The Volkswagen Group with its Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda passenger car brands again grew deliveries in the key accounts business in the first half of 2011. A total of 91,712 vehicles (previous year: 77,122) from Group brands were registered on the relevant fleet market (fleets of ten cars or more), representing an increase of 19 percent.

The Volkswagen brand remains at the top of the German passenger cars brand ranking with 56,329 registrations, an increase of 22 percent. The SEAT brand is particularly successful, with registrations growing 96.5 percent to 2,108 units, while the Skoda brand grew 31.4 percent in the first half year with registrations running at 9,050 vehicles. That makes Skoda the best import brand on the German market.

The model ranking also reflects the Group’s marked success. Volkswagen takes first and second place with the Passat and the Golf. Audi ranks third with the A4.

In the fleet market for light commercial vehicles (maximum 6.0 metric tons), where data are recorded separately, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand consolidated its clear market leadership during the first half of 2011 with 13,126 vehicle registrations (previous year: 12,979).

“These results show that our customers have confidence in the Group’s first-class product quality and innovative technology. This gives us an incentive to continue meeting our customers’ wishes during the second half of the year with competitive cars and services,” Martin Jahn, Head of Volkswagen Group Fleet International, commented.

- Volkswagen AG

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As planned, the Volkswagen Group can build two further automobile plants in China, continuing its long-term growth strategy in the world’s largest market for passenger cars. During the German-Chinese government consultations in Berlin, final approval was granted today for the plants to be built at Foshan and Yizheng. Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, today signed appropriate declarations together with the Presidents of the Chinese partner organizations.

• Chinese government approves plans for Foshan and Yizheng
• Planned annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles for each plant

The factory at Yizheng, in Jiangsu Province in eastern China, is to be developed together with partner Shanghai Volkswagen, and the plant at Foshan, in Guangdong Province in southern China, will be built together with the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. The first documents for the development of the two sites were signed in the summer of 2010. “China is already the world’s largest sales market for automobiles and further substantial growth is expected in the future,” Winterkorn said on the occasion of signing the contracts at the Federal Chancellor’s Office in Berlin. “The Volkswagen Group intends to play a major role in shaping this growth with new environmentally compatible models and the expansion of local production capacity. Our new plants show that Volkswagen remains a strong motor for the Chinese automobile industry.”

Each of the two plants will be designed for an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles and production is due to start in 2013. “The new factories are a key element in our plans to increase annual production capacity in China to three million vehicles in the medium term together with local partners,” said Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China in Berlin.

In view of the dynamic development of the Chinese automobile market, Volkswagen had boosted its investment program for China to 10.6 billion euros for the period from 2011 to 2015. In addition to the two new plants, plans have already been announced to expand production capacity at each of the existing Nanjing and Chengdu plants to between 300,000 and 350,000 vehicles per year.

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The Volkswagen Group scooped up three first places in the “Fleet News Awards 2011” presented by the British trade journal “Fleet News”. The Volkswagen Polo and Golf models and the Skoda Superb took pole position in their respective segments.

• Further rise in fleet new registrations in UK

The “Fleet News Awards” were presented in London for the 23nd time. The jury comprising “Fleet News” editors and trade association members along with representatives from key accounts and automakers judged the vehicles in terms of quality, running costs including residual value and CO2 emissions. The awards were presented in a total of nine categories. The jury awarded first place to the Volkswagen Polo in the “Best Small Car” category and to the Volkswagen Golf in the “Best Lower Medium Car” category. The Skoda brand came first with the Superb in the “Best Upper Medium Car” category.

The UK is Europe’s largest fleet market and is characterized by a high concentration of few customers with very large fleets. Some 3 percent of customers represent roughly 60 percent of total key account business. For 2010 as a whole, the Volkswagen Group with its Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda brands grew new registrations in the passenger car fleet market, which covers fleets of 25 or more vehicles, by 10.8 percent to 97,929 vehicles (2009: 88,417) and is therefore the clear market leader.

