MOTORING

greener APPROACH A

Electric mobility, smart mobility and digital transformation are the key strategic issues for the future at Volkswagen as it initiates a system changeover to e-mobility with the production of the ID.3.

Volkswagen’s electric offensive is picking up speed as the company recently launched the start of series production of the ID.3. The fi rst car in the new generation of electric vehicles (EVs) rolled off the assembly line watched by Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and Group CEO Dr Herbert Diess.

The Volkswagen Group plans to sell some 22 million EVs worldwide by 2028, thus helping EVs make the breakthrough. The company’s Zwickau facility has a key role to play in this endeavour: for the fi rst time, a large car manufacturing plant is being entirely converted to e-mobility, with investments running at €1.2bn and Zwickau is already scheduled to produce some 100,000 electric models next year. From 2021, up to 330,000 EVs will leave the assembly line each year, making the site the largest EV factory in Europe and a trailblazer in the transformation of Volkswagen’s global production network.

“The ID.3 will make an important contribution to the breakthrough of e-mobility. It makes clean individual mobility accessible to millions of people and is a milestone for new generation of electric vehicles (EVs) rolled off the assembly line watched by Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and Group CEO Dr The Volkswagen Group plans to sell some 22 million EVs worldwide by 2028, thus helping EVs make the breakthrough. The company’s Zwickau facility has a key role to play in this endeavour: for the fi rst time, a large car manufacturing €1.2bn and Zwickau is already scheduled to produce some 100,000 electric models next year. From 2021, up to 330,000 EVs will leave the assembly line each year, making the site the largest EV factory in Europe and a trailblazer in the transformation of

“The ID.3 will make an important contribution to the breakthrough of e-mobility. It makes clean individual mobility accessible to millions of people and is a milestone for

Protection climate project on the Indonesian island of Borneo. With the phased transformation of the Zwickau factory, Volkswagen is fully converting a large car manufacturing plant to e-mobility for the fi rst time. Serious fi nancial clout is behind the conversion. In the fi nal expansion stage from 2021, six MEB models from three Group brands will be built in Zwickau. Qualifi cation measures are preparing all 8,000 employees for EV production and working with high-voltage technology. In total, the Zwickau team will have completed some 13,000 training days by the end of 2020, thus ensuring future-proof jobs at the Zwickau plant.

“The ID.3 is a high-tech car from a high-tech factory. With some 1,700 robots, driverless transport systems and fully-automated manufacturing processes, Zwickau gives a contemporary insight into the shape of forward-looking highvolume production of EVs,” Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for E-Mobility, commented.

“Ultimately, though, it is the people who build the cars who are the key to success: Our team in Saxony mastered the two

our company on the road to becoming climate-neutral by 2050,” Group CEO Herbert Diess said at the ceremony in Zwickau.

CARBON-NEUTRAL The ID.3 is based on Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB). This is an all- electric platform that leverages to the full the opportunities offered by e-mobility.

Consequently, the ID.3 has a long range, a very spacious interior and dynamic vehicle handling. The basic version is priced at under €30,000 in Germany. The ID.3 will be launched almost simultaneously on markets throughout Europe in 2020. Over 35,000 international customers have already reserved an ID.3 and paid a pre-booking deposit.

The ID.3 aims to set new benchmarks in sustainability. Production is carbon-neutral, which means the car is delivered to customers with a carbon-neutral footprint. Green power is exclusively used in energy-intensive battery cell production for the ID.3, for example. Emissions from the entire production process that are currently unavoidable are offset, among other things through investments in the Katingan Mataya Forest

Ceremony with Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel

year conversion phase culminating in today’s SOP with much know-how and dedication.”

