VW of Highland Park

VW's global sales lifted by U.S. demand in January

2012-02-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

Group sales rose 1.3% last month

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group announced an increase in vehicle sales of 1.3 percent to 652,500 units in January, boosted by strong gains in North America.

This helped counteract lower sales in VW's biggest single market China, where demand was subdued by China's New Year festivities, and Europe, where car markets continue to be plagued by ongoing economic problems.

"We have made an encouraging start, but 2012 will be a challenging year. As expected, the prevailing economic uncertainty is impacting the automotive industry. We will continue to keep a very close eye on the market situation, particularly in Europe," group head of sales Christian Klingler said in a statement today.

Sales in North America jumped by 27.7 percent in January to 53,500 units, helped by the strongest U.S. sales since January 1974, which rose 39.5 percent to 36,700 units.

Growth in the United Sates was boosted by the success of the new VW Passat midsize model, which is currently built at the automaker's new plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

China sales fell 4.5 percent to 208,200 in the first month, as growth was seriously affected by an early national holiday.

In the overall European market, VW said sales fell 1 percent to 259,900 in January, while in western Europe, excluding Germany, consumer reluctance to make big-sticker purchases in the midst of economic troubles, forced group sales down 7.8 percent to 144,400 units.

Sales were stronger in central and eastern Europe, where they grew 33.6 percent to 41,400.

2015 VW Golf Plug-in Hybrid To Debut At 2012 Paris Motor Show

2012-02-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Back in the 1980s, Volkswagen worked on producing both fully-electric and plug-in hybrid versions of its Mk II Rabbit -- also known as the Mk II VW Golf.

It’s been no secret that Volkswagen has been working on resurrecting an all-electric Golf in the form of its 2013 VW Blue E-Motion, but now VW has confirmed that it will be unveiling a plug-in hybrid Golf at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

Combining a 1.4 liter Twincharger Stratification Injection (TSI) engine with an 80 kilowatt electric motor, the VW Golf Plug-in Hybrid will be built upon the MQB platform which VW unveiled earlier this month.

Designed to accommodate both a large battery pack and an electric motor without compromising in-car space, the new platform will form the basis of plug-in and non-plugin VW Golf VII models and associated cars like the Audi A3.

According to Autoexpress, the plug-in hybrid should manage a range of up to 30 miles in all-electric mode, while mixed-mode driving should yield a gas mileage of around 141 miles per imperial gallon (117 MPG U.S.).

Part of the key to its impressive fuel economy lies in the TSI engine, which can run on just one or two cylinders when power demands are low, allowing the VW Golf Plug-in Hybrid to run in a low-power mode if most of the power needs are met by its electric motor.

VW also promises the new plug-in hybrid -- which will also have a non plug-in sibling -- will come laden with technology.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1072832_2015-vw-golf-plug-in-hybrid-to-debut-at-2012-paris-motor-show

Green Car Reports: Volkswagen Up Five-Door Minicar: Forbidden Fruit

2012-01-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

The regular Volkswagen Up minicar, revealed in full at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, is already a favorite "forbidden fruit" of ours.

What's not to like? It's a well-built, well-equipped, compact city car with a fuel-efficient gasoline 1.0-liter engine. It's perhaps one of the closest cars in ethos that VW has built to the good old Volkswagen Bug.

Sadly, as with our other forbidden objects of desire, Volkswagen has no plans to sell the Up in the U.S. In fact, it still seems to be vacillating on whether to offer the larger Polo subcompact.

At launch, the Up will only be available as a three-door hatchback, but VW has now added an extra couple of doors to ease rear access.

While three-door minicars often sell based on their sporting appeal and uncluttered lines, five door variants are popular for the added practicality. It's certainly a lot easier (and more graceful) to exit the rear seats with your own door than it is to clamber through the front.

Its small stature - around 11.6 feet in length, almost identical to the 2012 Fiat 500 - suggests a tiny interior, but thanks to the short hood space is maximized inside. There's 8.8 cubic feet of space in the trunk, 2.3 cubic feet more than that found in the Fiat.

Equipment includes front and side airbags, ABS with brake assist, and stability control on most models. City Emergency Braking can also be specified, that helps avoid minor bumps in city driving. It's also the first car in its class to achieve a full five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1072160_volkswagen-up-five-door-minicar-forbidden-fruit

GreenCarReports: VW To Give U.S. Diesel Bug At 2013 Chicago Auto Show

2012-01-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

At last week’s Detroit Auto Show, we got our first glimpse of what an all-electric Volkswagen Beetle could look like thanks to VW’s e-Bugster concept car.

At next month’s Chicago Auto Show, Volkswagen will unveil another green-minded Beetle, but this time we won’t be seeing a concept car.

Instead, we’ll be witnessing the return of the oil-burning TDI engine to VW’s retro-styled compact.

The keen reader may note that Volkswagen has sold diesel engines for the Beetle before. And they’d be right.

In fact, since the New Beetle was first launched in 1998, there have always been diesel-engine options offered somewhere in the world.

For a limited time (1999-2006), it was even possible to buy a diesel-engined VW Beetle in the U.S.
However, after the 2006 model year, Volkswagen dropped its 1.9-liter, 4-cylinder turbodiesel option for the U.S. market after it failed to meet stringent emissions regulations.

Luckily, for U.S. clean diesel fans, the TDI engine is back.

This time, it will be cleaner, leaner, and more powerful.

Volkswagen hasn’t detailed any specifics of the car or the engine, but we think the Beetle’s new engine option will be the same 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine that gives the 2012 Golf, 2012 Jetta and 2012 Passat such great gas mileage.

It’s also likely that the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI will come with the same six-speed manual or six-speed, twin clutch Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) found in the 2012 Golf TDI.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1071985_vw-to-give-u-s-diesel-bug-at-2013-chicago-auto-show

Chicago VW

VW plans biggest tech overhaul in nearly 2 decades to drive profits

2011-12-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

BERLIN (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG will kick off its biggest technology overhaul in almost two decades when Europe's largest carmaker revamps the Audi A3 next year.
The compact Audi will mark the first of more than 40 models that will use a set of standardized components such as axles, steering columns and chassis.

Sharing parts across brands such as VW, Skoda and Seat may lower costs by 5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) a year, even as it risks a repeat of recalls that hobbled Toyota Motor Corp., analysts said.

"If something goes wrong, then one may get hit by an epidemic plague," said Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt-based analyst with IHS Automotive. "The more connected the structures, the higher the threat of contagion."

The technology, which is targeted for use in as many as 3.5 million small and mid-sized cars a year, will help Volkswagen's plan to become the world's biggest and most profitable automaker by 2018, surpassing Toyota and General Motors Co.

The manufacturer estimates it will lower production costs 20 percent and cut assembly times 30 percent.

VW's approach is more aggressive than the parts sharing that has become standard in the auto industry. BMW AG said it will lower the cost of building the best-selling 3-Series sedan, which hits showrooms in February, by 7 percent to 9 percent by using components from the 1-Series compact and midsize 5-Series.

Flexible factories

The technology will provide the basis for VW models stretching from the Polo subcompact to the mid-sized Passat, representing the bulk of the automaker's sales.

The company will be able to produce cars from different brands at the same plant.

Volkswagen is not planning to close any factories or fire workers and instead said it will save money by making the process of building cars simpler and faster.

Volkswagen in Chicago