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VW's plan to conquer the wild frontier
14 November 2007
Volkswagen is hoping to revive its fortunes in the crucial American car market by launching models designed and engineered expressly for the US.
First will be a small saloon which was the brainchild of ex-CEO Wolfgang Bernhard, and is known internally as the 'NCS' - new compact sedan. A high-level source told Autocar that it will be Jetta-sized but a lot cheaper to build, and will be equipped to appeal in the US. That means it will have a much less sophisticated torsion beam rear axle set-up than the mkV Golf and Jetta, but have a high equipment count.
Our source also revealed that 'NCS' would be a global platform, being sold in the developing world, and even Europe. However, he revealed that it didn't mean that the Golf was going to switch to a lower tech platform. Golf mk VI is likely to share a base with the next Passat, indicating that it will continue being a sophisticated car and very competitive dynamically.
Insiders have also admitted that VW is looking at a new SUV for America to sit between the Touareg and Tiguan. "Our US dealers think that the Tiguan is too small," he said; "we're looking at a middle model, possibly based on the Passat."
Chas Hallett
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