A STRONG CLUSTER With its resolute entry into e-mobility, Volkswagen is hoping to make an important contribution to climate protection and thereby creating long-term perspectives for employees at its plants. “Germany must drive the change and achieve profi ciency throughout the e-mobility value chain. That is why we are producing EVs and have at the same time taken the decision to develop and manufacture electric motors, as well as battery cells and systems. A strong cluster for EVs will emerge in the coming years,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said. Apart from manufacturing at the Zwickau factory, the Components plants in Brunswick, Kassel, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg are also involved in ID.3 production. They manufacture key components such as the electric motors or the battery systems. The car manufacturing plants in Emden and Hanover are scheduled to begin building EVs from 2022. Moreover, the Group is also cooperating with Northvolt to set up a major battery cell factory in Salzgitter.

FUTURE Sportback TO THE

The new Audi Sportback has hit the Irish market. Here’s all you need to know about the German automobile manufacturer’s latest release.

At the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Audi presented the RS 7 Sportback as a wide bodied five-seater for the first time, and also showcased the performance and efficiency delivered by a mild hybrid system.

The new Audi RS 7 Sportback sits low to the ground. The flared wheel arches emphasise the relentlessly sporty nature of the high-performance model from Audi Sport. The new RS 7 Sportback shares the coupé-like lines of the base model’s body, but only in four areas: the hood, the roof, the front doors and the tailgate. The RS-specific exterior design gives the grand tourer a character all of its own.

The front of the new RS 7 Sportback features a broad, flat single-frame with no contrasting border. The radiator protective grille with its RS-specific threedimensional honeycomb structure has retained its gloss black appearance. Large front air inlets and vertical fins in gloss black add to the aggressive styling, while a horizontal blade marks a distinctive downward edge to the front end.

AUDI RS 7 SPORTBACK

• Top speed: 250km/h • Engine: The 4.0 TFSI • CO2 emissions: 265 – 261 g/km • 0 - 100km/h 3.6 seconds

The rear end’s curved trailing edge and strip of lights linking the main rear lights make it one of the characteristic defining features of the RS 7 Sportback. The RS exhaust system, with a large, chrome-coloured oval tailpipe on each side, sits beneath an RS-specific bumper with a rear diffuser and design elements in gloss black and it also comes with LED headlights fitted as standard. The Sportback will sprint from zero to 100km/h in only 3.6 seconds and the top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h. The four-litre engine produces a full-bodied and sporty V8 sound and the Audi drive select dynamic handling system allows adjustments to the loud growl of the power unit.

The power produced via the standard eight-speed tiptronic transmission with optimised shift times and a new launch control function to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. Drive forces are distributed to the front and rear axles in a 40:60 ratio via the purely mechanical centre differential. If one wheel slips, more drive torque automatically goes to the axle with the better traction. Up to 70% can flow to the front wheels and up to 85% to the back wheels.

AGILITY AS STANDARD Five-link front and rear axles handle the lateral and longitudinal forces independently on the new RS 7 Sportback, while the air suspension can be set to three modes and includes automatic level control. In the normal position, the body of the new RS 7 Sportback sits 20mm lower than an Audi A7 Sportback with standard suspension. At speeds

above 120km/h, it will drop by a further 10mm and offer a lift mode enabling the vehicle to be raised by 20mm if requested. A driver can determine the character of an RS 7 Sportback using the Audi drive select dynamic handling system. There are six profiles available: comfort, auto, dynamic, efficiency and the customisable RS-specific RS1 and RS2 modes, which can be enabled directly via an RS Mode button on the steering wheel.

A stripped-down look with sporty accents are the key stylistic elements in the interior of the new Audi RS 7 Sportback. Much like the exterior design, the design language combines taut, sinewy surfaces with clearly defined contours. There is plenty of space for the driver and passenger, with the architecture of the interior accomplishing a seamless transition to the futuristic user interface. Special RS displays use the Audi virtual cockpit to provide details of tire pressure, torque, performance, oil temperature, boost pressure, lap times, acceleration, and g-forces. The shift light display prompts the driver to upshift when the rev limit is reached.

The RS7 Sportback is available at dealerships in Ireland now.