German prosecutors have filed charges against former Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler, who is being investigated over his alleged role in Volkswagen’s emissions test cheating scandal.

US-Italian car maker Fiat Chrysler has made an all-share merger proposal to French rival Renault as part of a new wave of consolidation in the car industry.

QUITE a number of people have been moaning to me recently about the treatment they received at the hands of car dealers who sold them diesel cars at the height of the oil-burning boom of the last 10 years.

The all-new Seat Ibiza has been unveiled in Barcelona this week and will shortly go on sale in Ireland from €14,995.

It has been pretty obvious for some time now — to me anyway — that the VW ‘dieselgate’ scandal was going to have a massive and very positive effect on two companies within the Volkswagen Group.

Interesting times in the motoring business.

Some of the bigger marques stayed away but there was plenty to see in Paris, says Hannah Elliot

A Co Mayo law firm representing hundreds of claimants has become the first in Europe to have a case relating to the global Volkswagen emissions scandal heard in court.

Volkswagen will invest more than €10bn by 2025 in areas like electric cars and ride-hailing as it seeks to reshape its business in the wake of its emissions-test cheating scandal, it said yesterday. 

Volkswagen Group’s finance chief said the car maker is once again in a position to issue bonds, now that the company has released audited full year results.

Volkswagen says it has started implementing technical measures in Europe for the EA189 diesel engines at the heart of the recent emissions scandal.

The body responsible for enforcing consumer protection law in Ireland has opened its own investigation into the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

Almost 80,000 Volkswagen cars here have been fitted with the emissions-cheating software.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Unlike the peculiar things surrounding the sale of the Nama property assets in Northern Ireland, where it appears that public servants north and south of the border are trying to limit the scope of the inquiries, it’s unlikely there will be any such relief for the folk from the Volkswagen Group.

The software at the centre of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal in the US was built into its cars in Europe as well, though it is not yet clear if it helped cheat tests as it did in the US.

Resignation comes a day after asking the staff and public for trust

I have to admit I am a little nonplussed by the arrival to the car market here of the new Volkswagen Golf SV. Replacing the old Golf Plus, which did not sell well, the SV (it is called the sports van in Europe) is something of a curiosity.

Volkswagen Group Ireland has appointed Lars Himmer as managing director, effective from January. He replaces Simon Elliott, who left in September for MAN UK.

Pricing for the new ˇSkoda Fabia Combi, presented alongside the new Fabia at the Paris Motor show in September and which will launch in Ireland on February 9 next, has been announced. The entry price to the Fabia Combi is €15,495 for the 1.0-litre, 75bhp Active. The direct price comparison over the new Fabia hatch model remains at €700.

The new Skoda Fabia, first seen at the Paris Motor show in September, will launch in Ireland on December 1, just in time for 2015 vehicle orders.

THERE is something very engaging about the character of smaller cars than most people ever give them credit for and while many might dismiss them as being mere ‘starter cars’ there is a lot more to them than that.

DAVE SHANNON, who has been managing director of Toyota Ireland since 1994, will retire on December 31.

VOLKSWAGEN’S RECORD DELIVERY

I’VE recently driven the Seat Ibiza, the Altea XL, the Exeo ST and the venerable Alhambra, so I’ll review them all here.

European Union car sales are still sagging despite the return of modest economic growth.

Volkswagen Group has announced a spending programme of over €50bn in its automotive division over the next three years.

Internet search giant Google continues to be the most reputable company in Ireland, according to the annual study of corporate reputations.

Google has been voted Ireland’s most reputable company for the third year in a row.

VOLKSWAGEN Bank Ireland will lend out more than €100 million in car finance to Irish motorists this year, a record for the firm.

FARM plastic recycling takes another step forward at next week’s National Ploughing Championships, with a Northern Ireland based company offering farmer a deal whereby big bale wrap plastic can be leased, and returned for recycling after the silage is eaten.

European Motor Holdings PLC has sold its remaining Vauxhall business, Normand Heathrow, to Lance Owen (Kingston) Ltd.