First ever Nordschleife race for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |  |
- First ever Nordschleife race for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup
- Audi in China: Best first quarter with more than 64,000 vehicles delivered
- Volkswagen Share celebrates its 50th birthday
- Interview with Audi chief designer Stefan Sielaf
| First ever Nordschleife race for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Posted: 06 Apr 2011 08:02 AM PDT
The Porsche Carrera World Cup is breaking all records. Now the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will also run a classification round at the greatest Porsche race in the world on 25 June on the Nordschleife of the Nurburgring. At the legendary race track, also known as “Green Hell”, more than 200,000 spectators will witness up to 200 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars competing. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, which runs as support to Formula 1 since 1993 as the fastest international one-make series, was originally scheduled to race at the Formula 1 event in Valencia/Spain on this weekend. Instead of racing in Valencia the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will now contest the Porsche Carrera World Cup. “Understandably for our drivers and teams, the Porsche Carrera World Cup is an experience they won’t want to miss,” says Jonas Krauss, Manager of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. “We’re delighted to be able to offer our teams the chance to be part of this history-making event.”
Four weeks later the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup returns to the Nurburgring for round six of the season as support of the Formula 1 race. Contesting classification rounds at the Porsche Carrera World Cup alongside the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, which is the pinnacle of the 20 Porsche brand trophy series worldwide, are the Porsche Carrera Cups from Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and Scandinavia. “With the Porsche Carrera World Cup we want to offer our makes cup customers all over the world another highlight,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, about the record-breaking race which takes place just prior to the 24 hour classic on the Eifel circuit. “I’m certain that this race will be an unforgettable experience for all drivers and spectators at the circuit.” Related posts:
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| Audi in China: Best first quarter with more than 64,000 vehicles delivered Posted: 06 Apr 2011 07:35 AM PDT
In the first quarter of 2011, AUDI AG once again recorded significant growth in its largest foreign market: The Company sold a total of 64,122 cars in China and Hong Kong, 24,6 percent more than in the corresponding prior-year period.
Sales of imported vehicles went up by 66,4 percent to a total of 11,481 units. The A8 L, which was launched in March, made a particularly impressive start, selling 1,655 units in March alone. And sales of the Audi A5 Coupé from January to March more than doubled from 339 to 716 units (up 111,2 percent), while deliveries of the Audi Q7 increased by 76,6 percent to 4,051. With 51,951 units sold, the Audi models built in Changchun (A4 L, A6 L and Q5) went up 18,2 percent and thus posted a new record figure. “Following our record-breaking results last year, in the first quarter of 2011 we once again achieved continuous growth in China,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG. “For 2011 as a whole we are targeting sales of around 280,000 units there.” In line with rising demand the Audi dealer network is also being extended; the current number of 174 dealers will increase to more than 400 by the end of 2013. In two weeks’ time, the Audi world will once again be focusing on China: The Audi Q3 will celebrate its world premiere at Auto Shanghai 2011 from April 19 through 28. Related posts:
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| Volkswagen Share celebrates its 50th birthday Posted: 06 Apr 2011 07:00 AM PDT On 7 April 1961, the Volkswagen Share was traded for the first time on a regulated open market, thus writing a chapter of economic history. The erstwhile “Volksaktie (People’s Share)” has grown into a rewarding security for both institutional and private investors and has experienced a long-term enhancement in value since then. “The Volkswagen Share has become a successful share,” Hans Dieter Pötsch, Member of the Management Board for Finance & Controlling, pointed out. “Once a symbol of the Beetle era and the German economic miracle in 1961, it reflects today the high performance and solidity of Europe’s largest automaker.” Positive share price performance gives proof of the Group’s strong competitive position The initial public offering (IPO) of 1961 was preceded by the passage of the Volkswagen Act and the subsequent partial privatization of the company. Under the banner of “Wealth for everybody,” the German Federal Government fostered the participation of citizens and employees in companies through the issuance of shares. The Volkswagen Share became the prototype for such a “People’s Share.”