“The awards confirm that the Volkswagen Group and its brands are excellently positioned to respond to the complex demands of the international fleet business. For us, this achievement is an incentive to continue to meet our customers’ wishes with a balanced and young product range and convincing service,” Martin Jahn, Head of Volkswagen Group Fleet International, said.
- Volkswagen Group

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Volkswagen AG (VOW) will boost production and add models in Brazil to challenge Fiat SpA (F) for the leading position in the country’s rapidly growing auto market.

“Competition in Brazil is intense and we expect it will become even more intense in the future,” Thomas Schmall, head of VW’s Brazilian operations, said in an interview. “We want to further expand our position.”

VW, trailing Fiat in a three-way race with General Motors Co. (GM) for the country’s top spot, is expanding three of five plants in Latin America’s largest economy to increase sales 40 percent to 1 million vehicles in the next four years, he said.

Europe’s largest automaker is investing 2.3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in Brazil through 2014 as a growing middle class, strong currency and job creation ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics fuel demand. Auto sales in the country, VW’s third-biggest market after China and Germany, will advance 40 percent by the end of 2016 to 3.64 million vehicles annually, according to industry researcher IHS Automotive.

Fiat leads this year with a 22.3 percent share of the car and light truck market through mid-March, according to data from Brazilian dealers association Fenabrave. Wolfsburg, Germany- based VW is second with 21.8 percent and GM is third with 18.2 percent. VW and Fiat have been trading the top spot back-and- forth, while facing increasing pressure from rivals pouring in to capitalize on the market’s potential.

Increased Investments

“Brazil has never experienced a moment such as the present one, having 45 brands selling their cars here,” said Paulo Sergio Rosa, an automotive consultant from Consultoria Columbia in Sao Paulo. “The math now suggests a subtraction for everyone. VW is making a huge effort to try and get the lead back.”

Fiat, based in Turin, Italy, is spending 10 billion reais ($6 billion) through 2014 to cement itself as the country’s biggest automaker and boost deliveries to more than 1 million vehicles. Brazil is especially important for Fiat because it does not have a strong presence in the other growth markets of China, Russia and India.

“Our profits don’t come from Italy, but from Brazil,” Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said Feb. 15. Fiat deliveries in the country increased 1.6 percent last year to 761,400 vehicles, generating revenue of 9.25 billion euros, or 25 percent of total sales, according to its annual report.

The VW group, whose revenue in Latin America increased 40 percent last year to 13.5 billion euros, sold 711,500 vehicles, including the Audi luxury brand and commercial-vehicles division, in Brazil in 2010.

Revamped Models

VW will introduce revamped versions of the Passat sedan, Touareg sport-utility vehicle and Jetta compact sedan this year in the country, continuing a roll-out that featured 26 new models or facelifts at the namesake VW brand in 2009 and 2010, Schmall said. The carmaker will lose 2.5 percentage points of market share in Brazil through 2016, according to IHS forecasts.

“I do prefer VW’s cars because my father and my husband have had VW for a long time, but it is a little expensive,” said Andrea Puccini Santos, the 34-year-old owner of a VW Gol, as she looked at offerings at a Sao Paulo dealership. “I am looking at other models with similar prices and cost benefit.”

Strong Pricing

The best-selling car last year in Brazil was the Gol, with deliveries of 293,783 of the hatchback, followed by Fiat´s Uno, with 229,323 sold. The Gol, based on the underpinnings of VW’s Polo, starts at 29,290 reais, while the Uno’s base price is 26,490 reais, according to the carmakers’ Brazilian websites.

“What makes it so relevant for VW, but also for GM and Fiat, to retain share in that market is that the pricing is so strong,” said Guido Vildozo, an IHS Automotive analyst in New York. “A large influx of domestic production in coming years is going to put a lot of pressure on the established manufacturers.”

Brazil’s economy will expand 4.03 percent this year, according to a central bank survey of about 100 economists published this week. Brazilian Central Bank President Alexandre Tombini said March 22 the economy has a “great” medium and long-term growth outlook.

“We’re expecting a positive economic development in coming years,” Schmall said in the March 11 interview. “It’s our goal to share in the growth in auto markets in Brazil and other Latin American countries.”

