It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that the Volkswagen Group plans to be the world’s largest car maker by 2018. And if two of its revelations in the past 24 hours come off, it would be almost incomprehensible if it doesn’t get there.
First up is its new budget brand to rival Dacia, which VW R&D chief Ulrich Hackeneberg spoke so candidly about for the first time.
VW has a wealth of tried, trusted and fully developed mechanicals across many different car sizes and model types in its stable that it can quite conceivably roll-out for its new brand in little time and without vast set-up or development costs.
And on top of that, it has the production lines to build the models and a full stock of parts and suppliers to call on with its enormous buying power to keep costs to a minimum.
The Dacia model seems hard to fault, but you get the sense VW sees volume potential for its new brand far above Dacia. “Dacia is not in big markets,” said Hackenberg, “It’s in Europe and South America, but not China. There is much more space for a budget brand to grow.” And no doubt VW’s chances of the number one spot with it.
If VW is soon to have the budget end of the market covered, it plans to cover the core of the market with its much talked about MQB platform. Its imminent presence in Europe on models ranging from the Volkswagen Polo to Volkswagen Passat in size, with every Audi, Seat and Skoda falling in between those models also switching to MQB, is well documented, but VW’s plans for MQB and fully realising its buying power, production efficiency and economies of scale is truly a global plan.
At a briefing into the future of the Brazilian car market on Monday, it was confirmed that VW would be building models on MQB-based structures in South America in the near future.
The economies of scale will be such that VW will be able to build models in the region on much more contemporary underpinnings at the same cost as today’s more dated, less sophisticated structures.
So in real terms, that will mean your average Brazilian buyer will be able to get the most up-to-date technology, a higher quality interior and a lighter, more economical car for the same price as a rival product that’s unlikely to match any of those things in the developing marketplace for a few years yet.
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Give VAG their due, they know what they are doing.....
.....when compared to the other blockheads out there. While others stagger about like drunks wasting € billions VAG know that they are in the serious car business and apply their high technical, commercial and financial ingenuity to go about quietly making intelligent, cost effective, incremental continuous improvements - in short, they have a STRATEGIC PLAN. VAG know that flippant designs which generate headlines at motor show unveilings are, in no time, "so last year" - and their buyer pays the depreciation. And what a triumph to develop Audi into a premium marque able to take on the once impreganable M-B and BMW at far lower manufacturing costs. These VAG car guys are straight thinking global players who went to China as long ago as 1978 and now sell 2m cars a year there while others still dance around the periphery, who quietly re-invest profits in successful powertrain (DSG, BlueMotion, cylinder deactivation), body quality and chassis (MQB) technology and studiously avoid investing in clunkers. Not a Vauxhall Signum/Sintra, Ford Scorpio/Fusion, Chyrsler Neon, Peugeot 604, Renault Laguna, FIAT Sedici/Marea/Croma/Bravoa/Multipla/Ulysse, Volvo C30, Saab 9-5, Mercedes Benz R-Class, Alfa Romeo 166, Rover Streetwise, Land Rover Freelander 1 and Discovery 2, Chevrolet Crossfire, Nissan Murano, Mitsubishi Grandis, BMW 5 series GT, Jeep Compass, Jaguar S Type, Ssangyong Rodius or Smart ForFour to be seen.
And VAG invest in their markets, not insulting European buyers by importing cheap from under- developed countries and selling high at European prices (Ford's Brazilian EcoSport, Turkish Transit, Mexican Mondeo or Romanian B Max anyone? - that'll be the closure of the Dagenham, Halewood, Genk and Southampton plants then).
May be less a case of VAG doing anything massively enlightened - just not being absolutely, testosterone driven, egotistically, somersaultingly stupid.
The question is not about being number one but HOW.
What goes up goes down.
There have been many companies that took the throne before. -I have no doubt that VW group will one day become the num 1. ( Is that a good thing anyway?? I mean, do you want to have an image of a car company which every Mr. Average you and me owns on this planet?)
The question is, - for how long will they maintain the throne (and how!) and who are the other competitors around their neck? Japanese, Korean or even the Chinese?
The other question; the bigger you are the bigger your stomach get and it has to be fed constantly. That can get tricky when things starts to get bad..-Look how fast GM nosedived when economy suddenly deteriorated 2 years ago.
MQB
I didnt realise Audi were adopting the MQB platform as well. This doesnt bode well for the RS models, will the next RS4 be an MQB platform?? Oh dear.
Haz, It states in the story
Haz, It states in the story the MQB will be used in everything between Polo and Passat. I think they are insinuating the A4/A5 and onwards are above the Passat in market placement.
Those models will continue to use a developement of the MLB platform. The 'L' standing for Longitudinal engine position (North/South)
Does mean the next A1, the current new A3 and probably the next TT and Q3 (and any other small niche,niche model they devise A2? Q2?) will use the MQB.