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In mid-December at the Autostadt, the Volkswagen brand delivered the 250,000th electric car since the introduction of the e-up! in 2013. The brand’s electrified model range has been continually expanded in the following years: e-Golf and Golf GTE followed in 2014, the Passat GTE and Passat Variant GTE in 2015. Since 2018, the Passat and Tiguan have been available as plug-in hybrids in China, where they were followed by battery electric versions of the Bora and Lavida this year. The best-selling electric car has been the e-Golf with 104,000 units delivered, followed by the Golf GTE (51,000), Passat Variant GTE (42,000) and e-up! (21,000). Half of the customers opted for a battery electric vehicle and the other half for a plug-in hybrid.

The 250,000th car is a “Pure White” e-Golf. Sandra Fleischer from Herne took delivery of the car at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg in mid-December.

Jürgen Stackmann, Board Member for Sales, Marketing and After Sales, says: “With the 250,000th electrified vehicle, the Volkswagen brand has reached a major milestone on the way to carbon-neutral mobility. Especially all-electric vehicles such as our new ID. family are the answer to major challenges of our times. They offer considerable driving pleasure and advantages we could only dream of a few years ago. They have a carbon-neutral balance, offer more space with comparable outside dimensions, and are quiet, highly efficient, economical and inexpensive to maintain. This is why we will be selling the next 250,000 electrified vehicles in a considerably shorter period of time. At Volkswagen, we are convinced that the future is electric.”

Despite some model changes, the Volkswagen brand delivered more than 70,000 electrified vehicles in 2019 - following 50,000 last year. The main sales markets in 2019 were China, Norway, Germany, the USA and the United Kingdom.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

This week, the Volkswagen brand is introducing a new maintenance concept for its vehicles with the launch of the Golf 8. Over the course of next year, the concept will be extended to all the models of the brand. Achim Schaible, Head of the After Sales & Dealer Network of the Volkswagen brand, explains: “The high quality of our vehicles allows us to double the inspection service interval in Europe to 24 months. We are therefore one of the few volume brands to call our customers into the workshops less frequently. In addition, our new standard inspection service is to replace the previous service. This way, we are considerably simplifying the maintenance program and making it more transparent for our customers and partners.”

In 2020, the new maintenance concept will be successively extended to all Volkswagen brand models as part of the launch of new models, facelifts and the beginning of the new model year from the middle of the year. There will be a separate maintenance concept for the ID. model family, which will be published before the market launch.

A key improvement in the new maintenance concept is the doubling of the inspection service interval to 24 months in Europe 1. In other markets, arduous operating conditions such as heat or dust still require annual servicing of vehicles. The regional and national kilometer limits continue to apply.

The new standard inspection replaces the previous format of large and small inspection. The standardized content of maintenance and new intervals allow more reliable and more transparent price information, which has a considerable impact on perceived service quality and therefore customer satisfaction.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Volkswagen has successfully launched its sub-brand JETTA in China with the new SUV VS5 and the VA3 sedan01. Since market entry in September, nearly 30,000 vehicles were delivered to customers. This makes the JETTA launch the most successful recent brand introduction in China, taking into account the first three months of sales. Almost 80 percent of JETTA deliveries were SUVs. With the new JETTA brand, Volkswagen is targeting young Chinese customers who are looking for an entry into the world of Volkswagen.

"The entry-level segment has so far been served almost exclusively by Chinese brands. The JETTA brand closes the gap between the entry-level segment and the volume segment, at the top end of which the Volkswagen brand is positioned, "says Jürgen Stackmann, sales board member of the Volkswagen brand. "We see tremendous potential there, and the flying start of JETTA proves us right.”

About one third of all passenger cars in China are currently sold in the entry-level segment. Within this segment, around 80 percent customers buy a car for the first time in their lives. First-time buyers in China are on average 20 years younger than in Europe or America. In the entry-level segment they spend from 8,000 up to 15,000 euros.

With JETTA, for the first time in Volkswagen history a model is transformed into a brand with a proprietary model family. JETTA is positioned independently in the market, but with a recognizable proximity to the world of Volkswagen. Innovative sales concepts such as highly digitized showrooms complete the brand experience. JETTA relies on the Volkswagen DNA: quality, safety, value retention and a clear design language. The JETTA range includes a sedan and an SUV. A second SUV will follow in the near future. All models are produced by FAW-Volkswagen in a state-of-the art factory in Chengdu, working closely with FAW-VW’s central hub in the city of Changchun.

With a share of almost 50 percent of worldwide deliveries, China is Volkswagen's largest single market. The brand delivered over 3 million vehicles in China for the second time in a row last year. While the overall market situation in China remains challenging in 2019, the Volkswagen brand has gained market share by maintaining deliveries largely at last year’s level. Therefore the brand is expecting to deliver over 3 million vehicles once again in 2019.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Dream start with five stars: the new Golf has achieved the highest score in the Euro NCAP crash test (European New Car Assessment Programme). Auditors gave the new compact model very high ratings on all criteria – for the protection of adult occupants, children and vulnerable road users as well as in terms of assistance systems.

