VW plans to be No. 1 car seller in the world by 2018

Interesting read:

VW plans to be No. 1 car seller in the world by 2018

I think this is sad:

The 2011 Jetta, for instance, is significantly bigger than the car it replaces and has taken a couple of technical steps backward to cut costs and lower the price. The rear wheels have drum brakes, for example, replacing more-sophisticated discs. (VW insists that third-party tests show its drums stop as well as, or better than, rivals' discs.)

And the rear suspension uses a so-called torsion beam instead of the independent rear suspension on the current Jetta.

Transportation appliance, anyone?

81gtv6 wrote: Interesting read: VW plans to be No. 1 car seller in the world by 2018 I think this is sad: The 2011 Jetta, for instance, is significantly bigger than the car it replaces and has taken a couple of technical steps backward to cut costs and lower the price.

Correct me if I'm wrong, here, but doesn't the very term "Volkswagen" indirectly translate to "simple, low-tech, cheap, useful car that anyone can afford to own and operate"?

I may be going out on a limb, here, but:

I just read something about the newest Jetta somewhere (C&D, maybe) - for 2011 they are taking it down market, to reduce its price but also to compete in a more popular class of automobile where they can potentially sell more of them.

Back to their roots?

Does this mean a stripped out, lightweight Scirocco coming stateside?

I'm listening.........

It still sounds like a "buck shot" approach to me. The article hints at small Polo-like vehicles coming and implies that the Pheoton could return. The bulk of it all seems to hinge on 2012 Jetta and new Passat-ish vehicle.
Disturbing is the idea of US only vehicles. This sentiment while Ford is trying to reverse their own trend of US only vehicles.

my 02 beetle still sucks, so do the dealers that work on it?

Hmmm, VW will be the #1 auto manufacturer.......I guess this is a good day for mechanics. The ultimate job security.

81gtv6 wrote: The rear wheels have drum brakes, for example, replacing more-sophisticated discs. (VW insists that third-party tests show its drums stop as well as, or better than, rivals' discs.)

they more than likely do, once, maybe twice. then discs are better. people don't care about being able to better modulate discs anymore, the ABS sorts that out for them.

Hrm.

I guess I see it as a possibility for them to be the #1 car seller in the world, but I don't see them being the #1 seller in the U.S. anytime that soon.

Maybe that's what the whole 2012 hubbub is about, though? "VAG - vehicles of das apocolypse".

If they become the #1 car seller in the U.S., I predict a sudden safety problem that will be reported all over the media, congressional hearings, lawsuits and a new series of comercials touting how safe Government Motors cars really are, read by "a mommie" that used to drive "a VW."

I've seen similar stories in car magazines in the past....mostly the date is changed. (As in VW wants to be #1 in the WORLD by 2013, then 2015, and now 2018.)

THE major factor in VW's possible assumption of the #1 spot is their strategy of buying up other brands. Yet, the world car market seems to have turned the corner when it comes to building massive companies that are composed of huge brand conglomerates. Just 10 years ago, it looked like the world's car companies would be in the hands of 5 or 6 major "players". With the sell-off of several brands in the last 2 or 3 years, we are seeing once large companies shrinking and more, previously unknown, players are emerging....as in folks like TATA.

VW will hit a wall soon, and that 2018 date will slip again.

It's too bad there's no real way for a small company to start up here in the U.S. It'd be fun to watch a small, nimble corporation make the "risky" cars that the big three won't and make money hand-over-fist doing it. And by risky, I mean the stuff that focus groups convince the companies that no one wants, like small pickups, hot hatches, small off-roaders, inline 6s, baby diesels, etc, etc.

So... do they have a truck division?

"It'd be fun to watch a small, nimble corporation make the "risky" cars that the big three won't..." Meaning: "....small pickups, hot hatches, small off-roaders, inline 6s, baby diesels..."

What's annoying is that, at least in the case of the bigger2 of the "big three", they already make most of the products mentioned. Ford offers smaller than Ranger-sized pickups in other markets (tho they are MARGINALLY smaller), hot hatch versions of the Fiesta and Focus, a car-based small off-roader in the Kuga, no inline 6s, but an inline 5 and baby diesels galore. GM...ditto, to a slightly lesser extent.

