Volkswagen Aims to Offer 90 Models in China
Volkswagen is betting big on China by planning to boost its product offering in the country by 29 percent, raising the count of currently-offered models to 90.
Currently, the brand offers 70 including cars, SUVS, vans and heavy trucks and is aiming for 3 million deliveries in China this year.
Volkswagen is in the process of adding seven factories in the country, which could bring the total there to 19. Doing that would increase production capacity form its current 2.5 million to 4 million.
China is a powerhouse in the world economy. Income per capita has doubled there over the last 12 years. Demand for luxury products is so great there that it is rapidly shaping products from the world’s largest automakers.
SEE ALSO: Bentley Sales in China Beat US
Long wheelbase vehicles are commonly made to meet Chinese demand and ultra high-end luxury vehicles are being gobbled up like snacks. Last year demand for Bentley — Volkswagen’s ultra luxury brand — was higher in China than the U.S.
The struggling European economy is causing problems for automakers and Volkswagen is no exception. The brand’s European volume fell 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013, although that still beats the industry average.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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So China will get 90+ models and yet we haven't seen significant new models in the US market for nearly a decade (since the intro of the New Beetle)... And while some will argue the US Passat is a new model...it's outdated technologies (no HID headlamps, no Adaptive Cruise Control, etc.) argues otherwise and will cause its sales to fall off sharply. They couldn't even bring us the 2.0 TDI in the Tiguan which is the #1 engine choice in every other market and which is also the same engine in some of their other U.S. offerings (ironic example is the Jetta Sportwagon w/TDI...yet which also doesn't have available any of the latest basic safety technologies like back-up sensors or camera...). Who is making their decisions for the North American market??? Soon they will be going the route of Suzuki...simply because they have not offered our market the desirable products that can be found in every one of their other markets (e.g., Touran, Sharan, Tiguan L, Tiguan w/TDI, Scirocco, etc.). Their lack of dynamics in our market is inexcusable.