Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer that designs, produces and distributes luxury vehicles. Audi is a member of the Volkswagen Group and has its roots at Ingolstadt, Germany. Audi-branded vehicles are produced in nine production facilities worldwide; the origins of the company are complex, going back to the early 20th century and the initial enterprises founded by engineer August Horch. The modern era of Audi began in the 1960s when Auto Union was acquired by Volkswagen from Daimler-Benz. After relaunching the Audi brand with the 1965 introduction of the Audi F103 series, Volkswagen merged Auto Union with NSU Motorenwerke in 1969, thus creating the present day form of the company; the company name is based on the Latin translation of the surname of August Horch. "Horch", meaning "listen" in German, becomes "audi" in Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi's predecessor company, Auto Union. Audi's slogan is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Being Ahead through Technology".
However, Audi USA had used the slogan "Truth in Engineering" from 2007 to 2016, have not used the slogan since 2016. Audi, along with fellow German marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz, is among the best-selling luxury automobile brands in the world. Automobile company Wanderer was established in 1885 becoming a branch of Audi AG. Another company, NSU, which later merged into Audi, was founded during this time, supplied the chassis for Gottlieb Daimler's four-wheeler. On 14 November 1899, August Horch established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. In 1902, he moved with his company to Reichenbach im Vogtland. On 10 May 1904, he founded the August Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG, a joint-stock company in Zwickau. After troubles with Horch chief financial officer, August Horch left Motorwagenwerke and founded in Zwickau on 16 July 1909, his second company, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH, his former partners sued him for trademark infringement. The German Reichsgericht in Leipzig determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.
Since August Horch was prohibited from using "Horch" as a trade name in his new car business, he called a meeting with close business friends and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher, they discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting, Franz's son was studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?" "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", "Audi" in the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. On 25 April 1910 the Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau was entered in the company's register of Zwickau registration court; the first Audi automobile, the Audi Type A 10/22 hp Sport-Phaeton, was produced in the same year, followed by the successor Type B 10/28PS in the same year.
Audi started with a 2,612 cc inline-four engine model Type A, followed by a 3,564 cc model, as well as 4,680 cc and 5,720 cc models. These cars were successful in sporting events; the first six-cylinder model Type M, 4,655 cc appeared in 1924. August Horch left the Audiwerke in 1920 for a high position at the ministry of transport, but he was still involved with Audi as a member of the board of trustees. In September 1921, Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a production car, the Audi Type K, with left-handed drive. Left-hand drive spread and established dominance during the 1920s because it provided a better view of oncoming traffic, making overtaking safer. In August 1928, Jørgen Rasmussen, the owner of Dampf-Kraft-Wagen, acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG. In the same year, Rasmussen bought the remains of the U. S. automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for eight-cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929.
At the same time, six-cylinder and four-cylinder models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork. In 1932, Audi merged with Horch, DKW, Wanderer, to form Auto Union AG, Chemnitz, it was during this period that the company offered the Audi Front that became the first European car to combine a six-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive. It used a powertrain shared with the Wanderer, but turned 180-degrees, so that the drive shaft faced the front. Before World War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. However, this badge was used only on Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own names and emblems; the technological development became more and more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch or Wanderer built engines. Reflecting the economic pressures of the time, Auto Union concentrated on smaller cars through the 1930s, so that by 1938 the company's DKW brand accounted for 17.9% of the German car market, while Audi held only 0.1%.
After the final few Audis were delivered in 1939 the "Audi" name disappeared from the new car market for more than two decades
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is a German brand of light commercial vehicles, owned by Volkswagen Group. It is headquartered in Lower Saxony, Germany. Part of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, it has operated as a separate marque since 1995. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is a brand, not a legal entity, its activities are included in Volkswagen's Commercial Vehicles Business Area, which includes the activities of the Scania and MAN brands. The Scania and MAN brands are managed by Volkswagen Truck & Bus AG. Accordingly, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is an associate partner of Volkswagen Bus. 1947 Volkswagen Dutch importer Ben Pon sketches a van based on Beetle components which becomes the legendary Type 2 Transporter range after seeing the Volkswagen Beetle-based Plattenwagen. 1949 Volkswagen General Director Heinrich Nordhoff approves Ben Pon's sketch for production. 1949 The first prototype was unveiled in Wolfsburg christened "Bulli". 1950 Full production began, Bulli was renamed Type 2 Transporter due to "Bulli" being trademarked by another company.
