The Volkswagen emissions scam exposed by the US authorities last week has more substance than the vast and varied financial, commercial and legal consequences wherever in the world the company is present. VW has a great weight in the German car universe with its 12 brand names (VW, Audi, Porsche, the Volkswagen trucks Scania and […]How dearly will Germany pay for the Volkswagen emissions rigging scandal
September 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Volkswagen emissions scam exposed by the US authorities last week has more substance than the vast and varied financial, commercial and legal consequences wherever in the world the company is present. VW has a great weight in the German car universe with its 12 brand names (VW, Audi, Porsche, the Volkswagen trucks Scania and […]How and why Mercedes fakes the EU fuel consumption tests
November 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Remember the time you bought a new car. You normally visited it at the showroom, took it for a test drive, read the fuel consumption. Those three factors, together of course with the price of the vehicle, formed your purchase decision and selection between competition. Well, it seems that you can count on the showroom visit […]European Commission: Does Apple, Starbucks and Fiat really pay their taxes?
June 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission (EC) decided two days ago to conduct an investigation which will focus on the tax affairs of Apple, Starbucks and Fiat Finance and Trade in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg respectively. Basically, EC’s purpose is to examine if the tax authorities of the aforementioned countries are in line with the rules of […]FIAT Chrysler: from Geneva Motor show to the World, and back
March 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
With a $ 4.35 billion deal, FIAT Group took full control of Chrysler in January 2014 and announced the soon-to-be created FCA, the FIAT Chrysler Automobiles holding company. Thanks to a huge PR campaign, the news shook the markets and generated a shy optimism all around. In such a weak economic situation, the birth of […]Merkel, Mercedes and Volkswagen to abolish European democracy
July 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
That the German automotive industry is one of the strongest in the world is not news. Most Europeans are rather content in the idea that Europe is well represented in the fierce global automotive arena, not because we are or will ever be shareholders of Mercedes or Volkswagen, but rather because when we see an […]European Commission: the LED lights of your Audi A6 shall save our planet
April 15, 2013 by 3 Comments
How many of you took your stunning black Audi A6 3.0 liter for a ride on the evening of the 11th of April? Do you remember the moment you switched on the LED driving lights and you felt an unprecedented bliss thinking that you are not only rich but you are also protecting the environment? […]EU car manufacturers worry about an FTA with Japan
March 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), had expressed reserves over the EU Council and Commission initiative to start negotiations with Japan in order the two sides to conclude a far reaching Free Trade Agreement (FTA). ACEA was founded in 1991 and represents authentically the interests of the fifteen major European car, truck and bus manufacturers […]Commissioner sings “Volar-e” but the European driver no “Cantar-e”
March 7, 2013 by 2 Comments
It was the last day of February when the European Commission decided to organize a pompous event to test the “amazing” performance of a new electric race car in the Formula 1 Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Its name is Volar-e and I am sure Antonio Tajani, the Commissioner responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship that […]European car industry: The Germans want it all
December 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
That the German cars are gas guzzlers is a fact beyond reasonable doubt, not because they are badly engineered, that they are not, but simply because they are usually powered by engines of many thousands of cm2 cylinders. Those powerful Mercedes, BMWs, Porsches, Audis and even Volkswagens produce hundreds of PSIs, but at the same time they […]Is a uniform CO2 emission linked car taxation possible in the EU?
November 25, 2012 by 1 Comment
Motor vehicles have being for decades the easy target of many forms of taxation, especially in post WWII Western Europe. Taxes on acquisition, on ownership, on motoring, on licences are but a few. The initial idea behind, in the minds of politicians who supported the imposition of taxes on cars, was that private ownership of […]The vehicles of our future
November 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Out of the fourteen altogether topics that the European Union policies and rules cover, the huge automotive sector is affected directly or indirectly by nine of them. Let’s count: Business, Economy-finance-competition, Employment, Energy and natural resources, Environment-consumers-health, External relations and foreign affairs, Regions and local development, Sciences and technology, Transport and travel. The car industry and markets […]
