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The Week in Germany: Business and Technology February 23, 2007 Volkswagen Seeks to Tempt US Buyers with Affordable Cars, Doubles
Earnings in 2006 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. (TWIG/dpa) Links:
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