Volkswagen AG

Osamu Suzuki, who led Suzuki Motor Corp. for several decades, overseeing its global expansion and making the company known for its small cars and motorcycles, died on Christmas Day at age 94. According to a company statement, Suzuki died of lymphoma, leaving behind his wife and three children.

The changes Volkswagen are world-changing, with the German automaker’s leadership team announcing today to labor union leaders that it is ending a 30-year-old agreement that protected workers from layoffs.

Volkswagen is going through the worst period in its history, following the trajectory of the German economy, which is on the brink of recession.

Two weeks ago it became clear that only two countries remained in the race for the new Volkswagen plant in Eastern Europe. Now there is clarity about who they are. According to the German news agency dpa, quoted by Handelsblatt, the election has been reduced to Bulgaria and Turkey, reports money.bg

Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor, automotive giants who have decided to team up on vans, pickups and self-driving technology, can use plants in Turkey for joint production, according to remarks made on Jan. 15.

Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co are expected to unveil an alliance on Jan. 15 that combines forces on commercial vehicles and is likely to expand into joint development of electric and self-driving technology, moves meant to save the automakers billions of dollars.

Volkswagen is planning to open a new factory in the Eastern Europe and the potential locations are Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania, according to Automobilwoche, cited by Agerpres.

The U.S. Justice Department on May 3 disclosed the filing of criminal charges against former Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, accusing him of conspiring to cover up the German automaker's diesel emissions cheating.

The controversy over Volkswagen AG's diesel-emissions cheating took another twist when the carmaker apologized for a test that exposed monkeys to engine fumes to study effects of the exhaust. 

 Ford Motor Co  will significantly increase its planned investments in electric vehicles to $11 billion by 2022 and have 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its model lineup, Chairman Bill Ford said on Sunday at the Detroit auto show, quoted by Reuters.

Volkswagen AG unit Electrify America said on Monday that it plans to install 2,800 electric vehicle charging stations in 17 of the largest U.S. cities by June 2019, according to Reuters. 

The charging stations will be located at roughly 500 sites, with around 75 percent of them at workplaces and the rest at multifamily dwellings such as apartment buildings.