VW Investments

Volkswagen plans to invest 53.5 billion euros in its global automotive business through 2015, with another 10.6 billion euros to be spent through its two Chinese joint ventures. VW aims to spur sales to more than 10 million vehicles globally to surpass Toyota Motor Corp. as the world’s largest automaker.

Expansion in South America and Southeast Asia is important to VW as a counterweight to the carmaker’s increasing reliance on China, Bernd Osterloh, head of VW’s works council, said in a an interview March 10 in Wolfsburg.

China accounted for 26 percent of VW’s deliveries last year. The carmaker’s operating profit in the country, the world’s biggest auto market, more than doubled in 2010 to 1.9 billion euros.

“Development in China is very good and potential for further growth is no doubt in place,” said Osterloh, who is also deputy head of VW’s supervisory board. “But we as the works council don’t want to become too dependent on China.”

Adjusting Production

Volkswagen may need to adjust production at its Brazilian factories and add models to reap benefits from the country’s economic advance, he said.

“Our capacities are already nowadays running close to limits,” Osterloh said, noting that the commercial-vehicle unit would benefit from an added offering. “We could grow even more with new products.”

Long-time Gol driver Rossana Matheus Montanarini would be open to new offerings.

“This the car I learned to drive with,” the 27-year-old physiotherapist said of the Gol. “But I tested Fox and I saw it‘s very comfortable to drive. I am thinking of cheating on Gol but continuing with Volkswagen.”

- Bloomberg

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Following the severe earthquake and the devastating tsunami in Japan, Volkswagen is to make significant donations to support the people of Japan. This was stated by Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft for Human Resources, in Wolfsburg today. Group brands Volkswagen and Audi are each to donate a million euros for humanitarian aid via organizations such as the German Red Cross. Neumann underlined: “There is tremendous willingness within the Volkswagen Group to help the population of Japan, which has been affected so dramatically, especially in the North-East of the country. Every day, we receive emails from employees expressing great sympathy and a determination to assist people in Japan.”

• Board of Management member for Human Resources Dr. Neumann: Volkswagen and Audi each to provide one million euros in humanitarian aid
• Porsche AG will donate half a million euros to assist people affected
• Group Works Council President Osterloh announces donation campaign for employees – overwhelming sense of solidarity among the workforce

Porsche AG will also be providing financial support for humanitarian aid to the people in Japan who have been affected. Today, Porsche announced that the company would be donating half a million euros to mitigate the consequences of the catastrophe for residents of the areas concerned.

In addition, the President of the Volkswagen Group Works Council, Bernd Osterloh, announced: “This week, we will be calling on the workforce to contribute to a major donation campaign. Preparations are already well underway. The strong feeling of solidarity demonstrated by our colleagues is overwhelming. We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan who have experienced such indescribable suffering.” Osterloh was convinced that the workforce of Volkswagen and Audi would participate with considerable commitment. He added that employees would receive further information on the campaign this week. Colleagues suggested that we should cooperate with the German Red Cross to provide support in Japan. The German Red Cross has close links with the Japanese Red Cross, which is organizing aid through a well-developed infrastructure. We took up this proposal and established contact with the local Red Cross in Wolfsburg and the German Red Cross headquarters in Berlin. It was agreed that donations from the Volkswagen workforce should support humanitarian aid in Japan and the work of the Red Cross,” Osterloh explained.

According to the German Red Cross, the Japanese Red Cross has been taking care of desperate and highly insecure people in emergency accommodation established in schools, gymnasia and other public buildings since the earthquake and the tsunami. Apart from blankets, food and water, the survivors also receive psycho-social support as well as assistance in the search for their friends and families. In the devastated port city of Sendai alone, there are 200 emergency accommodation centers, where people affected benefit from accommodation, food, care and psycho-social support. The Japanese Red Cross also has a medical team on standby in Nagasaki to provide treatment for radiation victims.