1954 Volkswagen celebrates production of 100,000th Type 2 Transporter at Wolfsburg plant. 1956 The first Type 2 Transporter rolls off the Hanover plant. 1962 1,000,000th Transporter leaves production line in Hanover. 1967 The second-generation Type 2 Transporter is released. 1968 The 2,000,000th Transporter leaves production line in Hanover. 1975 The first generation of the "LastenTransporter" LT is released which opens the door to Volkswagen in the light truck sector. 1977 The 4.5 millionth Transporter is produced. 1978 A six cylinder diesel engine is introduced for the LT range in August expanding the range with the LT 40 and LT 45. 1979 The third-generation Type 2 Transporter is released. 1980 A diesel engine is added to the Type 2 Transporter range. 1981 Hanover celebrates 25 years of producing the Transporter range. In March the 5 millionth unit is produced. Volkswagen Caminhoes Ltd starts. 1982 Watercooled petrol engines are added to the German Transporter range. The Caddy Ute, based on the Golf, is launched to the public.
1983 The luxurious Caravelle MPV is launched into the T3 range. 1985 VWCV launch the four-wheel drive syncro Transporter T3 Volkswagenwerk GmbH changes its name to VOLKSWAGEN AG. 1986 The 6 millionth Transporter is produced. 1987 The Volkswagen California motorhome is introduced into the range. 1989 The first Volkswagen Taro leaves the Hanover assembly lines. 1990 The fourth-generation Transporter/Multivan is released, VWCV celebrates 40 years of the Transporter, 6 million have been produced since its 1950 introduction. 1992 A joint venture with Ching Chung Motor Co. Ltd. is founded in Taiwan. Volkswagen AG has 1/3 capital in the company and from 1993 the T4 Transporter is produced there. 1994 The 500,000th Transporter/Multivan leaves production line in Hanover. The Volkswagen L80 is launched onto the German market. 1995 Dr Bernd Wiedemann, Chairman of the Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, announces the formation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as an independent Volkswagen Group marque.
1996 The Type 9K Caddy Panel Van and Type 9U Caddy are released on the market. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle unit launch a joint venture to replace their aging large vans, the jointly developed Volkswagen LT and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter are launched onto the market with success. 2000 VWCV celebrate 50 years of building the legendary Transporter/Multivan range. VWCV takes charge of the Volkswagen Trucks and Buses operation. 2003 The fifth generation T5 Transporter and passenger-oriented Caravelle / Multivan MPV are released. 2004 The T5 Transporter range wins UK's What Van? Van of the Year, the all new Type 2K Caddy is released, Caddy now has Golf Mk5 front suspension. 2005 The 7-seat passenger-oriented Caddy Life is released. 2006 The replacement to the Volkswagen LT the Volkswagen Crafter is revealed. The Volkswagen Crafter and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter wins the What Van? "Van of the Year Award" and What Van? "Large Panel Van of the Year" VWCV wins the What Van? "Technology Award" for its DSG transmission in the Caddy van.
