Volkswagen's North American Boss Wants a Brand That's so American, It Hurts

Reading the long-from retrospective of Hinrich Woebcken’s life in Automotive News, this author can’t help but think of a friend who, like Volkswagen of America’s CEO, spent his early life in Rochester, New York. In the executive’s case, it was an exchange program in the late Seventies.

This friend, after odd jobs accumulated a sufficient stockpile of cash, went out and bought his first car — a white Volkswagen Fox, which I believe he later rolled (with limited damage). The choice of buying a Fox wasn’t unusual, even in a market awash in cheap Detroit iron. Foxes were small, economical, presumably better built than the domestic competition, and above all else, affordable.

It’s the latter virtue Woebken wants to return to the VW fold, as paying extra for “German engineering” isn’t nearly as popular as it once was.

After taking the helm at VW of America in early 2016, Woebcken’s battle with head office ultimately led to the creation of a new North American region with greater autonomy in decision-making. As he tells it, things came to a head over the name of an upcoming SUV.

The name VW’s German HQ originally picked for the American-market Atlas didn’t roll off the tongue. U.S. dealers despised the name “Teramont,” which you’ll find stamped on versions of the three-row midsizer sold overseas. If locals find a name confusing, they’ll just make up a new way of pronouncing it — a hard and fast rule Woebcken learned as a teen in Rochester. (For fun, ask a Frenchman about the proper pronunciation of “Gratiot Avenue.”)

“It was another German name that started with a ‘T’ and then caused the tongue to trip over the rest,” he explained. Top brass relented, and the Atlas was born.

Besides guiding the brand’s crossover-centric product strategy in North America, Woebcken continues in his quest to return the brand to its American roots. Meaning, affordable product that doesn’t demand extra cash from the consumer just because some engineers in Wolfsburg, Germany had their hands all over it.

In the mid-2000s, products like the fifth-generation Jetta and sixth-generation Passat put on airs; it often felt like VW was trying to sell itself as a low-rent premium automaker. This strategy didn’t do anything for sales. (It’s little wonder the Canadian market held over the previous generation Golf and Jetta as value alternatives).

Woebcken’s desire to return to the Seventies is increasingly reflected in the brand’s U.S. lineup. Already, we’ve seen the new 2019 Jetta emerge with a lower entry price than its predecessor. Earlier this year, VW slashed prices on the redesigned Tiguan — despite the fact that Tiguan sales have never been higher. Both Tiguan and Atlas, each a three-row vehicle, can soon be had in a stripped-down two-row form. As well, the overseas T-Roc, a compact crossover once thought bound for America, won’t arrive on these shores. We’re told there’s a separate model in the works that’s designed to appeal specifically to North American buyers. In other words, larger, boxier, cheaper, and undoubtedly more popular. (Hey, maybe VW will surprise us with a style extravaganza. Prove us wrong, VW.)

Key to keeping costs down is seeking a better deal with suppliers. Woebcken claims he’s doing everything possible to source locally, hoping for lower product prices and greater profit.

So far, it seems VW’s pricing and product strategy is paying off. After falling continuously since 2012, U.S. sales grew 5.2 percent in 2017. Over the first two months of 2018, sales are 5.6 percent higher than the same period last year.

[Image: Volkswagen]