Skip to main content

Here’s What California Wants Volkswagen to Do with Its Penalty Cash

The California regulator that played an important part in uncovering Volkswagen Group’s emissions cheating plot detailed a list of options on how the automaker will be required to spend the $800 million penance by advancing green tech and nonpolluting cars.

On Thursday, the CARB said Volkswagen’s choices for the mandatory investments to be made over the next ten years include installing electric car chargers and providing services for ride-sharing or shuttle services in zero-emission vehicles. Bloomberg reports that CARB also scheduled a workshop for today to gather public input and additional suggestions.

The 10-year spending plan for the $800 million will be separated into four 30-month spending cycles.

CARB would like to see Volkswagen support the shift to EVs — something the company has been doing since getting into trouble — by expanding the green vehicle market and improving access to zero-emission cars for disadvantaged communities. Although I would hazard a guess that most extremely low income people aren’t particularly concerned with what type of powerplant their car makes use of, so long as it is affordable.

Another approved investment is the installation of hydrogen stations for fuel cell vehicles. Even suggesting this is ridiculous, considering VW’s big push toward battery electric vehicles and the extremely limited appeal of hydrogen-powered cars. CARB also suggested VW create public education and awareness campaigns that would not be allowed to feature or favor its own brand — perhaps resulting in something akin to D.A.R.E., only for automotive pollution.

“We urge VW to make early, visible progress in the beginning of the first 30-month cycle,” a CARB representative said during its presentation. After Friday’s workshop and a final board hearing, Volkswagen is required to submit an outline of its plan to California regulators by February 22nd.

While there is a lot of wiggle room in some of these guidelines, the smart money is on VW pumping most of the cash into the power grid. The company has already teamed up with other automakers to enhance the vehicle charging network in Europe, so it would make sense to see the same occurring in the states. The move would fulfill the terms of its atonement while making EV ownership a lot more appetizing — something Volkswagen could benefit from, as it hopes to sell one million electric vehicles per year by 2025.

While the company may have settled many of its legal issues since dieselgate began, it isn’t even close to being out of the woods yet. VW still has to spend up to $10 billion to compensate drivers and buy back affected units, settle additional consumer claims surrounding the 3.0-liter vehicles, and cope with the criminal investigation being conducted by the Justice Department.

This article first appeared on thetruthaboutcars.com

The post Here’s What California Wants Volkswagen to Do with Its Penalty Cash appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2fPCuGK
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...