2007 Stephan Schaller replaced Dr. Bernd Wiedemann as Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Managing Director an LWB Caddy called Caddy Maxi will be released; the Caddy and Volkswagen Crafter win Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine's Small and Large Van of the Year Awards. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles builds its 10 millionth Transporter in the month of November. 2008 Volkswagen AG sells Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus to MAN SE. At the IAA in Hanover Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles revealed various new models including the new fourth global line in the guise of a Concept Pickup, Caddy 4Motion, Caddy PanAmericana Study and Crafter BlueMotion Study. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK revealed the Caddy Sportline range. 2009 Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles operations in Brazil revealed the new fifth-generation Saveiro utility for emerging markets. VWCV reveal at IAA Frankfurt the T5 Transporter facelift which includes new engines and technology to benefit the class. Volkswagen Amarok is launched in December at an event in General Pacheco, Argentina with the President of Argentina Cristina Kirchner attending.
Following the Launch in Argentina. Volkswagen Commercial
Euro
The euro is the official currency of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union. This group of states is known as the eurozone or euro area, counts about 343 million citizens as of 2019; the euro is the second largest and second most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar. The euro is subdivided into 100 cents; the currency is used by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members use the euro as their currency. Additionally, 240 million people worldwide as of 2018 use currencies pegged to the euro; the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. As of August 2018, with more than €1.2 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.
S. dollar. The name euro was adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid; the euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit at a ratio of 1:1. Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, by March 2002 it had replaced the former currencies. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.83 within two years, it has traded above the U. S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.60 on 18 July 2008. In late 2009, the euro became immersed in the European sovereign-debt crisis, which led to the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility as well as other reforms aimed at stabilising and strengthening the currency; the euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank and the Eurosystem. As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy; the Eurosystem participates in the printing and distribution of notes and coins in all member states, the operation of the eurozone payment systems.
The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, although not all states have done so. The United Kingdom and Denmark negotiated exemptions, while Sweden turned down the euro in a 2003 referendum, has circumvented the obligation to adopt the euro by not meeting the monetary and budgetary requirements. All nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Since 1 January 2002, the national central banks and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Euro banknotes do not show. Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated; the ECB issues 8% of the total value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECB's banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs, thereby incurring matching liabilities vis-à-vis the ECB; these liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB.
The other 92% of euro banknotes are issued by the NCBs in proportion to their respective shares of the ECB capital key, calculated using national share of European Union population and national share of EU GDP weighted. The euro is divided into 100 cents. In Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are sometimes used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a common side showing the denomination or value, a map in the background. Due to the linguistic plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used and Arabic numerals. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, the map only showed the 15 member states which were members when the euro was introduced. Beginning in 2007 or 2008 the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe showing countries outside the Union like Norway, Belarus, Russia or Turkey.
The 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, keep their old design, showing a geographical map of Europe with the 15 member states of 2002 raised somewhat above the rest of the map. All common sides were designed by Luc Luycx; the coins have a national side showing an image chosen by the country that issued the coin. Euro coins from any member state may be used in any nation that has adopted the euro; the coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, 1c. To avoid the use of the two smallest coins, some cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents in the Netherlands and Ireland and in Finland; this practice is discouraged by the Commission, as is the practice of certain shops of refusing to accept high-value euro notes. Commemorative coins with €2 face value have been issued with changes to the design of the national side of the coin; these include both issued coins, such as the €2 commemorative coin for the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, nationally i
Bugatti Automobiles
Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. is a French high-performance luxury automobiles manufacturer and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, with its head office and assembly plant in Molsheim, France. Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti trademark in June 1998 and incorporated Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. in 1999. Bugatti presented several concept cars between 1998 and 2000 before commencing development of its first production model, the Veyron 16.4, delivering the first Veyron to a customer in 2005. At the urging of then-chairman Ferdinand Piëch, Volkswagen purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in June 1998; this followed the earlier Volkswagen purchases of the Lamborghini marque, the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, United Kingdom, the Bentley marque. On 22 December 2000, Volkswagen incorporated Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. with former VW drivetrain chief Karl-Heinz Neumann as president. The company purchased the 1856 Château Saint Jean Ettore Bugatti's guest house in Dorlisheim, near Molsheim, began refurbishing it to serve as the company's headquarters.