The German Red Cross reports that the Japanese Red Cross is one of the largest Red Cross organizations worldwide, with more than two million active volunteers, 488 emergency teams and 7,000 medical staff. Currently, 134 teams with 800 people have been deployed. They are regularly relieved by fresh teams.
- Volkswagen Group

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The DSG is a global success story: 3.4 million units of the automatic gearbox have been produced at the Kassel Plant alone – for such brands as Audi, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen. An additional 150,000 units were produced in Dalian (China).

The DSG dual clutch transmission developed by Volkswagen combines the convenience of an automatic transmission with the efficiency and dynamic performance of a manual gearbox. Two clutches guarantee that the shifting process is lightning fast. The Volkswagen DSG has become an automatic transmission sensation, bringing together top levels of shifting convenience, fuel economy and sports appeal. In 2003, the world’s first production dual clutch transmission was launched as the Volkswagen 6-speed DSG, which was initially used in the Golf R32 and the Audi TT. The DSG’s winning ways had begun.

Meanwhile, DSG now offers maximum convenience, fuel economy and driving fun across all of Volkswagen’s model series. That is because, since 2008, the 7-speed DSG has also been available for smaller displacement engines with up to 125 kW in power and 250 Nm in torque. In 2009, Volkswagen introduced the DQ500, another addition to the DSG lineup, which makes the automatic transmission accessible to customers of larger vehicles and engines (up to 500 Nm engine torque), e.g. the Audi TTRS. So, the DSG from Volkswagen is reducing fuel consumption and emissions in higher vehicle classes as well, while generating more sports appeal in driving.

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Volkswagen is basking in the glory of record sales and profits, but it’s not all good news. The group’s Bentley, Seat and Lamborghini brands still continue to record poor performances.

At its annual investors conference today, VW said 2010 was ” the most successful year” in its history with 7.2 million unit sales and an operating profit of 7.1 billion euros.

But a deeper look at the numbers shows that Europe’s biggest automaker and aspiring global No. 1 has some trouble spots.

Bentley’s operating loss last year widened by 51 million euros to 245 million euros, despite an 11 percent rise in unit sales to 5,117. VW CFO Hans Dieter Poetsch said today it was too early to say if the brand will be in the black in 2011 but he did not rule it out. He said Bentley was hit last year by a combination of difficult conditions in the luxury market and the need for one-off expenditure on new products.

VW’s struggling Spanish subsidiary Seat only had a slight recovery last year, narrowing its operating loss by 28 million euros to 311 million euros on a 0.8 percent rise in sales to 340,000 vehicles.

Lamborghini lost an undisclosed amount of money as sales fell 14 percent to 1,302 and revenues declined by 10 million euros to 271 million euros.

Winterkorn upbeat

But VW CEO Martin Winterkorn was upbeat. He said growing demand for luxury products in China and India meant the prospects for Bentley are promising. Seat, he said, “is bouncing back” after regaining the market lead in its Spanish home market for the first time in 31 years. And demand for exclusive sports cars like Lamborghini’s models is picking up.

Still, even if these brands continue to underperform, VW can count on its luxury unit Audi, its core VW brand and Czech subsidiary Skoda for good news.

The VW brand saw deliveries rise 14 percent to 4.5 million, helped by growth in Russia, China and the United States. Operating profit for 2010 was 2.2 billion euros, up from 561 million euros in 2009.

Skoda had record unit sales of 763,000, up 11.5 percent, with strong growth in China, Russia and India. This helped to more than double its operating profit to 447 million euros.

Last year, Audi had the best-selling and most profitable year in its history, with a 15 percent increase in unit sales to 1.1 million and operating profit more than doubling to 3.3 billion euros.

In the near future, the highly profitable Porsche brand will be added to VW’s portfolio. And VW has the cash resources to take over Fiat’s Alfa Romeo if VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech can wrench the money-losing brand away from a reluctant Sergio Marchionne.

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Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest automaker, passed rival Ford Motor Co. in the auto industry earnings race last year on surging demand in China.

Net income surged sevenfold to 6.84 billion euros ($9.42 billion), the Wolfsburg-based company said Feb. 25. Ford posted 2010 profit of $6.56 billion, while General Motors Co. reported $4.7 billion. Toyota Motor Corp. forecasts 490 billion yen ($6 billion) in profit in the year ending March 31.

