.html

[ILM4rcio]

Che disastro, spero solo che tutto questo non continui perché altrimenti dopo le fabbriche tedeschi arrivano tutte quelle relative all'indotto che sono per la maggior parte italiane...

[Graziano68dt]

Butta male se il primo carmaker europeo è messo così, e non è solo un problema di bev.

Forse i soliti schemi dei cloni di auto iniziano a scricchiolare, e una gamma di 20 modelli(!!) anche per un brand come Wagen in un periodo del genere sono troppo esosi da mantenere.

I prossimi anni saranno interessanti, non perchè saranno duri, ma perchè c'è proprio aria di cambiamento nei soliti diktact dell'automotive che ci hanno accompagnato da 30/40 anni...

[Pawel72]

Volkswagen potrebbe chiudere la fabbrica di Dresda

Secondo Bloomberg e Automobilwoche la fabbrica di Dresda, casa della Volkswagen ID.3, potrebbe terminare la produzione auto..

 

l Gruppo Volkswagen potrebbe ridimensionare la produzione nella fabbrica di Dresda, dove viene assemblata la ID.3. Una voce riportata da Bloomberg e Automobilwoche secondo le quali il piccolo stabilimento - che attualmente impiega circa 300 lavoratori - verrebbe sacrificato all'interno di un piano di revisione generale degli stabilimenti del colosso tedesco.

Una revisione dettata dalla volontà di tagliare i costi e aumentare i profitti, per rispondere anche al calo delle vendite di auto elettriche da parte di Volkswagen.

Nulla è deciso

Lo stop alla produzione di auto all'interno della cosiddetta "Gläserne Manufaktur" (fabbrica di vetro) di Dresda è solo una delle diverse opzioni prese in considerazione dai vertici Volkswagen. Non sono quindi state prese decisioni definitive. Secondo quanto riportato da Automobilwoche Volkswagen dovrebbe ricollocare i vari lavoratori in altri stabilimenti..

Sempre stando a quanto riportato dalla testata tedesca i costi operativi annuali dell'impianto oscillano tra i 60 e i 70 milioni di euro e lo stop alla produzione comporterebbe un risparmio di circa 20 milioni di euro all'anno..

 

https://it.motor1.com/news/687186/volkswagen-chiusura-fabbrica-dresda-id-3/

 

Modificato 19 Settembre 2023 da Pawel72

[MotorPassion]

 Ho fatto un giro sul configuratore VW ed ho notato che ora, con l'ultimo MY, ufficialmente tutte le vetture sono passate ai tasti fisici al voltante.