The original factory was still in the hands of Snecma. At the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August 2000, VW announced that they would instead build a new modern atelier next to and south of the Château; the atelier was inaugurated on 3 September 2005. Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen AG After the Veyron's discontinuation in 2014, the new Bugatti model was revealed to be the Chiron in 2016. With an 8-liter W16 engine delivering 1500 horsepower, an electronically limited top speed of 260 miles per hour, a price of about €2,400,000, the Chiron attempts to vastly surpass the Veyron's performance. Volkswagen commissioned Italdesign's Giorgetto Giugiaro to design a series of concept cars to return the marque to prominence; the first example, the EB 118, was a two-door coupé and was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1998. It was followed by the four-door EB 218 touring sedan, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1999; that year, the 18/3 Chiron was shown at the IAA in Frankfurt.
Volkswagen designed the EB 18/4 GT in house. Bugatti introduced the EB 18/4 at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show. All of these early concepts featured a 555 PS 18-cylinder engine; this was the first-ever W-configuration engine on a passenger vehicle, with three blocks of 6 cylinders each. It shared many components with Volkswagen's modular engine family; the 16C Galibier was unveiled during Celebration of the Centenary of the Marque in Molsheim. The presentation was only for Bugatti customers; the car show in Molsheim showed the car in blue carbon aluminum parts. One year Bugatti showed the world the 16C Galibier Concept at "VW Group Night" at the Geneva Auto Show in a new black and aluminum color combination; the Galibier, a 1000 HP sedan, was first shown as a concept in 2010 and when they planned to put it into production in 2015, it would have cost about $1.4 million. It would use the same 16-cylinder 8.0-litre engine as the Veyron but instead of four turbos, the 16C Galibier would instead use two superchargers to deliver better torque.
Production would require new facilities in Molsheim, France, to be refitted, which pushed back potential deliveries until 2015. In 2013, it was announced that the car will never be produced as they wish to focus on a Veyron replacement. In the 1980s the Bugatti brand was brought back as Bugatti Automobili S.p. A. in Italy. The company produced the EB110 in the 1990s; the company was bought by Volkswagen at the end of the 20th century. Development of this vehicle began with the 1999 EB 18/4 "Veyron" concept car, which itself had a chassis based on that of the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car, it was similar in appearance to the final Veyron production car. One major difference was the EB 18/4's use of a W18 engine with three banks of six cylinders; the Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, rather than Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, who had handled the three prior Bugatti concepts. The – Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Piëch announced the Veyron at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show.
It was promised to be the fastest, most expensive car in history. Instead of the W18, it would use a VR6/WR8-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999 Bentley Hunaudières concept car, the W16 would have four turbochargers and produce a quoted 1001 horsepower. Top speed was promised at 407 km/h, the price was announced at €1 million. Development continued throughout 2001 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In late 2001, Bugatti announced that the car called the "Bugatti Veyron 16.4", would go into production in 2003. Piëch retired that year as chairman of the Volkswagen Group and was replaced by Bernd Pischetsrieder; the new chairman promptly sent the Veyron back to the drawing board for major revisions. Neumann was replaced as Bugatti president by Thomas Bscher in December 2003, substantial modifications were made to the Veyron under the guidance of a former VW engineer, Bugatti Engineering chief Wolfgang Schreiber; the Veyron costs €1,100,000. Prices for the UK or the US are over £880,000, or around $1,400,000.
It was noted in an April issue of Live magazine that customers are free to order additional extras which can push the price up by the cost of a Rolls Royce Phantom. During
MAN Energy Solutions
MAN Energy Solutions is a multinational company based in Augsburg, Germany that produces large-bore diesel engines and turbomachinery for marine and stationary applications, as marine propulsion systems, power plant applications and turbochargers. The company was formed in 2010 from the merger of MAN Turbo. MAN Energy Solutions is a subsidiary of the German carmaker Volkswagen Group; the Danish part of the company was formed out of the Burmeister & Wain ship building company, the marketing name for the largest two-stroke engines still has "B&W" in it. MAN Energy Solutions designs two-stroke and four-stroke engines that are manufactured both by the company and by its licensees; the engines have power outputs ranging from 450 kW to 87 MW. MAN Diesel & Turbo designs and manufactures gas turbines of up to 50 MW, steam turbines of up to 150 MW and compressors with volume flows of up to 1.5 million m³/h and pressures of up to 1,000 bar. The product range is rounded off by CP propellers, gas engines and chemical reactors.
MAN Diesel & Turbo’s range of goods includes complete marine propulsion systems, turbomachinery units for the oil & gas as well as the process industries and turnkey power plants. Customers receive worldwide after-sales services marketed under the "MAN PrimeServ" brand; the company employs around 14,413 staff at more than 100 international sites in Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Italy and China. MAN Diesel & Turbo is a company of the Power Engineering business area of the Volkswagen Group. Two-Stroke engines are developed at the company’s base in Copenhagen and have a range of outputs from 2 MW to 90 MW. In view of their size, the engines are manufactured by international licensees in the immediate vicinity of dockyards, propel large container vessels and oil tankers. Low-speed diesel engines do not require a transmission system because they are directly connected to the propellers by drive shafts. MAN Diesel & Turbo offers mediumspeed four-stroke engines that cover a performance range from 450 kW to 21,600 kW and can be operated using liquid or gaseous fuel.
Medium-speed engines are deployed to propel all types of merchant vessels, but are used in passenger ships thanks to their compact nature and their amenability to flexible mounting. As well as cruise liners, other areas of use for medium-speed engines include specialist vessels such as tugs, dredgers or cablelaying ships. Smaller medium-speed four-stroke engines are used in high-speed ferries and naval vessels. MAN Diesel & Turbo builds exhaust gas turbochargers for high charging pressures with single-stage radial and axial turbines; the performance spectrum of these chargers, which are used both in two-stroke and four-stroke marine engines and in stationary systems, ranges from around 300 kW to 30,000 kW of engine power. In the stationary sector MAN diesel engines are used for power plants and emergency power supplies. MAN Diesel & Turbo products range from small emergency power generators to turnkey power plants with outputs of up to 400 MW; the range of stationary systems comprises four-stroke engines with a unit output of 450 kW to 21,600 kW and two-stroke engines for unit outputs of up to 80,000 kW.
MAN diesel engines are operated using heavy fuel oil, gas or renewable fuels such as Jatropha oil, animal fat or recycled vegetable oils. Under the brand MAN Power Management MAN Diesel & Turbo supplies integrated solutions for the management and maintenance of diesel power plants. For the Process-Industry, the Fertilizer production and Steel production or Petrochemical applications MAN Diesel & Turbo develops and produces of compressors, as well as steam and gas turbines for power generation. Furthermore, the company offers compression solutions for the oil- and gas industry; this includes hermetically sealed compressors using magnetic bearings and high-pressure barrel compressors, with exit pressures from 300 to 1,000 bar. MAN Diesel & Turbo produces Isothermal compressors for use in the production of Industrial Gases; these are supplied for industrial gas applications, as well as, for example, for handling CO2. Production Locations are based in Oberhausen, Hamburg and Schio. Gas TurbinesMGT-6000 up to 7 MW, 1S single shaft 6.63 MW, 2S twin shaft 6.9 MW THM 9 - 13 MW, THM1304 51/60G, 35/44G, THM 3401, MGT6100, MGT6200Steam Turbines In Deggendorf MAN Diesel & Turbo produces Tubular Reactor Systems for the Chemical and Petrochemical Industries and research organisations under the brand DWE® Reactors.
Official website
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer serving as President of Russia since 2012 holding the position from 2000 until 2008. In between his presidential terms he was the Prime Minister of Russia under his close associate Dmitry Medvedev. Putin was born in Leningrad during the Soviet Union, he studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975. Putin was a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before resigning in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg, he moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration, rising through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. During his first presidency, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, GDP measured in purchasing power increased by 72%; the growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom, recovery from the post-Communist depression and financial crises, prudent economic and fiscal policies.
In September 2011, Putin announced. He won the March 2012 presidential election with 64% of the vote. Falling oil prices coupled with international sanctions imposed at the beginning of 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine led to GDP shrinking by 3.7% in 2015, though the Russian economy rebounded in 2016 with 0.3% GDP growth and the recession ended. Putin gained 76% of the March 2018 presidential vote and was re-elected for a six-year term that will end in 2024. Under Putin's leadership, Russia has scored poorly in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index and experienced democratic backsliding according to both the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index and Freedom House's Freedom in the World index. Experts do not consider Russia to be a democracy, citing the lack of free and fair elections and jailing of opponents, curtailed press freedom. Human rights organizations and activists have accused Putin of persecuting political critics and activists, as well as ordering them tortured or assassinated.
Officials of the United States government have accused him of leading an interference program against Hillary Clinton in support of Donald Trump during the U. S. presidential election in 2016, an allegation which both Trump and Putin have denied and criticized. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina, his birth was preceded by the death of two brothers and Albert, born in the mid-1930s. Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II. Putin's mother was a factory worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, serving in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s. Early in World War II, his father served in the destruction battalion of the NKVD, he was transferred to the regular army and was wounded in 1942. Putin's maternal grandmother was killed by the German occupiers of Tver region in 1941, his maternal uncles disappeared at the war front.
On 1 September 1960, Putin started near his home. He was one of a few in the class of 45 pupils, not yet a member of the Young Pioneer organization. At age 12, he began to practice judo, he is a Judo black belt and national master of sports in Sambo. He wished to emulate the intelligence officers portrayed in Soviet cinema. Putin speaks German fluently. Putin studied Law at the Leningrad State University in 1970 and graduated in 1975, his thesis was on "The Most Favored Nation Trading Principle in International Law". While there, he was required to join the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and remained a member until December 1991. Putin met Anatoly Sobchak, an assistant professor who taught business law, was co-author of the russian constitution, who would be influential in Putin's career. In 1975, Putin trained at the 401st KGB school in Okhta, Leningrad. After training, he worked in the Second Chief Directorate, before he was transferred to the First Chief Directorate, where he monitored foreigners and consular officials in Leningrad.
In September 1984, Putin was sent to Moscow for further training at the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute. From 1985 to 1990, he served in East Germany, using a cover identity as a translator. Masha Gessen, a Russian-American who has authored a biography about Putin claims, "Putin and his colleagues were reduced to collecting press clippings, thus contributing to the mountains of useless information produced by the KGB." According to Putin's official biography, during the fall of the Berlin Wall that began on 9 November 1989, he burned KGB files to prevent demonstrators from obtaining them. After the collapse of the Communist East German government, Putin returned to Leningrad in early 1990, where he worked for about three months with the International Affairs section of Leningrad State University, reporting to Vice-Rector Yuriy Molchanov. There, he looked for new KGB recruits, watched the student body, renewed his friendship with his former professor, Anatoly Sobchak, soon to be the Mayor of Leningrad.
Putin cl
JAC Motors
JAC Motors is a Chinese state-owned automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer. The company is based in Anhui Province, China; the company produced about 445,000 units in 2012. Established in 1964 as Hefei Jianghuai Automobile Factory, its name was changed to Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. in 1997. The company made an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001. JAC has only produced commercial trucks, but MPVs and SUVs appeared in the 2000s. By 2007, the company had gained government approval for passenger car production but, continued to be referred to as a truck maker. Prior to the 2007 acquisition of a passenger car license, JAC cooperated with Hyundai Motor Company in the early 2000s in an attempt to expand its product line. Beginning in 2003, it assembled Hyundai MPVs although this stopped sometime prior to 2007. At least two models based on Hyundai technology continued to be made by JAC after the cooperation was cancelled–a MPV and a SUV. Hyundai explored setting up a joint venture with the company in 2004,In 2009, the Chinese government indicated that it supported consolidation in the Chinese auto industry, leading analysts to predict the possibility of JAC joining with Chery since they are both located in Anhui province.
On the surface such a merger would make sense: Chery built passenger cars, JAC was entirely focused on trucks at the time. Since however, JAC has made it clear that it is not interested in consolidation under the aegis of the larger Chery. JAC has begun to concentrate more on passenger cars, a 2010 announcement of a new electric vehicle program may—at least partially—have been an effort to stave off the rumored merger. Sales reached more than 445,000 units in 2012. In 2010, it was one of the top ten most-productive vehicle manufacturers in China selling 458,500 units for 2.5% market share and reaching eighth place. JAC dropped one spot to ninth in 2011 making nearly 500,000 vehicles, in 2012 a fall in units produced to about 445,000 precipitated the company's moving down one more rung to tenth place. Estimated production capacity is over 500,000 units/year as of 2009. JAC has a wide model line; some of its models may be real standouts. In 2009, a Pininfarina-designed city car, the JAC Tojoy, won numerous awards including the J.
D. Power China Automotive Performance and Layout award. In the 2000s, its flagship model was the Refine; the restyled 2004 Ruifeng Gold featured 60% Chinese-made part content. JAC produces the following passenger cars: Heyue Heyue sedan- known as J5 or B15 Heyue A13- known as JAC J3 or JAC Tongyue Heyue A30 Heyue A20 Yueyue- known as J1/J2 Refine Refine M6 Refine M5 Refine M4 Refine M3 Refine M2- Previously the Heyue RS or J6 Refine M1 Refine S7 Refine S5, 2015 Refine S4 Refine S3 2017 Refine S2 2015- Also known as T40 Refine S2 Mini- crossover based on the Heyue Yueyue Refine R3 Refine A60 J7 Rein Current electric vehicles of JAC are branded under the iEV series. JAC iEV iEV4- Originally the J3 iEV, an electric sedan based on the Heyue A13 iEV6E- Electric hatchback based on the Heyue Yueyue iEV7- Electric sedan based on the Heyue A20 iEV7S- Electric crossover based on the Refine S2 iEVA50- Electric sedan based on the Heyue sedanAs of August 2010, JAC plans to make electric or hybrid-electric vehicles at an as-yet-unbuilt production base.
China subsidizes oil, Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric cars as Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology. The JAC J3 EV all-electric car was launched in China in 2010, it has a range of 130 km. Between 2010 and 2011, a total of 1,585 of the first and second generation models were sold in the country. A third generation, called the JAC J3 iev, was launched in September 2012. During 2012, the J3 EV was the second best selling pure electric car in China, after the Chery QQ3 EV. In 2013, about 2,500 JAC iEV were sold making it the highest selling pure electric vehicle in China of 2013. Cumulative sales reached 10,161 units through June 2015. Sunray Shuailing Shuailing H series Shuailing W series Shuailing K series Shuailing X series Shuailing T6 Pickup Shuailing T8 Pickup Shuailing i series Shuailing G series Junling Junling E series Junling V series Junling G series Kangling/ HY K series H series X series G series A 40,000 unit/year medium-to-heavy truck production base should become operation in 2012 and is located in Hefei.
An R&D facility in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, is complemented by three overseas R&D centres in Turin, Tokyo, Japan and in Seoul, Korea. JAC announced a pair of joint ventures with NC2 Global; the NC2 joint venture will manufacture heavy duty trucks. The Navistar joint venture, called JAC-Navistar Diesel Engine Company, will build medium to heavy diesel engines in China with parts and services provisioned by Navistar; the new companies will both be located in Hefei where JAC is based. Cummins purchased Navistar's equity in the engine joint venture in 2018. A total of 203,498 JAC passenger cars were sold in China in 2013, making it the 22nd largest-selling car
