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LISBON, Portugal — A fire aboard a ship carrying cars in the Mid-Atlantic is dying out, a Portuguese navy officer said Feb. 22, and the huge vessel is expected to be towed to the Bahamas.

Volkswagen AG sales dropped to the lowest in a decade last year after the global semiconductor shortage hampered the German manufacturer’s auto output.

Volkswagen AG will invest 2 billion euros in a planned battery hub in Germany as part of a decision to create a dedicated company for the carmaker’s battery business.

Volkswagen AG raised its five-year spending plan and overhauled its management board, seeking to catch up with Tesla Inc. and end an internal dispute over the changes needed to get there.

Volkswagen AG is open to external partners taking stakes in the manufacturer’s new software division as traditional automakers fight to catch up with Tesla Inc. on digital features.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected two appeals from Volkswagen AG, leaving intact rulings that let state and local governments sue over a diesel-emissions cheating scandal that already has cost the German automaker more than $23 billion.

Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert Diess urged German workers to prepare for a deeper overhaul to remain competitive when Tesla Inc. ramps up vehicle production at its first European factory outside Berlin next year.

BERLIN — Volkswagen is seeking damages from two former top executives for their role in the diesel emissions scandal that cost the German automaker billions of euros and a hefty dent in its reputation.

Volkswagen AG’s main brand doubled its forecast for the share of purely battery-powered cars in Europe to 70% by the end of the decade, signaling it expects to be delivering well more than 1 million EVs a year by then.

A teardown of Volkswagen AG’s first dedicated electric vehicle found it measures up favorably with Tesla Inc. models in several key aspects, sending the German carmaker’s shares to levels last seen before its diesel emissions scandal.