Golf Mk VII To Be Made In Mexico, China
The seventh generation of Volkswagen’s venerable and best-selling hatch, the Golf, has barely been launched in Europe, and Volkswagen is already looking into producing it abroad. Volkswagen aims at two regions that usually prefer cars with trunks: China and America.
For North American production, there are two options: The modern plant in Chattanooga, or Volkswagen’s Mexican base, Puebla. According to Germany’s Automobilwoche [sub], the car will most likely be made in Mexico.
“The capacities in Chattanooga are currently exhausted,” Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn told the paper. “If we expand there, then probably for a new SUV that is a little larger than the Tiguan.”
Production of the Golf Mk VII will likely start in Mexico in late 2014, or early 2015.
China will get a domesticated Golf earlier, probably in late 2013, says Automobilwoche. Production will move to Volkswagen’s new plant in Foshan in southern China.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I don't care where the Golf is produced. For the entire MKIV run U.S. Golfs were built in Brazil. Jettas in Mexico. Jetta wagons in Germany. Then moved to Germany only for Golfs with MKV/VI. It's really all the same. I DO wonder why they need a NEW SUV to slot above the Tiguan. Are they getting rid of the T-reg? What space is between the Tig and T-reg? Don't waste your time, VW!!
Just please give the U.S. a GOLF (not GTI) with a GAS engine AND nice features. I hate that the TDI Golfs get upgraded features but gas Golfs don't here in the U.S.
They already have an SUV larger than the Tiguan - the Touareg. And no, it is not THAT much larger. I can't see what they could put between the two. We have a Tdi Touareg, our neighbor has a Tiguan. I find it hilarious that we have more space, more power, and get much better mileage. I concede that we also spent more but I see us having a better long-term resale value on a Diesel Touareg than a loaded up, near 40K Tiguan as the neighbor has...Down the road, a diesel VW usually always has a buyer, an overpriced Tiguan with a lot of miles will likely be less appealing next to a CRV or Rav4 for the average used-car buyer.
This seems like as good a thread as any to theorize on VWs. I was recently reading the Passat thread: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/09/car-reliability-stats-updated-passat-problems-pinpointed/ Given my experience with VAG (made in Europe models, not "Hecho in Amexico" models), I found it somewhat surprising that so many people mention so many problems with VW/Audis here. Sure, I've heard the "electrical problem" canard, but it seems like most of the people who say that haven't driven a VW or Audi since the 80s, when legitimately they had some power window regulators die and things like that. Part of me wonders if the issue is one of the following: 1) VAG buyers do a crap job maintaining their vehicles, so yeah, stuff happens 2) VAG buyers disproportionately get service done at the dealership because they still believe the falsehood that you need a special German mechanic --> which means, a) that they pay ripoff prices that only the stealership charges, b) that the stealership servicewriter tells them all kinds of crap they need to fix that doesn't actually need to be fixed, and c) you get part-replacer techs that can't actually diagnose problems like my mechanic can For #1, the problem is obvious -- fix your damn car. The demo that typically drives Jettas makes me think #1 is a huge issue. For #2, VW/Audi parts are more expensive than my Ford/GM parts, but not that much more expensive most of the time. Everyone complains about how service intervals cost more, and sure, you have to use synthetic instead of the crap that comes out of the big lowest-bidder barrel, so an oil change costs more, but if you follow the stealership's "recommended" service you will always pay more -- so follow the owner's manual. Now, I've seen the JD Power lists where VW often comes towards the bottom, and I must admit I have more experience with Audis (which are much higher on the list) than VWs, so maybe my experience is biased too. However, I will note that I've also had quite good experiences with other cars that people think are unreliable (80s Taurus comes to mind, and certain GMs too), so I don't know what to say.