Ducati Safe, but VW is Still Looking to Dump Non-Core Assets

Although in many ways back on track financially, Volkswagen is still looking to simplify its empire with the sale of non-core, noncritical assets, even though that doesn’t include Ducati right now.

“The list [of assets disposals] has not been put away on the shelf,” Matthias Müller, head of the VW Group, told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Despite Ducati’s non-critical position, resistance from labor unions and other company insiders mean that its sale has been put on hold.

Rumors about the possible sale surfaced in the spring, with Harley Davidson and the Benetton family among those on the shortlist for the deal, but now it looks like the motorcycle manufacturer will stay in the empire.

Ducati wasn’t the only brand on the chopping block. Volkswagen’s trucking brands, Scania and MAN, were also reportedly up for sale, though again little in the way of actual sales has actually come about.

Now, the actual content of the list of assets up for sale isn’t known, but the Wall Street Journal reports that it’s worth up to 20% of VW’s annual $260 billion revenue.

As for talk of mergers, Müller is firm that VW wants fewer brands to control not more.

“We’re a big company and don’t have any interest in getting any more bloated,” he reportedly said. “There has been a lot of speculation about FCA, which we’ve noted, but it is just speculation and nothing more.”

[source: Automotive News]

The post Ducati Safe, but VW is Still Looking to Dump Non-Core Assets appeared first on VWVortex.

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

Comments

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT

Macau Gets Messy with 16-Car Pileup

The Macau Grand Prix is always good for an accident or two or 16— you may remember Audi’s race ending crash last year —and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take long for things to get messy on the tight road circuit. On the opening lap of the qualifying race a 16-car pileup caused the race to be suspended. Things kicked off when Daniel Juncadella hit a wall on the exit of Police bend, one of the tightest parts of the already tight circuit. The following car of Raffaele Marciello was able to avoid the carnage, but Laurens Vanthoor, who was in the upside-down Audi that ended the race last year, could not avoid Juncadella and together they blocked up the road pretty much completely. “I couldn’t see him [Juncadella] at first. Then I saw the car standing still,” Vanthoor told Motorsport. “I tried to brake but it was just understeering and I couldn’t do anything. There’s room for one car there and you’re blind.” Fourteen more cars would eventually crash into the corner c

The First of its Kind: Integrated Engineering Releases Highly-Anticipated IE450T MK6 Golf R Turbo Kit

After two long years of development, the team at Integrated Engineering has finally announced the release of their IE450T kit for the MK6 Golf R. With their turbo kit bolted on right out of the box, the sport AWD hatch is transformed into a 450bhp monster, with hardly any noticeable increase in spool time. In fact, 435 ft-lbs of torque are achieved at all four wheels, at a mere 3300rpm! By now you are probably asking yourself how this is even possible on a 2.0L engine that made nearly half that power from the factory. By employing true twin-scroll technology into the cast turbo manifold and pairing it with a state-of-the-art BorgWarner EFR turbocharger, IE was able to keep spool time at a minimum and bring the fastest-spooling big turbo setup to the market. “We wanted to offer a kit that would dramatically increase the power output without making the car lose its amazing street-friendly drivability,” mentioned one of the IE engineers. We are told the IE450T leaves the car driving jus

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog