Volkswagen Considering Trucks, Vans For US Market
Long ago, Volkswagen once sold (non-Chrysler) vans, utes and trucks in the United States. Those days may come again.
According to Bloomberg, VW North America light commercial vehicle boss Eckhard Scholz said the automaker was looking into bringing a van and/or a pickup into the U.S. market to help bolster its overall range, as well as drive more sales on its way to catching up — and one day, surpass — both Toyota and General Motors.
Potential models include the Amarok pickup, as well as the Caddy, Crafter and T5 vans and minibuses. VW’s global light commercial unit sold 445,000 models around the world last year, compared to the 366,970 models from the automaker’s USDM range over the same period. Overall global sales in 2014 came to over 10 million units.
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Illinois had MFG plates, each company has a specific number. The trucks I saw all had normal Illinois B plates, which is normal for light duty trucks under a certain weight. Thats what I found unusual. Even Alfa, when they were testing the 164 here years ago, used MFG plates. Maybe they were purchased in Mexico and NAFTAed in?
This goes some ways towards confirming my suspicion that VWs strategy for becoming a volume player in North America, revolves around resigning themselves to selling one copy of each model they make; while making up for it in sheer number of also-ran models they sell.
I'm looking at the Volkswagen Careers site, but I can't find the product planning department postings. Which is a shame, because I'm certain that team needs some fresh thinking. https://vwgoa.taleo.net/careersection/college/jobsearch.ftl?lang=en
1. I would buy an Amarok in a second. I'm a long-time VW guy and have pined for that thing since I first saw pictures of it. 2. This is what VW needs to do; get into segments they are currently not in, and more importantly, aren't likely to be cross-shopped with other models in a VW showroom. Look at how many different models Nissan has. Volkswagen should try and emulate that, if for no other reason than they are a big enough company to do so. Whether you sell a lot of a few different models or a few of a wide variety of models, the end result is more sales.