Volkswagen Canada's 'Goodwill' Program Started, Damn Exchange Rate

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Volkswagen in Canada rolled out the same “goodwill” package for Canadian customers that they did for U.S. customers last month, according to Green Car Reports (via Autoblog).

Diesel buyers north of the border — up to 100,000 of them — will get the same $500 Visa gift card, $500 dealer gift card and three years of roadside assistance that U.S. owners received in November.

Volkswagen diesel owners can register their cars via Volkswagen Canada’s diesel emissions site.

In a letter posted on the Volkswagen Canada website, President Maria Stenström said the company may have waited too long to answer owners’ questions, but that the country’s goodwill package could help the company regain some of its customers’ trust.

From the letter:

Did we mess up? Yes. Do we have all the answers? No. Can we be accused of being too silent for too long? Perhaps.

It’s unclear when goodwill packages may be shipping for Canadian customers.

The “goodwill” program complements a large apology campaign by Volkswagen Canada the automaker started this month.

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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 17 comments
  • Deanst Deanst on Dec 30, 2015

    If they think this is just, they can also sell me a GTI for the same $22,500 it's sold at in the U.S.

    • Seth1065 Seth1065 on Dec 30, 2015

      Deanst, Per VW USA website cheapest GTI 9 2 door s w stick) is $25,815 w no options and destination charge of $820 in that number, not sure where you came up w $ 22,500.

  • Johnster Johnster on Dec 30, 2015

    I just ran the figure through a currency converter. A Canadian dollar is equal to 72 cents U.S. $500 Canadian = $360 U.S. Canadians are getting hosed.

  • RHD RHD on Dec 31, 2015

    Genuine goodwill would be to replace each defective VW with an equivalent Toyota.

    • See 10 previous
    • Heavy handle Heavy handle on Dec 31, 2015

      @Pch101 "You can’t possibly be serious when you try to argue that Canadians aren’t buying Toyota brand or TMC vehicles when the numbers are that unambiguous." Toyota is #5 actually, after FCA, GM, Ford and Hyundai/Kia (not necessarily in that order). See my earlier response to EspritdeFacelVega if you care to understand what I was saying. It's not what you think. Oh, and Happy New Year, Pch101. We may sometimes disagree, but you are consistently one of the more astute members of the B&B. Cheers.

  • EspritdeFacelVega EspritdeFacelVega on Dec 31, 2015

    Um, of the 2015 top ten selling cars in Canada the Corolla is #5 and RAV4 is #10, so Toyota's are hardly unpopular. I personally know several Camry owners. And Camry and Prius own the taxi market in every major city.

    • Heavy handle Heavy handle on Dec 31, 2015

      A lot of major cities in Canada have a five or six year rule for taxis, so corrosion isn't as big an issue as for private owners. Certainly the gas savings on a hybrid are a much bigger factor on the bottom line. I'm not saying Toyota doesn't sell any cars in Canada. The Corolla does OK, but it's way behind the Civic, and even with Elantra and Golf/Jetta. Same with the Rav4, it's even with the CR-V and Rogue but way behind the Escape. Those numbers are much different than the US numbers.

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