Apple, Volkswagen, Skoda, BMW, Porsche.

Only four years till the iCar? According to the Wall Street Journal, the IT company stepped things up a notch and will triple the now 600 person strong development team. Moreover, it set a target ship date for 2019. Apple will first present an all-electric car before adding self-driving technology. The Guardian reports that the company recently met with officials from California to discuss autonomous car regulations.
wsj.com, theguardian.com

VW caught cheating: Volkswagen has admitted to systematically cheating on U.S. air pollution tests for years by selling diesel versions of VW and Audi cars with software that masks the car’s true emissions during testing. The confession comes two days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused the carmaker of purposefully manipulating emissions tests for almost 500,000 vehicles. Volkswagen shares fell over 20 percent on Monday, as the carmaker could face up to 18bn dollars in fines.
usatoday.com, nytimes.com, forbes.com

Skoda has EV plans: The Czech carmaker is reportedly working on a number of electrified models. According to Business Car Manager, a plug-in hybrid version of the Superb will be launched in 2018, followed by a PHEV variant of the next-gen Fabia, as well as an all-electric city car by 2020.
businesscarmanager.co.uk

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BMW plug-in outlook: BMW will likely launch two PHEV versions of its next-gen 5 Series in 2017, Spanish motor.es reports. In addition to the basic version 530e, BMW reportedly also plans the 540e with a 258-hp four-cylinder and a 70-kW electric motor, as well as an inductive charging system.
motor.es (in Spanish) via insideevs.com

Porsche wins again: Round five of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship was once again dominated by Porsche. The 919 Hybrid achieved its third win in a row after its victories in Le Mans and Nürburgring this season.
lemanslive.com, porsche.com