Lamborghini Staff Earning More for Fewer Hours

New Hyundai Kona Gets Low Rating in Crash Test

Lamborghini consented to a four-day working schedule, accompanied with added payment, though the European New Car Assessment Programme bestowed the new Hyundai Kona a rating of four stars.

Welcome to this morning’s edition of AM Drive, Motor1’s daily overview of the news you must-know before taking to the road. Here, we provide you with a concise rundown of all the headlines that matter.

Lamborghini has consented to have a short workweek of four days, as part of an experiment to choose whether shorter hours would benefit both their employees and their company. This new agreement could mean that both sides will receive benefits from the switch.The iconic Italian supercar maker has decided to trial this change by asking many workers to work a four-day week for three months in order to assess if it would be advantageous for the firm and their workforce. If the findings demonstrate positive results, then the setup may stay implemented.The primary objective of this experiment is to evaluate if having less days working at the office can increase motivation and even foster higher performance. It is hoped that this test run will result in improved job satisfaction for Lamborghini’s team, while ensuring the same output.Lamborghini has chosen to try out a reduced workweek of four days in the hopes of discovering if it could be favorable to both their employees and the firm itself. The experiment, which involves having staff members strive for three months with only four days on the task, has been implanted with the target of gauging if such a system could have beneficial consequences. Primarily, they wish to determine if workers have more drive and possibly perform better

Lamborghini has seen a remarkable period of success while sheltered by the Volkswagen Group. Taking a look at the figures, 2022 saw a noteworthy sales offtake; with 9,233 vehicles sold, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year. It comes as no surprise that the renowned Urus played a fundamental role in this accomplishment, having been responsible for 5,367 SUV deliveries. As an expression of its gratitude to employees, Lamborghini is meaningfully lowering the number of working days.

FIOM and FIM-CISL unions have declared the agreement they have reached with Lamborghini to be a “historical” one. The new agreement will drastically reduce working hours for production employees on a two-shift schedule, who will now alternate between a five-day workweek and a four-day workweek. This change should result in 22 fewer workdays each year. For those on a three-shift schedule, the new agreement will require them to alternate between a five-day workweek and two four-day workweeks, thus eliminating 31 days annually.

While slashing workdays most often implies a decrease in salary, Lamborghini employees are to be rewarded with a bonus of over €1,000 this December. As part of a larger contract between the unions and Lamborghini, the value of their variable bonuses is also being boosted by an additional 50%. Furthermore, 500 brand-new jobs are being added to the workforce, making it an exceptional opportunity for workers.

EU’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) recently granted the Hyundai Kona a four-star safety rating. This stands out in particular as it is the very first time that the Korean automaker has achieved such circumspection from Euro NCAP. Europe’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) recently conferred a four-star safety rating on the Hyundai Kona. Notably, this is the maiden occasion for the Korean car manufacturer to receive such scrutiny from Euro NCAP.

The European New Car Assessment Programme has released the final safety results of the year after conducting crash tests on a total of 11 cars. The results of the 2023 assessment have been deemed a “real disappointment” by Euro NCAP, with the Hyundai Kona receiving the most criticism.

“Coming in last and being a major let-down in this release is the Hyundai Kona, which just barely managed to scrape by with four stars. In reality, it was fortunate to avoid three stars, due to its below-par performance in safety tests, particularly in terms of driver assistance and crash avoidance. Hyundai has tried to make the car larger and its interior more spacious to compete with other vehicles in its class, but they should not assume that their customers are content with a level of safety which falls short of the competition.”

The Honda ZR-V was not able to achieve the highest rating of five stars from Euro NCAP, as it did not perform well in crash and active safety tests. Despite this, the VinFast VF8 still managed to secure a four star rating, albeit due to “lack of restraint system robustness”. On the other hand, the remaining vehicles tested all achieved the maximum five star rating, including the Volkswagen ID.7, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes EQE, BYD Tang, BYD Seal-U, Kia EV9, Xpeng G9, and the Smart #3.

Euro NCAP has observed that cars are becoming increasingly heavier. Out of the 11 vehicles tested in the last round of 2023, only three weighed less than 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds). This is a “concerning trend in consumer demand for heavier, more powerful, and taller cars which not only put other drivers at risk but also have a detrimental effect on the environment.”

Sources: Automotive News Europe, Euro NCAP