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Latest information on Volkswagen.
| 13/02/2012 I Group MQB: The beginning of a new era
With the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform Volkswagen will, more than ever before, be able to offer high-volume and niche-market models of the highest quality in the long term and worldwide – individually tailored to the needs of our customers in very different markets. This is how Volkswagen is meeting the major challenges that face the car industry worldwide. Vehicle weights will be significantly reduced with the launch of the first MQB model series; furthermore, in addition to the conventional internal combustion engines, all tuned to reduce CO2 emissions, all the other currently available alternative drivetrains, from CNG and hybrid versions through to purely electric propulsion, will be possible options, installed in exactly the same position and without any limitations. One other advantage: Twenty innovations in the areas of safety and infotainment which were previously reserved for higher vehicle segments will also be available for the compact class. |
| 03/02/2012 I Models “Car of the Year”: the new up!
When deciding which new car to buy, motorists in the UK tend to pay close attention to the placings in the “What Car? Awards”. This was the 35th time that the motoring magazine “What Car?” had presented the coveted awards. As on several occasions in the past, a model from Volkswagen was crowned champion of champions this year, with the new up! being declared “Car of the Year”. The overall winner had already taken the top spot in the “City Car” sector. It didn’t stop there though! Thanks to its five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash test and the optional City Emergency Braking function, the up! landed the Safety Award too.
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| 03/02/2012 I Models World premiere: the E-Bugster
It’s a name that arouses high expectations: E-Bugster is an allusion to electromobility, the Beetle’s iconic nickname in the USA of “Bug”, as well as the generic term “speedster” used to refer to sporty, open-top two-seater cars. At the North American International Motor Show in Detroit, Volkswagen gave a thrilling demonstration of how these various characteristics can be unified in a single vehicle. The E-Bugster is powered by an electric motor with lithium-ion battery, whose energy content of 28.3 kWh allows an operating range of at least 180 kilometres. Its design, incorporating details from the production version together with new elements, is both unmistakably Beetle and vintage speedster. With its shallow-angled windscreen and rear window, low-slung roof and 20-inch wheels, the E-Bugster has a distinctly sporty air about it, an impression that is further reinforced by the body-coloured centre tunnel in the interior. |
| 03/02/2012 I Company Ambitious environmental targets
Volkswagen takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. Over the course of the “Think Blue. Factory.” programme, concrete targets were defined that should be met by employees in all the company’s plants around the globe. The overall aim is to cut the burden on the environment by as much as 25 percent compared to the annual figures for 2010. The focal areas of attention include energy and water consumption, waste, as well as emissions of CO2 and other pollutants. A leading role is being played here by the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which recently became the only car factory in the world to secure LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design) Platinum certification.
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| 02/01/2012 I Company Bratislava site earns efficient production award
The trade journal Automobil Produktion and the consulting firm Agamus Consult has honoured Volkswagen Slovakia’s Bratislava plant with the “Automotive Lean Production Award 2011” in the “OEM" (Original Equipment Manufacturer) category. The Bratislava plant earned high marks above all for its intelligent logistics concept. The decisive factors for the decision of the jury were the driverless transport system (FTS), efficient networking with the production process and the attractive workplace design along with the high standard of training concepts. "This award is a great honour for us and a great incentive as well. Together with our employees, we want to set standards in terms of efficiency and quality in the future too,” added Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Slovakia, Dr. Andreas Tostmann. Volkswagen Slovakia has been manufacturing vehicles, transmissions and components at the Bratislava site since 1991. From the Volkswagen brand, the Touareg is currently rolling off the assembly line in Bratislava. And production of the up! also started at the plant this year.
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| 02/01/2012 I Company Volkswagen receives the most IIHS awards in the USA
The Volkswagen Routan has been designated TOP SAFETY PICK by the US non-profit making scientific and research organisation Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It is thus already the ninth Volkswagen model to have received this coveted award. This puts the Volkswagen brand right at the top of the American automotive industry. In addition to the Routan, the Jetta, Jetta SportWagen (sold in Europe as the Golf Estate), CC, Passat, Tiguan, Touareg, Golf and Golf GTI have already received this prestigious title. “We are very pleased that the Routan has won this distinguished award. And we are even more delighted with the leading position which Volkswagen has assumed on the basis of the nine TOP SAFETY PICK awards in the US automotive industry," commented Jonathan Browning, President and Managing Director of the Volkswagen Group of America. In the crash tests which are carried out by the IIHS each year, front-end, side-on and rear-impact collisions are simulated, and it is determined which vehicles provide the best occupant protection during the course of these tests. A new element is the roof crash test. The institute only presents awards to cars which are fitted with head/thorax airbags and the Electronic Stabilisation Program ESP as standard.
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| 01/12/2011 I Models Five NCAP stars for the new up!
The new up! is demonstrating true stature: its comprehensive safety concept has been rewarded with five stars by the independent European consumer protection organisation Euro NCAP. But that is not all: the new up! has also taken the Euro NCAP Award for its innovative City Emergency Braking function. No other vehicle in its category has achieved such good Euro NCAP ratings. Take occupant protection, for instance: children and adults alike receive excellent protection in the event of an accident, as the results of various tests reveal. Matters are also helped by the uncompromising safety equipment, which also includes the optional City Emergency Braking function.
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| 01/12/2011 I Models / Concept Cars Beetle R Concept makes its debut
Painted in “Serious Grey” but by no means unobtrusive: virtually every detail of the Beetle R Concept promises supreme standards of performance. The design study presented at the LA Motor Show was developed by Volkswagen R GmbH and is notable for its distinctly sporty aerodynamic concept: the front spoiler painted in
“High-Gloss Black” takes the form of a flat splitter, a design that is widespread in motor racing. The front and rear bumpers are 30 mm wider and the enlarged rear spoiler with black separating edge produces ideal rear-end downforce.
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| 01/12/2011 I Group Xavier Chardon appointed new Head of Sales for Europe
Xavier Chardon is to be the new Head of Sales for Europe of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand with effect from 1 January 2012. Chardon is to succeed Alain Favey, who will be transferring to Salzburg as CEO of Porsche Holding. Xavier Chardon started his career in marketing with Citroën Italy in 1994 before joining the Citroën sales team in France a year later. Chardon became Price and Product Manager for Western Europe in 1999. He gained further international experience from 2001 to 2007 as Managing Director in Denmark and Germany. He subsequently became Head of Marketing and PR in France. He has been Managing Director of Citroën in France since April 2009.
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