VW News: Volkswagen Expanding Chattanooga
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Drew Dowdell, in Volkswagen
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By Drew Dowdell
General Motors and LG Chem are joining forces to invest $2.3 billion in a new battery plant near its old Lordstown Assembly complex in Lordstown, Ohio. The deal is a 50/50 partnership between GM and LG Chem and will create 1,100 jobs in the area.
Construction of the plant will begin mid-2020 at a greenfield former manufacturing site. The employees will work for the joint-venture and will not be direct GM employees. Initially, the plant will solely supply batteries for GM vehicles, though with a maximum capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours annually, the company could expand to supply other manufacturers as well.
GM and LG Chem are forming this joint venture in an attempt to bring down the unit cost of batteries for future vehicles. The plant's capacity, once completed, will be among the largest in the world.
General Motors has said it wants to introduce 20 electric vehicles globally by 2023.
View full article
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By Drew Dowdell
General Motors and LG Chem are joining forces to invest $2.3 billion in a new battery plant near its old Lordstown Assembly complex in Lordstown, Ohio. The deal is a 50/50 partnership between GM and LG Chem and will create 1,100 jobs in the area.
Construction of the plant will begin mid-2020 at a greenfield former manufacturing site. The employees will work for the joint-venture and will not be direct GM employees. Initially, the plant will solely supply batteries for GM vehicles, though with a maximum capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours annually, the company could expand to supply other manufacturers as well.
GM and LG Chem are forming this joint venture in an attempt to bring down the unit cost of batteries for future vehicles. The plant's capacity, once completed, will be among the largest in the world.
General Motors has said it wants to introduce 20 electric vehicles globally by 2023.
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By Drew Dowdell
Volkswagen of America November 2019 Sales
Nov. 19
Nov. 18
Yr/Yr%
change
Nov. 19 YTD
Nov. 18 YTD
Yr/Yr%
change
Golf
318
300
6.0%
5,330
6,361
-16% GTI
768
1,045
-27%
10,907
15,639 -30% Golf R
356
116
207%
3,829
3,380 13% e-Golf
366
230
59%
4,599
1,132 306% Golf SportWagen
945
797
19%
10,064
13,334 -25% Total Golf Family
2,753
2,488
11%
34,729
39,846 -13% Jetta Sedan
8,966
9,207
-2.6%
92,289
80,473 15% Jetta SportWagen
(now Golf SportWagen)
-
-
N/A
- 71
N/A
Total Jetta
8,966
9,207
-2.6%
92,289
80,544 15% Beetle Coupe
383
338
13%
7,380
8,181 -10% Beetle Convertible
407
210
94%
9,123
5,313 72%
Total Beetle
790
548
44%
16,503
13,494 22% Passat
228
2,156
-89%
13,409 38,285 -65% CC
4
5
-20%
56
444
-87% Arteon
317 - N/A 2,166 - N/A Tiguan Limited
1
273
-100%
390
13,357 -97% Tiguan
8,402
6,794
24%
101,642
81,123 25% Total Tiguan
8,403
7,067
19%
102,032
94,480
8%
Touareg
1
85
-99%
153
1,964
-92% Atlas
7,756
5,233
48%
74,108
52,960
40% Total Car
13,058
14,404
-9.3%
159,152
172,613
-7.8%
Total SUV
16,160
12,385
30%
176,293
149,404
18%
TOTAL
29,218
26,789
9.1%
335,445
322,017
4.2%
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By Drew Dowdell
Mazda has an internal debate going on as to whether to electrify or not the next generation MX-5 Miata. One of the major concerns is keeping the car light weight. The current car in base form tips the scales at just 2,345 lbs. and is incredibly well balanced, so adding batteries and electric motors could upset that balance.
Electric motors can be compact and powerful though, adding torque in places where gasoline motors are weak. In order to provide that power, they require dense and heavy battery packs. Still, if power can be added to the 2.0-liter four-cylinder that produces 181 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque, it might make up for the weight increase in a straight line.
Why do this? It's not like the MX-5 is a huge seller. It doesn't contribute to Mazda's overall volume in such a way that it should require efficiency tuning to meet fuel economy standards. Just 8,971 Miatas passed through Mazda dealerships in 2019. The answer is in image. Mazda wants to maintain the appearance of being eco-friendly. They feel that the preference of people who enjoy driving sports cars could be changing, so Mazda needs to think about the direction society is going. The next Mazda MX-5 isn't due until 2022 or so, so Mazda still has some time to decide.
Mazda is committed to the original formula that made the Miata an icon though, and any electrification will have to happen with the thought of maintaining lightness as a priority.
View full article
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By Drew Dowdell
Mazda has an internal debate going on as to whether to electrify or not the next generation MX-5 Miata. One of the major concerns is keeping the car light weight. The current car in base form tips the scales at just 2,345 lbs. and is incredibly well balanced, so adding batteries and electric motors could upset that balance.
Electric motors can be compact and powerful though, adding torque in places where gasoline motors are weak. In order to provide that power, they require dense and heavy battery packs. Still, if power can be added to the 2.0-liter four-cylinder that produces 181 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque, it might make up for the weight increase in a straight line.
Why do this? It's not like the MX-5 is a huge seller. It doesn't contribute to Mazda's overall volume in such a way that it should require efficiency tuning to meet fuel economy standards. Just 8,971 Miatas passed through Mazda dealerships in 2019. The answer is in image. Mazda wants to maintain the appearance of being eco-friendly. They feel that the preference of people who enjoy driving sports cars could be changing, so Mazda needs to think about the direction society is going. The next Mazda MX-5 isn't due until 2022 or so, so Mazda still has some time to decide.
Mazda is committed to the original formula that made the Miata an icon though, and any electrification will have to happen with the thought of maintaining lightness as a priority.
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