Plus, the new Hyundai Kona only got four stars in the Euro NCAP crash test.

Lamborghini has agreed to a four-day workweek with more pay, and the Euro NCAP has given the new Hyundai Kona a four-star rating.

This is AM Drive, Motor1’s daily look at the news you need before you get in your car.

Lamborghini has flourished underneath the Volkswagen Group’s corporate umbrella. It’s doing better than ever when you consider it sold a record 9,233 cars in 2022, up by 10 percent compared to the previous year. With the risk of stating the obvious, the Urus was the driving force behind the strong demand, with 5,367 SUVs delivered. As a token of appreciation to its employees, the Sant’Agata Bolognese company is significantly reducing the number of workdays.

FIOM and FIM-CISL unions have reached what they refer to as a “historical” agreement with Lamborghini to greatly reduce working hours. Production employees on a two-shift schedule are going to alternate a five-day workweek with a four-day workweek. This change will result in 22 fewer workdays each year. Those on a three-shift schedule will alternate a five-day workweek with two four-day workweeks, therefore eliminating 31 days annually.

While cutting workdays usually implies salary cuts, the employees are actually going to earn more. As part of a wider agreement between the unions and Lamborghini, employees are going to receive this December a one-off bonus worth more than €1,000. In addition, the Italian exotic automaker is increasing the value of variable bonuses by 50 percent. It gets better as the workforce will expand with the addition of 500 new jobs.

The European New Car Assessment Programme has released the final safety results of the year after crash testing a large group of 11 cars. Euro NCAP labeled the Hyundai Kona as the “real disappointment” of all the vehicles tested in this last round of 2023:

“Last placed and the real disappointment in this release is the Hyundai Kona, which scrapes by with four stars, in reality, lucky to avoid three stars. This result is due to its substandard test performance, especially in driver assistance and crash avoidance. Hyundai has made the car larger and its interior bigger to compete within its class, but the company should not assume that its customers are content with a level of safety which lags behind its competitors.”

It wasn’t the only four-star car as the Honda ZR-V also failed to grab the maximum rating because it didn’t excel in the crash and active safety tests. Euro NCAP gave the VinFast VF8 four stars as well, many due to the “lack of restraint system robustness.” The other vehicles got a five-star rating: Volkswagen ID.7, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes EQE, BYD Tang, BYD Seal-U, Kia EV9, Xpeng G9, and the Smart #3.

Euro NCAP has noticed cars are getting heavier and heavier. Of the 11 tested in the final round of 2023, only three weighed less than 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds). It reflects a “concerning trend in consumer demand for heavier, more powerful, and taller cars that not only put other drivers at risk but also have an adverse effect on the environment.”

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