The emissions scandal known as Dieselgate billowed into the public space in September of last year, and as you might expect, Volkswagen was forced to make some serious changes. An immediate stop-sale was issued for the brand’s diesel products, and the company underwent a dramatic restructuring, which included the resignation of then-CEO Martin Winterkorn, who denied personal responsibility for the issue. But the former executive’s troubles are far from over.
According to a new report by Automotive News, Winterkorn is the subject of a criminal investigation into possible market manipulation. German prosecutors have claimed that there are “sufficient real signs” that Volkswagen withheld information regarding Dieselgate’s financial implications ahead of September 22, 2015, aka the date the brand publicly admitted wrongdoing. The investigation will try to determine whether Volkswagen’s choice to delay the release of financial data may have been aimed at keeping its stock prices afloat.
Another current member of the Volkswagen Group management board (who has not been named at this time) is involved in the investigation as well, and if charged, both individuals could face up to five years in prison and a hefty fine. This is the second criminal probe into Winterkorn’s role in the emissions fiasco, as the 69-year-old is also being investigated for fraud.
The legal fallout of Dieselgate will continue to expand in the coming months, but as of right now, Volkswagen still has a company to run. Now out of the diesel business, the automaker is diverting significant resources to the electric vehicle space, and it hopes to build 2 to 3 million pure EVs by 2025. The announcement about electric vehicles is just that at this point — an announcement — which has led skeptics to label it as a diversion tactic to keep consumer’s minds off Dieselgate.
As we reported last week, all new cars registered in Germany must have zero emissions by 2030.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.