Mobility and Sustainability.

Even though the development of a new vehicle takes several years, the usage phase is usually much longer. The same is the case when considering the environmental impacts in the life cycle of a vehicle. Here, too, the usage phase is decisive. That is why Volkswagen sets great store by optimising the usage phase from an environmental point of view.

Long-Life Vehicles

The best recycling is recycling that is as late as possible. That is why we have continuously increased the quality and thus the useful life of a Volkswagen. This requires an array of single measures. State-of-the-art materials, the latest connecting technologies and optimised corrosion protection techniques are used in this connection.

The high production quality of a new Volkswagen can be seen directly in the minimal and even gap dimensions. The torsion stiffness of the bodywork can be experienced when driving. When driving, you can also hear the perfect workmanship - because you can't hear a thing: no rattles, no creaks.

Fig.: Golf Plus

Low-Consumption Engines and Gears

Thanks to the development of new FSI petrol and TDI diesel engines, the fleet consumption of Volkswagen vehicles is falling continuously. This benefits the environment as well as the consumer. For example, the CO2 emissions of the Volkswagen fleet has fallen by 14 % since 1995.

In parallel to this, a new innovative gear technology contributes to fuel savings. The direct manual six-gear automatic gearbox DSG®, used in the Golf R32 for the first time in 2003, ensures better driving performance and lower consumption. In everyday driving it enables consumption levels below those of a vehicle with a manual gearbox.

Fig.: Direct Manual-Automatic Gearbox DSG in the Touran

Extended Maintenance Intervals (WIV)

Volkswagen vehicles with maintenance interval extension (WIV) need much fewer services in the garage than formerly. Maintenance and thus oil change intervals of up to 2 years or a maximum of 50,000 km in certain diesel or 30,000 km in petrol engines are possible, subject to the use of the prescribed fully synthetic engine oil. This saves time and money for the customer and also protects important resources. In addition, a large amount of waste oil and other garage waste is prevented, to the benefit of the environment.