VW is one of the top brands in China and if the Chinese car market keeps growing they could gain a huge advantage over companies like Toyota and Honda who have about half the sales of VW (1.4 million vs 700,000 per year in 2009). With that said, a lot of Toyota's lower sales are because they don't offer many small cars in China, so if they broaden their model range they could close the gap with VW there, increasing their worldwide lead. However, GM is leading VW in China with 1.8 million sales per year, and greatly outsells VW in the US, so if they can increase their sales in Europe, they could make things difficult for VW's goals too. (They have similar sales in South America, I believe).

It also comes down to what they mean by "#1 car seller". Do you include vehicles sold for business (large pickups)? If not then GM "loses" a lot of sales, but VW sells more light commercial vehicles than Toyota. What about heavy duty trucks? Toyota sells a lot of Hinos, whereas VW sells very few, if any. There's a detailed (though very poorly scaled) bar graph here showing the total sales by manufacturer for 2009. Wikipedia Auto Sales Graph. I was shocked to see that Hyundai is the 5th largest automaker in the world, only 40,000 sales behind Ford in 2009. Also, how did Cash for Clunkers, both in the US and Germany skew sales? Did they favour the home teams? What about GM's bankruptcy? How much did that hurt their 2009 sales? Will it continue to hurt them? There are so many variables to consider. I guess this is why I never had an interest in business school.

Bob

ReverendDexter wrote: It's too bad there's no real way for a small company to start up here in the U.S. It'd be fun to watch a small, nimble corporation make the "risky" cars that the big three won't and make money hand-over-fist doing it. And by risky, I mean the stuff that focus groups convince the companies that no one wants, like small pickups, hot hatches, small off-roaders, inline 6s, baby diesels, etc, etc.

Mahindra recently received EPA certification for their small diesel pickup for the 2011 model year, so at least one of those segments should be filled soon.

Jalopnik had something on Mahindra today. Seems there is some legal hijinks about to go down. In reading it, I gave up on ever seeing the truck.

Schmidlap wrote:

ReverendDexter wrote: It's too bad there's no real way for a small company to start up here in the U.S. It'd be fun to watch a small, nimble corporation make the "risky" cars that the big three won't and make money hand-over-fist doing it. And by risky, I mean the stuff that focus groups convince the companies that no one wants, like small pickups, hot hatches, small off-roaders, inline 6s, baby diesels, etc, etc.

Mahindra recently received EPA certification for their small diesel pickup for the 2011 model year, so at least one of those segments should be filled soon.

Now listed as available in Dec. Can't wait.

I'll bet the other car companies plan to be number 1 also! Might be Tata for all we know.

I read this in the Wall Street Journal. They said they want to sell: VW 800,000 cars + Audi 200,000 cars.

"The company sold 213,454 VWs and 82,716 Audis in the U.S. last year. That's down from 577,000 VWs at its peak in 1970".

They have a long way to go to convince all the Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda folk to come over to VW.

I don't see it happening..........................

pete240z wrote: I read this in the Wall Street Journal. They said they want to sell: VW 800,000 cars + Audi 200,000 cars. "The company sold 213,454 VWs and 82,716 Audis in the U.S. last year. That's down from 577,000 VWs at its peak in 1970". They have a long way to go to convince all the Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda folk to come over to VW. I don't see it happening..........................

The projection is for "world-wide" sales, not just the US. That leaves a few billion potential customer out there, but I'm just as skeptical they can reach that goal.

If I was shopping for a new car, VW/Audi wouldn't even make the long list, let alone the short one.

They're still building Mk.2s in China. I'd buy a new Mk.2 in a heartbeat, even with that redesigned nose/tail.

http://www.autocarbe.com/volkswagen/faw-vw-presents-the-2010-mkii-jetta/

And no, I'm not worried about Chinese construction. My current one was made in Mexico, and it's still hanging in there after 18yrs.

What folks are forgetting is that VW has bought Suzuki, THE market leader in India. If the Indian population is anything like the Latin American population, it's assumed by car marketting folks that once the customer has had a good ownership experience with Brand " X ", they will continue to buy Brand " X ".

It's pretty much a given that VW's "world domination" will come through it's Asian markets, particularly China and India. I don't believe VW-Audi REALLY expects to see a huge jump in sales in North America. Though if enough folks are DELUDED by the "bait and switch" VW is performing with their sub $17,000 Jetta.....who knows?