March 2007 - Nr. 3
Volkswagen Seeks to Tempt US Buyers with Affordable Cars, Doubles Earnings in 2006
TWIG - As reported recently by the Financial Times, Volkswagen is seeking to return to its roots as "the people’s car" in the US by cutting prices on two models and launching a new advertising campaign to persuade Americans of their affordability.
"We’re addressing a perception that Volkswagens are expensive and out of the reach of an entry-level buyer," a spokesman for Volkswagen of America said as quoted by the FT.
A television advertising campaign launched on February 12 is based on the fact that three VW models - the Jetta, Rabbit and Beatle - are each priced at less than $17,000. VW also aims to beef up demand for its bigger Passat saloon by offering a "Wolfsburg package" of extra features, such as alloy wheels, at below their normal, individual price.
Volkswagen brand sales in the US totalled 235,100 units last year, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the FT report.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Volkswagen shares surged by almost 5 percent on Tuesday after Europe’s biggest carmaker said its 2006 earnings had doubled.
Based in the north German city of Wolfsburg, VW said the jump in after-tax profit to 2.75 billion euros ($3.6 billion) last year from 1.12 billion euros in 2005 was underpinned by an 11.6 percent gain in turnover, with the results boosted by a one-off gain following the sale of its car rental company Europcar.
Republished with permission from "The Week in Germany"
