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Talking to VW with Tom Wegehaupt |
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Written by Katherine Helmetag
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 |
I sat down for a bit with Tom Wegehaupt of VW's PR group in Herdon. He
had some good insight into what's going on over at the new HQ.
We started with the BlueSport - why Diesel? Tom noted that the concept
has been in development for some time, and a Diesel powertrain was
always in the picture. The timing was very good this year to show off
the flexibility that VW has with Diesel powertrains. While production
is not finalized for this particular model, the new platform it is
built on, the MQB platform, is slated for production and will underpin
quite a few VW and Audi cars.
One of those cars will be the New Compact Sedan, or NCS, that will replace the Jetta in the US. The NCS will be assembled at the Puebla facility in Mexico. There are no plans to put the Golf/Rabbit/GTI on the new platform as of yet, however it is anticipated that it will eventually move over with the Mark VII development.
The New Midsize Sedan will not debut on the MQB platform. This vehicle will be manufactured at the Chattanooga, TN plant, starting in 2011. The NMS will replace the Passat, and slot into the market as a Cam-cord fighter. VW anticipates sales of 150K per year. Unfortunately, the Passat wagon, a category killer in its own right, will likely exit the US market. This is in part due to the increasing size of the Jetta Sportwagon, and also due to low sales numbers. I harranged Tom a bit about this - the Passat wagon is alone in the midsize wagon class and moves well in comparison to other larger wagons such as the Volvo V90.
The two new vehicles are part of VW's "hole-filling" strategy. "We were a one-car company for a long time, but that is not sufficient to compete in the US market any more. We've expanded our line significantly, and now do cover the American market much more fully" said Tom.
This doesn't mean the old niche market mentality will disappear: "keep your eyes open for more short runs like the R32" Tom advised me. He expects that the US market will see more special runs made, with particular attention being paid to the A-series cars. Manual transmissions will continue, but likely fade from the B- and C-series cars. The DSG box is performing well, Tom noted, and will penetrate more of the product line each model year.
 I asked about VW's Individualist program, a factory customization program available in Europe. "There are no plans for it at this time, however when the economy comes back, it is definitely on the table" commented Tom. I also noted that European delivery is a much-requested option, particularly among enthusiasts - perhaps the two programs could be combined? "The economy will dictate that," Tom noted. I'm still hoping these two programs make it and soon.
Back to Diesel, Tom gave me some numbers - the build rate for TDI ini 2008 was 12.5K, in 2009, this will increase to 35K. No more waiting around for TDIs, which will all be 50-state compliant with no additive required. The V6 Touareg TDI will require urea, sold as Add-Blue.
 A lot of people have asked me about the low base price of the CC, and how this plays against the Passat. "Those $27K CCs are not unicorn cars, they are out there, but the average sale for CC is around $33K, and the take rate for the lux package is over 80%," Tom noted. The CC may become a single package car in the near future with numbers like that.
I closed with the BlueSport again - if it makes it to market, how much would we be looking at for a decently optioned car? Tom smiled and said "it won't be priced like a TT!"
VW seems to have their feet on the ground again.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 January 2009 )
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