A small test fleet of Golfs lined up for the Euro NCAP test. In the “Protection of adult occupants” category, the cars had to undergo various crashes: head-on with 40% overlap against a deformable barrier, head-on with full overlap against a rigid wall, side impact and pole impact. Collision speeds ranged from 32 to 64 km/h. Further tests focusing on such aspects as the infliction of whiplash injuries in rear-end collisions were carried out on seat crash sleds. The effectiveness of the Front Assist emergency braking system in preventing imminent rear-end collisions at city speeds was also put to the test. All in all, the new Golf scored 95% of the points available for the protection of adult occupants.

The results of the front and side impact were included in the rating for the protection of accompanying children, supplemented by an installation test for standard child seats and a check of mounts such as ISOFIX. In this category, the new Golf scored 89%. The score for pedestrian and cyclist protection was 76%. The focus here was the impact of the car on head, thighs and lower legs as well as the effectiveness of the emergency braking system.

Other assistance systems such as the speed limiter, the area monitoring system for higher speeds and the lane keeping system were assessed in the “Safety Assist” category. Volkswagen has fitted the new Golf with an all-round package of assistance systems, some of which are drawn from the higher vehicle categories. Two standard safety systems are particularly important: the Lane Assist lane keeping system and Front Assist, which monitors traffic in front of the car using a radar sensor and front camera. The car brakes automatically in dangerous situations – even at very low speeds in the city. The system’s spectrum has been extended to include Cyclist Monitoring and swerve support – all of which are available for the first time in the Golf. The Euro NCAP crash test demonstrates its effectiveness: with a score of 78% of the points available, the new compact car by Volkswagen put in an excellent performance in the “Safety Assist” category, too.

Six airbags – two front airbags, side airbags and head airbags – are standard features of the new Golf, as are belt tensioners and belt force limiters on all outer seats. The proactive occupant protection system is available as an option. This is able to mitigate the consequences of an imminent collision by tightening the belts or closing open windows, for example. It also includes side airbags in the rear.

Volkswagen offers further high-end assistance systems on an optional basis including Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with predictive speed detection. Travel Assist makes assisted driving possible at speeds of up to 210 km/h. Another feature contributing to safe, relaxed driving is Car2X communication, which in dangerous traffic situations enables the new Golf to communicate with other vehicles – and in future also with the infrastructure. The same applies to Traffic Jam Assist, Rear Traffic Alert, Emergency Assist and Park Assist.

With its score of five stars for the new Golf, Volkswagen continues its success series in the Euro NCAP crash test – the T-Cross likewise achieved the maximum point score in May 2019. The European New Car Assessment Programme has served as a strict benchmark for the safety level of new cars for 20 years. It provides car buyers with prompt information on the safety of popular, new models. In recent years, test procedures and the requirements placed on standard driver assistance systems and passive safety have become increasingly rigorous. Full details are publicly accessible at www.euroncap.com.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Production of Volkswagen's new T-Roc Cabriolet starts today at the Osnabrück plant. The plant's facilities, including the production and logistics operations, were extensively optimised in advance for the Volkswagen brand's only convertible.

At the ceremonial start of production in front of staff at the plant today, Andreas Tostmann, Volkswagen Management Board Member for Production, said: “The vehicle was in large part developed in Osnabrück. Now it is being produced here too. It is a genuine child of the site. A site that in the process has been able to fully demonstrate its strengths.” He continued: “The team did a lot of work to bring the T-Roc Cabriolet here and are now finally reaping the reward for their efforts. Production, assembly and logistics have been extensively modernised for a high double-digit million euro amount and are of an excellent standard.” Tostmann went on to stress Volkswagen's ongoing commitment: “Over the next five years too we will be investing further in the site on a similar scale – predominantly in the production of the T-Roc Cabriolet.”

Jörg Müller, the management team spokesperson, said: “We’ve got a long tradition of making convertibles here at the Osnabrück site. It’s one of our core areas of expertise.” He continued: “The entire team is proud to have the privilege of making the Volkswagen brand's only convertible. We worked hard for it.”

The T-Roc Cabriolet is the soft-top variant of the successful Crossover T-Roc, which was added to the Volkswagen brand product portfolio in November 2017. The new convertible with SUV genes offers a striking design, elevated seating position and high level of functionality. Open-air enjoyment starts at the press of a button, with the soft top opening in just nine seconds.

In addition to the T-Roc Cabriolet the multi-brand Osnabrück plant also produces the Porsche Cayman.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

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