HOW ARE YOU DOING? VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH AFRICA

[FearLess]

Volkswagen continues to head the local passenger car sales table with its Polo and Polo Vivo models and also does massive export business with the Polo – over 7000 units in June – there is plenty of other activity taking place. We asked Matt Gennrich, the Volkswagen Group SA’s General Manager: Group Communications, to bring us up to date with what is happening at the Uitenhage-based company right now.

What can consumers expect from VWSA in the next 12 months?

We will obviously not reveal our plans beyond 2016, but there is still quite a bit to come from Volkswagen this year. The big news is the new Tiguan in the third quarter followed by the facelifted up! towards the end of the year. The changes are largely cosmetic. We should also see the Passat range augmented with TDI engines.

What is VWSA’s plan for automobile assembly in the medium term? Will you continue with a two-car approach or will there be a switch to single-line production to improve efficiency and boost export capacity?

Our approach is to continue to build two models in South Africa. If we find a suitable third model that would give us sufficient volume we will, of course, consider this. In 2015 we exported 66000 Polos and expect this number to be closer to 70000 for this year.

The up! has been well received in SA. What, if any, affect do you think there will be on sales of the best-selling Polo Vivo when the imminent up! facelift reaches showroom floors?

The up! and the Vivo customers are essentially different people and we have seen very little substitution to date and expect this to continue.

VW appears reluctant to pitch Amarok directly against the opposition. Will the recently announced V6 form part of a facelifted – and more comparable – line-up in SA?

The Amarok is a premium bakkie, and it does not compete in many of the segments that our competitors do. The new V6 will form a part of the facelifted range, but this will only be available in SA in the second quarter of 2017. Our positioning will remain the same as the current model.

 

Has the VW Group’s diesel emissions scandal in Europe and the USA affected sales and projected sales of diesel models in South Africa?

All our TDI engines comply with South African emissions legislation as confirmed by the NRCS. We have seen no direct impact on the sales of our cars that offer TDI engines.

Has it/will it change the way you market TDI models in this country?

We have traditionally advertised the model e.g. Jetta and not a Jetta TDI, and we will continue to do so.

What is VWSA’s current outlook on hybrid and electric vehicles?

Our Group has announced a strong drive in coming to market with new electric and hybrid vehicles internationally. While we are evaluating the introduction of these in the future we have no concrete plans at this stage. Electric vehicles without a proper charging infrastructure and a shortage of electricity could be more of an inconvenience to the customer than a benefit in this country at this time.

Globally, VW has announced a slurry of new SUVs across all segments from mini to XL seven-seaters. Is this the beginning of the end for traditional hatchbacks and, three-box saloons such as Golf, Jetta and Passat?

Clearly, SUVs are becoming more po[CENSORED]r and we will watch this trend carefully. We do believe, however, that there will be a continuing market for three-box saloons in various markets throughout the world.

How many dealerships do you have across the country?

We have 105 Volkswagen dealerships in SA.