According to a carmagazine.co.uk article from August 2020, the VW Type 181 could return in this decade as an all-electric vehicle. The upcoming model was dubbed “VW Junglezz” by the British newspaper. This trademark has been registered by Volkswagen Group with the EUIPO, and a hinting idea might be taking shape in a VW design studio.
In 2019, the VW 181, or “VW Thing” as it is known to Americans, turned 50. According to autobild.de, the Volkswagen Group is seeking some “fascinating vehicles to revitalize the ID. family of next-generation electric cars. The Bulli/Microbus does, in fact, make a reappearance this year, but that’s not all. According to the German news article, Volkswagen has a number of unusual cars on the list, one of which is a replacement for the VW Type 181.
Dr. Herbert Diess, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, has a special place in his heart for the VW Thing. According to the German journal, Dr. Diess has sympathy for the versatile 4WD vehicle from the World War II era. A Kubelwagen offshoot, the VW 181 was first a military vehicle officially named as the VW Kurierwagen (courier car). It had been ordered by the German army, and work on it started in October 1969. The civilian market accounted for more than 80% of the cross-country vehicle’s total output.
In This Article...
Will Volkswagen switch entirely to electricity?
German capital, 12 May (Reuters) – Volkswagen announced on Thursday that it plans to produce 800,000 totally electric vehicles globally this year and 1.3 million in 2023 as it works toward having half of its global output run entirely on electricity by the year 2030.
Will Volkswagen eventually stop producing cars?
According to CFO Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen will stop producing a number of combustion engine automobile models by the end of the decade. Antlitz said it intends to eliminate 60% of its gas- and diesel-powered models in Europe by 2030 but did not specify which models would be discontinued.
The news demonstrates how supply chain issues have sped up the switch by automakers from gas to electric vehicles. While chip shortages have forced the early retirement of some combustion engine car models and halted production for others, Volkswagen and its competitors are pressing ahead with ambitious plans to increase the production of electric vehicles (EVs).
Volkswagen still intends to invest $59 billion by 2026 to introduce new electric car lines and compete against EV industry behemoths like Tesla, despite cutting production overall. Volkswagen will cannibalize gas-powered vehicle factories and convert them into EV ones in order to accomplish these incongruous ambitions. According to Antlitz, “We are not increasing capacity; instead, we rework factories one at a time. The corporation has already switched the production lines at its German facilities in Zwickau and Emden from combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles.
The VW Thing: What is it?
In order to meet the German army’s demand for a utility vehicle during the war, VW created the type 62 Kubelwagen. During the war, it served as Germany’s equivalent of the American Jeep.
According to Sen. Richard Burr, a Thing aficionado whose 1974 model is easily recognizable around Capitol Hill, production ceased as the conflict came to an end but was revived in the 1960s when the Mexican government expressed interest in entering the vehicle sector.
“The molds were put away after World War II, and they weren’t used again for commercial versions until the late 1960s, according to the North Carolina Republican.
In Mexico and Britain, the vehicle was named as the Safari and the Trekker, respectively. It was known as the Thing in America.
It was portrayed in vintage American commercials as a multipurpose, hardy, strong, machine.
“An advertisement states, “Take off the doors, flip down the windshield, and you’ve got an instant Dune Buggy.”
Burr typically drives his Thing with the doors closed and the convertible top pulled back.
It wasn’t until 1973 that The Thing made its American debut. The flat four-cylinder, air-cooled 1974 model had a four-speed manual transmission and had a top speed of about 55 miles per hour.
They have a history of using whatever they can find, including old Coca-Cola signs as fenders, according to Burr.
Thus, no treatment was ever applied to the metal.
The car was only sold in the United States for two years, and part of its popularity has been its scarcity.
Can VW catch up to Tesla?
According to a June 14 analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence, Tesla is projected to lose its position as the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world in less than two years. The German auto giant Volkswagen Group, whose EV selection is expanding quickly across numerous brands and contesting Tesla’s appeal in the world’s main markets for electric vehicles, may surpass it as the manufacturer selling the most EVs.
By volume of sales, Volkswagen is the second-largest automaker in the world, behind Toyota. The firm owns six additional auto brands in addition to its own name-brand Volkswagen, including Audi, KODA, Lamborghini, and Porsche. It competes with Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 and Y and its luxury Model S and X vehicles with its electric vehicle offerings under the VW, Audi, and Porsche brands.
Volkswagen sold roughly 450,000 electric vehicles worldwide in the previous year. That is significantly less than what Tesla delivered. The two businesses are, however, reasonably close opponents outside of the United States, where Tesla is clearly the winner, particularly in Europe and China, which are the world’s two largest markets for passenger EVs, according to the Bloomberg study. According to Bloomberg data, total EV sales in these two regions were more than five times higher in 2021 than in the United States.
In 2021, Europe (70 percent) and China (20 percent) combined to account for more than 90% of Volkswagen’s EV sales. According to production data from its Shanghai Gigafactory, which provides Model 3 and Y vehicles to China and Europe, Tesla sold only 10% more than Volkswagen in these two areas last year. Tesla withholds country-specific sales data.
