Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles seeks continued growth with new products

Pictured left to right of screen VWCV Board Members Stephan Schaller (CEO), Dr Wolfgang Schreiber (Product & Development) and Harold Schomburg (Sales & Marketing).

• Five world premieres at IAA Commercial Vehicles
• New series: Volkswagen Pickup show car
• Worldwide deliveries up 9.3 per cent to end of August

Hanover, 23rd September 2008. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is presenting five world premieres at IAA Commercial Vehicles, including a preview of the Volkswagen Pickup which will be launched as the fourth new series of light commercial vehicles towards the end of 2009. The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand is on a growth track – deliveries to customers on a worldwide basis rose by 9.3 per cent to 343,100 light and heavy commercial vehicles by the end of August.
“New products, new markets, new technology – the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand continues to experience sustainable and profitable growth”, emphasised Stephan Schaller, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles at today’s press conference.

The brand intends to increase its worldwide deliveries of light commercial vehicles to 800,000 units by 2018. According to Schaller, this growth is to be achieved by introducing new products and by developing variants of the existing product range, some of which can be seen for the first time at IAA Commercial Vehicles.

The most spectacular highlight of the trade fair from VWCV’s perspective is its first ever presentation of a Volkswagen Pickup show car. This adds a fourth series (in addition to Caddy, T5 and Crafter) to the brand's range of light commercial vehicles, which already boasts an extensive set of variants.

This means that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be the first volume manufacturer in Europe to enter the 1-tonne Pickup segment, with its high growth global potential. According to Schaller, the key markets for the Volkswagen Pickup are the countries of South America – especially Brazil. He also sees South Africa, Australia and South East Asia as being important markets for this universally adaptable commercial vehicle. And the vehicle will also be introduced into the European market. Overall sales projections for the new Pickup amount to around 100,000 units per year.

Schaller was confident of achieving worldwide total deliveries of over 500,000 light and heavy commercial vehicles in 2008. He was optimistic of achieving this annual target, despite difficult economic conditions at the present time in certain European countries.

Schaller: “Markets are getting harder – but Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will continue to grow this year.”

This is borne out by sales figures from the most significant markets.

• In Germany deliveries of vehicles in the Caddy, T5 and Crafter series grew by some 7.5 per cent between January and August – a total of approximately 79,800 vehicles.
• In Western Europe product delivery numbers grew by 3.2 per cent to 190,900 units.
• In the booming eastern European markets, deliveries rose by nearly 30 per cent to more than 32,900 light commercial vehicles. In Russia alone the brand sold 6,630 units, up 87 per cent.
• In South America deliveries of light and heavy commercial vehicles increased by around 25 per cent to 82,300 units.

The President of Volkswagen Trucks and Buses, Roberto Cortes, predicted that 2008 would see a new worldwide delivery record of 60,000 heavy commercial vehicles and buses. Volkswagen has been the market leader in Brazil for the last six years, and now has a market share of some 31.6 per cent.

In addition to the Volkswagen Pickup show car, the brand is presenting four other world premieres in Hall 12 at this year’s IAA Commercial Vehicles, taking place between 25th September and 2nd October.

• The Caddy 4MOTION opens another chapter in the success story of this series. With the sales launch planned perfectly for the start of winter, it will at last be possible to buy a delivery van with a permanent four-wheel drive option. In the Caddy 4MOTION, power is distributed via an electronically controlled latest generation Haldex gearbox.

• The Caddy PanAmericana Studie is a variant of the Caddy 4MOTION for globetrotters. With its 16 inch all-terrain wheels, off-road look and feel, not to mention its high-quality yet robust leather interior upholstery, the Caddy PanAmericana Studie turns heads.

• With the Caddy Life Style Edition, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is presenting the most exclusive series Caddy of all time – a top-of-the-range Caddy variant due to be launched in November 2008.

• Another world premiere is the Crafter BlueMotion Studie. This 3.5-tonne diesel estate has a fuel economy rate of 31.04 mpg and already complies with the Euro 5 emission standard due to come into force in autumn 2009.

As Schaller said, with the Volkswagen Pickup, with the world premieres and also with other models adapted to meet the needs of global growth markets, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is well positioned to continue along the track of profitable growth.