With a legislative basis in the Volkswagen Act, the company’s name of Volkswagenwerk GmbH was changed to “Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft” on 22 August 1960 and registered in the Wolfsburg Commercial Registry. The process of privatization came to its successful conclusion with the Volkswagen Share’s initial listing on the regulated open market on 7 April 1961: In a brief period after the onset of trading, the price shot up from its issuing price, which was fixed at DM 350, to DM 750. Those shareholders who purchased a share for the equivalent value of DM 350 then and have held on to it, are nowadays, after two successful share splits, in the possession of twenty ordinary shares with a counter-value of about € 2,200 and furthermore received a dividend payment for the equivalent value of around € 570. The Wolfsburg automaker has raised its capital base by the issuance of shares several times over the course of the last 50 years. Volkswagen AG issued preferred shares in 1986 for the first time, which are traded on the stock market since then just like the ordinary share. The seventh capital increase, conducted on 16 April 2010, was the largest in the automotive industry up to that date and achieved a net yield of around € 4.1 billion. In doing so, Volkswagen secured its financial flexibility for the planned creation of an integrated automotive group together with Porsche. The sphere of shareholders was also subject to changes. The Federal Republic of Germany, for instance, parted with its holding in the company in 1988 and sold its 20 percent block of shares. Volkswagen Group has at its disposal a stable shareholder structure today. Alongside the 20 percent holding of the State of Lower Saxony, Porsche Automobil Holding SE holds 50.74 percent of the voting shares. Qatar Holding LLC has been involved as the third major shareholder in the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, with its acquisition of 17 percent of the ordinary shares since December 2009. As a result, the Volkswagen preferred share replaced the ordinary share in the DAX, the German stock index, in the same month. “The Volkswagen Group has set itself the ambitious target of becoming the leading automaker, economically as well as ecologically, by 2018. To achieve this goal, a stable shareholder structure and financial solidity constitute indispensable prerequisites,” Pötsch pointed out. The long-term positive share price performance of the Volkswagen Share is evidence of the great confidence that markets and shareholders alike have in the Volkswagen Group. The Volkswagen Group set new benchmarks with 7.2 million vehicle deliveries and an operational profit of € 7.1 billion in the 2010 financial year. In Pötsch’s words: “I am wholly convinced we will be writing, based on our solid growth rate, many new chapters yet in the successful story of the Volkswagen Share.” Related posts:
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| Interview with Audi chief designer Stefan Sielaf Posted: 06 Apr 2011 06:33 AM PDT
Audi chief designer Stefan Sielaff is embracing the challenges that come with styling the cars of the future. He says that new powertrains and new materials are “revolutionizing” Audi. The 49-year-old German, who has been head of Audi design since 2006, says Audi has given him a bigger budget and a larger staff to help the company stay competitive. Sielaff talked with Pia Krix, a reporter with Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche. What effects do alternative drivetrains have on design? Design is facing a major challenge because of cultural and technological changes, but they also present us with a unique opportunity. We are in favor of a paradigm change in our layout, in our package configuration, and therefore in the overall proportions. New drivetrains, whether they are electric, hybrid or something else, are revolutionizing the entire company. And so far no one knows where it’s taking us. How is lightweight construction changing design? The choice of the material has an influence on design. An aluminum body does not have the sharpness of a steel body. In turn, I can make edges even sharper with carbon. You sense these effects in detail in the design language. Will the toward greater environmental awareness continue? I am convinced that this trend will even become stronger. And a growing number of people will ask themselves what they are lugging around and what is burdening their lives. In certain parts of the world, the saturation will grow to the extent that it will be a form of luxury to have as little as possible. I sense a certain purism among the very young people who join our design team. They laugh about our values. What will future green cars for megacities look like? Compact. Efficient. Lightweight. Pure. We designers want to satisfy the desire for authenticity: The car should mirror what it carries inside. Will design be a key purchasing factor in the future? To a great degree, design set the tone in the past. In the future, the strength will lie in the interaction and innovation of design, technology and production. A beautiful wrapping won’t be enough. Customers want a holistic product that answers all the environmental questions. Are you getting a larger budget so you can handle fresh challenges? Yes, I now have the opportunity to hire more people. We can only bring about a paradigm change if we take care of the product portfolio that we have built up and have time for research at the same time. Does the auto industry have enough designers? The lack of new talent is an important issue, and we have to brace ourselves for it. For demographic reasons, we are going to get fewer specialized staff. By contrast, young talent is on the move in other countries, in China and India. We are indeed an international company, but we have to position ourselves more globally in the future. What role do women play in automotive design? Compared with the overall auto industry, we are not understaffed when it comes to women. But a classic division prevails in our area as well: Women handle interior design while exterior design, with its technical requirements, remains a male domain. But it is absolutely important to know how what women respond to in a car. That’s why we want to form mixed teams. But as long as just a few women complete the training, we cannot recruit very many. Related posts:
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