Volkswagen aims to surpass Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, in sales and profitability by 2018 on growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China. VW forecasts deliveries will grow 5 percent this year after reporting a record 7.2 million deliveries of cars and SUVs in 2010. Sales in China, VW’s biggest market, advanced 37 percent last year to 1.92 million on the Lavida sedan and Golf hatchback.

Net income beat the 4.96 billion-euro average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 21 percent to 126.8 billion euros. Earnings before interest and taxes in 2010 advanced to a record 7.14 billion euros, up from 1.85 billion euros in 2009. VW proposed a 2010 dividend of 2.20 euros per common share and 2.26 euros per preferred share.

China Expansion

VW, the first overseas carmaker to enter China three decades ago, is planning to add two plants and double production to 3 million cars annually. The manufacturer, which also owns the Audi, Skoda and Lamborghini brands, currently has nine Chinese factories.

Tight component supplies stemming from partsmakers’ struggle to keep up with vehicle demand caused VW to halt production at its main Wolfsburg factory on Jan. 31 and a plant in Emden. The Audi luxury division announced plans yesterday to add 2,000 workers as it struggles to keep up with record sales.

“We expect the group’s revenue and operating profit in 2011 to be higher than the previous year,” VW said in the statement. “However, the continuing volatility in interest and exchange rate trends and commodities prices will weaken the positive volume effect.”

VW said in November it will invest 51.6 billion euros through 2015 on plants, vehicles and developing the carmaker’s nine brands worldwide. Spending doesn’t include China, the manufacturer’s biggest market, where VW’s joint ventures will invest another 10.6 billion euros.

- Bloomberg

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Congrats to the Greenbay Packers with thier Super Bowl XLV! Both Facebook and YouTube are running Super Bowl XLV commercial contest. The Force has gained over 15 million views. You can view them here but both visit links above to vote and share away!

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Volkswagen AG may bring back the Scirocco coupe and Phaeton sedan to the U.S. as it aims to triple sales in the world’s second-largest car market.

“We will be looking for opportunities” to return the Scirocco to the U.S., Jonathan Browning, VW’s U.S. chief, said Thursday in an interview in Washington.

“We will reconsider bringing the Phaeton back to the U.S. in the next product cycle,” he said, adding that a decision hasn’t been made yet.

Volkswagen withdrew the 67,400-euro ($92,360) Phaeton, from the U.S. in 2006 after poor sales. The Scirocco, which sells in Europe for 22,500 euros, had a cult following in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s.

Closing the gap with Toyota, GM

VW targets sales of 1 million vehicles in the U.S. by 2018, including models by its Audi luxury unit, to close the gap with Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co., the world’s two biggest automakers.

VW introduced a larger version of its Passat midsize sedan at the Detroit auto show in January, its first car built specially for the U.S. “We were very, very encouraged by the reaction,” Browning said of the new model.

“VW wants to capture U.S. buyers by rolling out more emotional cars and the Scirocco certainly fits that category,” said Frank Schwope, a NordLB analyst in Hanover, Germany. “In terms of volume sales, the Scirocco and Phaeton are only decorative accents, they won’t be crucial for VW’s goal to greatly increase deliveries.”

VW will open a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by April and start delivering the new Passat, priced at around $20,000, in the third quarter. The carmaker closed a factory in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1988.

Capitalizing on buyers’ memories

The Phaeton has never met the company’s original sales target of 20,000 vehicles annually. The model, which came on the market in 2002, cost more than 1 billion euros to produce. VW produced 7,500 Phaetons last year, the carmaker said Tuesday.

VW decided in 2006 to build a new version of the Scirocco. Almost 796,000 Sciroccos were sold worldwide between 1974 and 1992, when it was discontinued. VW has never sold the current model in the U.S.

Volkswagen is trying to boost sales by capitalizing on buyers’ memories of popular previous models. The carmaker in 2006 brought back the Rabbit to North America, renaming its best-selling Golf model for the U.S. market.

VW released a new version of the Beetle in the late 1990s. The model is built in Mexico, primarily to sell in North America.

- Automotive News

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