Audi’s V6 diesel engines will use hydrotreated vegetable oil

Like other brands from Volkswagen Group, Audi strives to become carbon neutral by 2050. Besides that, the company strives to do the Internal Combustion Engines with less CO2. On that occasion, Audi said all their V6 diesel engines, which develop up to 281 HP (210 kW) and which are manufactured after the second half of February this year, are compatible with HydroTreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).

“We optimize our existing internal combustion engines to be more economical and to create less show. One of the ways is to create a technical basis for the use of sustainable fuel,” said Head of Technical Development Oliver Hoffmann.

Audi claims that the HVO reduces CO2 emissions between 70 and 95 percent compared to the ordinary diesel. Fuel can be made of waste materials such as oil from the food industry and agricultural waste. These oils are converted into aliphatic hydrocarbons, which modifies oil properties to be usable in diesel engines.

“As the cetane rating of hvo is around 30 percent higher, the combustibility of the engines is enhanced. The Positive Noticeable When Cold Starting. We tested the effects on Various Components, The Performance, and Exhaust Emissions in Specific Validation Runs Before Granting Approval, “says Matthias Schober.

The Volkswagen Group also works on other alternative fuels such as e-fuel, currently used in racing Porsche and Lamborghini cars.

Source: Audi-Mediacenter

Renault will shut down some production lines in Russia

The current situation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created not only a security and political crisis, but also an economic one. Affected by the restrictions of Western countries, many companies that have plants in Russia have found themselves in a difficult situation. One of them is Renault, which announced that some production lines in AvtoVAZ will have to be shut down.

Renault will shut down some production lines in Russia
Photo: Renault Group

AvtoVAZ is part of Lada Auto Holding, which also manages a number of factories, with Renault being the majority owner with a 67.61% stake. Russia is Renault’s second largest market, just behind France. “Interruptions are caused by more rigorous border controls and the need to change logistics routes,” their official statement said. Interestingly, they did not state that the decision has anything to do with the invasion.

Renault is not the only carmaker to have invested in Russia. There are also Volkswagen and Stellantis. Volkswagen said that due to delays in the delivery of parts from Ukraine, the company was forced to stop production at two factories. Stellantis did not make any statements regarding the current situation.

Some companies have opted for drastic measures, such as Finnish tire manufacturer Nokian Tyres, which has said it will relocate its production of key product lines to its homeland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21aLDfPVYRo

Russia is also a producer of several essential metals for the auto industry, such as palladium (38%), aluminum (6%), and rhodium (the second largest producer in the world).

Source: Reuters / Renault Group

Kalle Rovanperä finished as the winner of the WRC Rally Sweden

In the second race of the new FIA World Rally Championship season, which took place last weekend in Umeå, the fastest was the Finnish driver Kalle Rovanperä. He won with his Toyota with over 20 seconds of advantage, after his teammate from Toyota GR Yaris Elfyn Evans hit the snowdrift last morning.

Source: wrc.com

For the young Finnish driver, this was the third victory in his career, and it is interesting that his father achieved his only victory in the FIA ​​World Rally Championship 21 years ago in the same race.

The Finnish driver took the initiative from the very beginning of the race, which was extremely interesting. Five different drivers took turns in the leader position during the race. Rovanperä managed to regain the lead at the decisive moment and achieve his third win in the FIA WRC.

Second place went to Belgian Thierry Neuville behind the wheel of a Hyundai i20 N from the Hyundai Motorsport team, while third was Esapekka Lappi in his Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Source: wrc.com

In the drivers championchip, the leader is Kalle Rovanperä with 46 points, followed by Thierry Neuville with 32 points and Sebastien Loeb with 27 points.

Source: wrc.com

There are 11 races left until the end of the season. The next race will be held in Croatia on April 21-24.

Source: WRC

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