Bosley
Veteran Member
New 'City' Brand Golf/Jetta - Canada only
Wednesday, Sep 20, 2006VW to crash entry-level party with Canada-only models
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VANCOUVER - Turning around a global automaker is a little like turning around a supertanker. It takes patience, must be planned well in advance, and is not for the faint of heart.
Since taking over as Volkswagen AG Chief Executive in 2002, Bernd Pischetsrieder has taken a hands-on approach to rid the German automaker of some heavy and unnecessary baggage.To that end, he recently cancelled the ambitious but ill-conceived haeton model, the high-end, high-powered luxury sedan VW positioned against BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Audi. Industry observers questioned the logic in taking the VW brand — founded on the notion of "the people’s car" — up- market. Anemic Phaeton sales supported that doubt.
Pischetsrieder has also made vast improvements to the automaker’s quality control measures. Reliability and production quality issues have hurt VW sales over the last half-decade, as have creeping prices that, rightly or wrongly, have created the impression that VWs are no longer inexpensive, economical cars for the everyday man and woman.
Two new models hitting Canadian VW showrooms next month will go a long way towards returning the company to its people’s car roots.
A marketing slogan for the 2007 City Golf and the 2007 City Jetta is “Transit for the masses." And with base prices of $14,900 and $16,900 respectively, there’s some truth in that advertising.
The all-new ‘City’ brand is a Canadian-only designation, but one that Pieschetsrieder and his boardroom will be watching with great interest. If it is successful here, VW could take the City model line global. Judging from the huge success of the relaunched Rabbit in North America this year, expect the entry-level City Golf and City Jetta to sell like Bavarian sausages during Oktoberfest.
Both models come standard with ABS, a highly desirable braking system available on only a handful of similarly priced cars. Both models feature a spirited 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 115 horsepower, mated to a standard manual five-speed or an optional four-speed automatic transmission.
And both models will send shockwaves — at least in the Canadian marketplace — through Honda, Nissan and Toyota boardrooms.
At a sneak preview of the City Golf and City Jetta to a handful of Vancouver automotive journalists last week, VW Canada executive vice- president John White laid out the company’s marketing and pricing plans for the City models, and left little doubt that VW dealers across the country could be seeing their lots filled with Japanese model trade-ins in the next year.
“We’ve positioned the City Golf against the Toyota Yaris, the Nissan Versa and the Honda Fit,” White explained. “And the City Jetta against the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Nissan Sentra.”
While that sounds a little like picking Tiger Woods for a match play competition, White points to the Rabbit’s successful rebirth.
"(The Rabbit) and the GTI are both sold out until the end of the year," he said , noting the sales target for Rabbits was in the 1,200s and actual sales were in the 1,700s.
Back to that supertanker analogy: the Japanese manufacturers will bear the brunt of the choppy wake created by Pischetsrieder’s hand on the rudder. The only downside of the City Line launch, White acknowledged, is how 2006 Golf and Jetta buyers will respond to the new models and their sub-$20,000 pricing (consider the base 20 06 Golf goes for $22,620 and the 2006 base Jetta for $24,975).
“We’ve worked hard to address that on a number of fronts,” he said, citing price and lease adjustments made on those 2006 models when the City line was confirmed. The City Golf and City Jetta hit dealerships across Canada on October 14.
Wednesday, Sep 20, 2006VW to crash entry-level party with Canada-only models
.
VANCOUVER - Turning around a global automaker is a little like turning around a supertanker. It takes patience, must be planned well in advance, and is not for the faint of heart.
Since taking over as Volkswagen AG Chief Executive in 2002, Bernd Pischetsrieder has taken a hands-on approach to rid the German automaker of some heavy and unnecessary baggage.To that end, he recently cancelled the ambitious but ill-conceived haeton model, the high-end, high-powered luxury sedan VW positioned against BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Audi. Industry observers questioned the logic in taking the VW brand — founded on the notion of "the people’s car" — up- market. Anemic Phaeton sales supported that doubt.
Pischetsrieder has also made vast improvements to the automaker’s quality control measures. Reliability and production quality issues have hurt VW sales over the last half-decade, as have creeping prices that, rightly or wrongly, have created the impression that VWs are no longer inexpensive, economical cars for the everyday man and woman.
Two new models hitting Canadian VW showrooms next month will go a long way towards returning the company to its people’s car roots.
A marketing slogan for the 2007 City Golf and the 2007 City Jetta is “Transit for the masses." And with base prices of $14,900 and $16,900 respectively, there’s some truth in that advertising.
The all-new ‘City’ brand is a Canadian-only designation, but one that Pieschetsrieder and his boardroom will be watching with great interest. If it is successful here, VW could take the City model line global. Judging from the huge success of the relaunched Rabbit in North America this year, expect the entry-level City Golf and City Jetta to sell like Bavarian sausages during Oktoberfest.
Both models come standard with ABS, a highly desirable braking system available on only a handful of similarly priced cars. Both models feature a spirited 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 115 horsepower, mated to a standard manual five-speed or an optional four-speed automatic transmission.
And both models will send shockwaves — at least in the Canadian marketplace — through Honda, Nissan and Toyota boardrooms.
At a sneak preview of the City Golf and City Jetta to a handful of Vancouver automotive journalists last week, VW Canada executive vice- president John White laid out the company’s marketing and pricing plans for the City models, and left little doubt that VW dealers across the country could be seeing their lots filled with Japanese model trade-ins in the next year.
“We’ve positioned the City Golf against the Toyota Yaris, the Nissan Versa and the Honda Fit,” White explained. “And the City Jetta against the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Nissan Sentra.”
While that sounds a little like picking Tiger Woods for a match play competition, White points to the Rabbit’s successful rebirth.
"(The Rabbit) and the GTI are both sold out until the end of the year," he said , noting the sales target for Rabbits was in the 1,200s and actual sales were in the 1,700s.
Back to that supertanker analogy: the Japanese manufacturers will bear the brunt of the choppy wake created by Pischetsrieder’s hand on the rudder. The only downside of the City Line launch, White acknowledged, is how 2006 Golf and Jetta buyers will respond to the new models and their sub-$20,000 pricing (consider the base 20 06 Golf goes for $22,620 and the 2006 base Jetta for $24,975).
“We’ve worked hard to address that on a number of fronts,” he said, citing price and lease adjustments made on those 2006 models when the City line was confirmed. The City Golf and City Jetta hit dealerships across Canada on October 14.
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