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VW Drops Out of World Rally Racing
Volkswagen AG says it will exit the FIA’s World Rally Championship series at the end of next year to help meet the financial burden of electrifying its powertrains and paying for its global diesel engine cheating scandal.
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Volkswagen AG says it will exit the FIA’s World Rally Championship series at the end of next year to help meet the financial burden of electrifying its powertrains and paying for its global diesel engine cheating scandal.
VW has won 12 WRC series championships—for driver, co-driver and manufacturer's ranking—in the past four years. Now it says it will focus on developing “green” powertrain technologies and race-ready models for customer sport racing events. The company vows the shift will retain its 200-member motorsport employees.
The announcement comes a week after VW’s Audi unit revealed it will drop out of the World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans race following this year’s season. Audi will compete instead in the greener (and cheaper) all-electric Formula E racing series beginning in 2017.
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