Tag: Volkswagen Group

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Volkswagen Group cracks 10 million annual sales

Volkswagen's Autostadt, Wolfsburg, Germany

In 2014, for the first time, the Volkswagen Group has achieved 10 million sales in a calendar year.

Across the group of companies a 4.2% increase in sales for the year resulted in 10.14 million vehicles being sold. Just 10 years ago the Group was shifting around 5 million units per year.

Volkswagen passenger vehicles make up the bulk of the sales, with the brand passing six million annual sales for the first time last year.

Audi sales across the globe increased by more than 10% and numbered 1.74 million.

Porsche managed 189,000 sales, up by a very healthy 17%, thanks in part to the launch of the Macan SUV.

Skoda reached a new high sales mark, passing 1 million sales for the first time. An increase of almost 13% on the previous year’s sales.

All this means that the Group’s Strategy 2018 is well underway to being achieved.

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Volkswagen Group tipped to rebrand as Auto Union

Auto Union badge

Here’s a rumour from GoAuto that has grabbed our interest, according to its report Volkswagen Group is considering a name change to Auto Union.

A possible theory for the change would be to establish a greater sense of independence for each of the brands under Volkswagen’s control, by removing the Volkswagen name from the umbrella company.

Volkswagen Group controls or owns outright the following marques: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, MAN, Porsche, Scania, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. In addition, the group is also the largest shareholder in Suzuki, with a 20% share.

Auto Union is not a new name in the motoring world and was the precursor to what we now know as Audi. Originally formed in 1932 and consisting of four companies—Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer—Auto Union was essentially dissolved by the Soviets after WWII.

However, soon after, in 1949, Auto Union came back to life building two-stroke DKWs. Daimler-Benz took a majority shareholding in 1958 and saw a return of the Auto Union brand and investment in the company’s Ingolstadt factory.

In 1964 Daimler-Benz began to offload its shares and later that year Volkswagen assumed control after it bought the rights to the Auto Union name and the Ingolstadt site. The Audi brand was revived in 1965 and remains as the sole survivor from those Auto Union days.

[Source: GoAuto | Pic: CarType/John Lloyd]

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Porsche

Porsche boss earns 5-year contract extension

Matthias Muller

The Porsche board took time out from passing the BBQ chips around the table on Friday to stop and reflect on the tenure of Chairman Matthias Müller. Happy with his performance they’ve given him a five-year contract extension.

Uwe Hück, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the general and group works council of Porsche AG—now that is a fancy job title—spoke in glowing terms about Müller and the importance he has in maintaining Porsche’s culture since joining the Volkswagen portfolio.

“The Strategy 2018 is paying off,” Hück said. “The integration into the Volkswagen Group and the independence of Porsche are no contradiction, they stand for success. Porsche and the number of employees are growing—in Zuffenhausen, in Weissach and in Leipzig.

“However, in spite of this growth, we want to preserve the proven Porsche culture and we will continue to go down this road with Matthias Müller. He is an employer with a heart and quite simply, that’s good for Porsche.

“Now, can we start the BBQ chicken please. I just love that chargrilled tatse!”

Ooh, word has just come through from the Porsche press office suggesting that Hück may not have said that final sentence.

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Volkswagen reckons GM can’t count

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Last month news emerged that GM was the number one car maker in the world last year based on total sales. But, Volkswagen is having none of that and says GM’s sales figures are as rubbery as their tyres.

Volkswagen claim GM’s published total of 9.03 million sales includes almost 2.5 million from Chinese manufacturers in which it owns a minority stake; SAIC (49%) and Liuzhou Wuling (44%).

If you subtract those numbers GM slides down the list to fourth place on the sales charts. First, unsurprisingly, would be Volkswagen (8.16 million sales), followed by Toyota (7.95m), Renault-Nissan (7.39m) and only marginally ahead of Hyundai-Kia (6.53m).

Volkswagen has boldly claimed it wants to be the world’s largest car maker and has previously announced a €51.6 billion plan titled Strategy 2018 to say how it will get there. A total of 10 million annual sales is their goal.

Interestingly, Volkswagen’s own sales figures for 2011 include 2.25 million sales from Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive (Volkswagen owns the maximum allowable 50% under Chinese law), as well as FAW-Volkswagen in which it only has a 40% stake.

GM doesn’t seem too fussed either way, spokesman Jim Cain told the Wall Street Journal they want “to be the best, not necessarily the biggest”.

“If we had announced plans on world domination, we probably would have been quibbling with the sales of our competitors and that’s as far removed from focusing on the customers as you can get,” he added.

[Source: GoAuto]

UPDATE 2 February: New figures released by Renault-Nissan today state they achieved 8.03 million sales in 2011.

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Volkswagen

Splashing the cash

Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Group wants to knock Toyota off its perch to claim the mantle as the world’s largest car maker. And to do so they know they’ll have to spend up and spend up big. So they have just announced they’ll be pouring in a massive €51.6 billion (AU$70 billion) over the next five years to help achieve their aim.

Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG said, “The Volkswagen Group will help shape the technological turning point in key areas of the automotive industry and, to do this, will continue investing in environmentally friendly technologies, efficient drives and new models.

“We are systematically pursuing the goals of our Strategy 2018 to further increase our profitability and to make Volkswagen the world’s most future-proof automotive group. The investment program we have now resolved will play a significant role in this.”

Volkswagen’s full statement is available after the break.

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Volkswagen “seriously interested” in Alfa Romeo

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Volkswagen’s quest to grab the world’s biggest car maker title from Toyota has taken a new twist with news it wants to buy Alfa Romeo. It’s all a bit like shcoolyard secrets at the moment, though, with executives from Volkswagen and Fiat only willing to provide quotes on condition of anonymity.

Automotive News Europe says not one, but two Volkswagen employees have said they are “seriously interested” in purchasing Alfa Romeo. In reply the secret Fiat exec told ANE, “We have no intention at all of selling the brand to VW.”

Rumours of VW’s interest in the iconic Italian manufacturer emerged late last year. Indeed, in April Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn admitted he admired Alfa, but there were currently no plans to add another brand to the Volkswagen Group.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reckons they can push Alfa Romeo into the premium segment and achieve 500,000 sales per year by 2014. Just 102,000 sales were registered in 2009. It’s certainly an ambitious target.

Credit Suisse motoring expert Arndt Ellinghorst thinks it may be too ambitious and says the might of the Volkswagen Group would be necessary, “Maybe Alfa could get to a half million unit sales a year, but only after the brand is sold to Volkswagen.”

Whatever the outcome of this latest motoring marriage something needs to be done to support Alfa Romeo. It is understood the maker has been costing Fiat €200–400 million per year in losses over the last decade.

Follow the source link below and to learn how some analysts think Volkswagen should add Alfa Romeo to its portfolio at the expense of the Seat brand.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]