Volkswagen has a better outlook than Tesla in Europe
Volkswagen has a decent chance to prevail in Europe, but Tesla already has a first-mover advantage in China. According to Bloomberg analysts, Volkswagen is the only traditional carmaker with a substantially extensive EV lineup and a clear path to profitability.
According to the study, Audi’s midsize electric SUV, the Q4 e-tron, already has a profit margin comparable to that of its Audi Q3 cousin with an internal combustion engine.
The most expensive part of an electric automobile, the batteries, are keenly monitored by analysts. To increase profitability, Tesla and Volkswagen both intend to transfer battery development and manufacture in-house. Tesla intends to manufacture batteries at its new factory in Berlin, Germany, and Volkswagen has committed to constructing six battery plants in Europe by 2030.
According to Michael Dean, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, “automakers in Europe, China, and other countries will continue to challenge Tesla through an imminent flood of new models, while profit incentives are constrained due to escalating battery prices and a lack of scale.
Analysts anticipate that Volkswagen will have sufficient financial resources to support future expansion if it is successful in going public with the Porsche brand before the end of the year. It is anticipated that the spinoff will be valued at more than $100 billion, exceeding the parent company’s present market value.
Volkswagen selling more EVs than Tesla?
VW already outsells Tesla in terms of EV sales in Europe, and according to the report’s authors, this trend will continue despite Tesla’s new facility opening in Germany. According to the survey, VW must increase its EV market share in China, where it presently holds a 3.5 percent market share, for this prediction to come true.
What is the cost of charging an electric vehicle?
The issue with AC charging is that the onboard charger installed in your EV vehicle determines how quickly it charges. Only 11kW of electricity will be charged each hour if an EV charging station offers 43kWh of current but your EV’s onboard charger can only handle 11kWh.
DC chargers, on the other hand, are significantly quicker since they convert electricity inside the charger before it enters your vehicle. Additionally, your EV will be able to accept significantly higher voltage speedstypically 50 kWh or moreas well.
In the end, the type of charger you can use will depend on the model of EV you have. Several vehicles, like the Hyundai IONIQ, can only accept AC charging, while others, like some other vehicles, can accept both fast and slow charging.
Without a doubt, charging an electric vehicle in Singapore is far less expensive than refueling a gasoline or diesel vehicle. And when it comes to cost, DC charging is unquestionably less expensive than AC charging. The cost of AC charging is currently $0.43/kWh, whereas the cost of DC charging is roughly $0.52/kWh.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that, like the cost of fuel, the cost of electricity varies frequently. But think about this: Even if power costs $1/kWh and your EV has a 40.4 kWh battery, you would still only have to pay $40.40 to completely charge it. Even so, this is still much less expensive than filling up a car with gas.
Which electric vehicle offers the longest range?
Cars with the Longest Range, Ranked
- 329 miles on the 2022 GMC Hummer EV.
- Tesla Model Y: 330 miles in 2022.
- Tesla Model X: 348 miles in 2022.
- 350 miles for a 2022 Mercedes EQS. VIEW PICTURES.
- Tesla Model 3: 358 miles in 2022.
- Tesla Model S: 405 miles in 2022. Tesla.
- View photos of 2022 Lucid Air’s 520-mile trip.
- Electric cars with the longest range, ranked. Lucid.
Is Audi switching to all-electric vehicles?
Cars like the recently launched A6 e-tron Avant, a concept vehicle constructed on the company’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) technology, will be leading the charge (pun firmly intended). This is a foundation built specifically for battery-electric drive systems, upon which Audi intends to build a broad range of EVs. In fact, they assert that without altering the fundamental architecture, this single platform will be suitable for both utility vehicles with high body styles and low-slung automobiles with dynamic and flat architecture, such as the Audi A6 Avant. Launched in 2023 is the first manufacturing car constructed using PPE.
Is the Passat being slain by VW?
Volkswagen announced that it would discontinue the Passat sedan for the American market in July 2021. According to CarBuzz, towards the end of 2021, the carmaker stopped making the Passat Sedan for international markets. The Passat sedan will no longer be sold in international markets after the 2022 model year, similar to the U.S. market.
The Passat sedan sold in foreign nations is different from the Passat manufactured in America. The Passat is a larger vehicle that is built on an earlier platform in the US. Since 2014, the Passat has been sold with global specifications. Regardless matter the platform, the Passat sedan’s demise is imminent.
Is the chip shortage affecting Volkswagen?
In the business, it is becoming more typical to reserve microchips by omitting or delaying the use of particular functions. Recently, Audi announced plans to discontinue common features from all of its model lines, including tire pressure monitoring and blind-spot monitoring.
Volkswagen’s feature omissions, in contrast to Audi, will only be noticeable to drivers who choose the base or mid-trim models. Volkswagen still retains the majority of its prior features in its higher-end cars, but businesses all over the world are being forced to use manufacturing adjustments as a result of chip shortages and supply constraints. VW is not an exception.
According to Reuters, who cited an interview with Automobilwoche, the German automaker doesn’t anticipate the chip scarcity to ease very soon. Volkswagen, like other companies in the sector, is forced to think outside the box in order to increase output and increase sales.