Skip to main content

Müller: “The USA is and Remains A Core Market for the Volkswagen Group”

  • CEO affirms investment plans for Chattanooga on eve of Detroit Auto Show
  • Group posts solid delivery figures for past year
  • Winning back trust most important task in 2016
  • Ongoing constructive dialog with US authorities about technical solutions for diesel vehicles affected by emissions issue

The Volkswagen Group is firmly standing by its commitment and investment plans in the US. “The US is and remains a core market for the Volkswagen Group,” CEO Matthias Müller affirmed at a press conference in Detroit on Sunday. On the eve of the North American International Motor Show which takes place there, Müller also expressed his regret about the events relating to the emissions issue. “We know we deeply disappointed our customers, the responsible government bodies, and the general public here in the US. I apologize for what went wrong at Volkswagen,” Müller said, and promised: “We are totally committed to making things right.”

While the technical solutions for Europe are ready and their implementation is to begin this month, Volkswagen is working intensively on solutions for its US customers. Müller emphasized that the Group is in an ongoing constructive dialog with the responsible authorities, namely the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Concepts for solutions would be presented as soon as these are fully approved by the authorities.

Against the backdrop of the most recent turmoil, the CEO was pleased with the past year’s delivery figures. Müller said that 9.93 million cars delivered to customers worldwide was a solid sales performance. In the US, the 2015 delivery figures even rose slightly to around 600,000 vehicles. The CEO expressly thanked customers in the US for their loyalty in this difficult phase.

For its part, Volkswagen is firmly standing by the plans already announced to expand its business in North America. In addition to the previous investments of more than $1 billion at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Volkswagen is planning to invest a further $900 million in the production of a new mid-size SUV, which is scheduled to begin by the end of this year. Volkswagen will thus be creating approximately 2,000 new jobs in the US.

Production of the Audi Q5 in San José, Mexico, will also commence this spring as planned. Porsche Cars North America already opened its new US headquarters and Customer Experience Center in Atlanta, Georgia, last year, with the sports car manufacturer investing $100 million. Another element of the Group’s North American strategy is the long version of the new Tiguan, which is slated to roll off the assembly line at the plant in Puebla, Mexico, starting in 2017. However, Müller admitted that “Volkswagen must further deepen its understanding of the United States.” Ultimately, the new development center in Chattanooga is intended to help accomplish this objective.

Müller identified the Volkswagen Group’s most important task in 2016 as winning back trust. He said this not only involved technical solutions for the vehicles affected by the emissions issue, but also reestablishing credibility, especially by uncovering the full truth of what happened. In addition, Müller reiterated that the Volkswagen Group will undergo fundamental realignment in terms of its structure and culture, as well as its future strategy, which is to be presented in the middle of 2016 and will provide answers to the central challenges facing the industry. The Volkswagen Group’s objective is to help shape the future of mobility with courage and determination. This will be assisted by a Group-wide digitalization initiative, among other things. The Group will also roll out a total of 20 more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids by 2020. Summing up, Müller said: “Right now, I see a great opportunity to embark on a new era of mobility – and to build a new and even stronger Volkswagen.”

The post Müller: “The USA is and Remains A Core Market for the Volkswagen Group” appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1mYqCBH
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Macau Gets Messy with 16-Car Pileup

The Macau Grand Prix is always good for an accident or two or 16— you may remember Audi’s race ending crash last year —and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take long for things to get messy on the tight road circuit. On the opening lap of the qualifying race a 16-car pileup caused the race to be suspended. Things kicked off when Daniel Juncadella hit a wall on the exit of Police bend, one of the tightest parts of the already tight circuit. The following car of Raffaele Marciello was able to avoid the carnage, but Laurens Vanthoor, who was in the upside-down Audi that ended the race last year, could not avoid Juncadella and together they blocked up the road pretty much completely. “I couldn’t see him [Juncadella] at first. Then I saw the car standing still,” Vanthoor told Motorsport. “I tried to brake but it was just understeering and I couldn’t do anything. There’s room for one car there and you’re blind.” Fourteen more cars would eventually crash into the corner c
Post a Comment
Read more

The First of its Kind: Integrated Engineering Releases Highly-Anticipated IE450T MK6 Golf R Turbo Kit

After two long years of development, the team at Integrated Engineering has finally announced the release of their IE450T kit for the MK6 Golf R. With their turbo kit bolted on right out of the box, the sport AWD hatch is transformed into a 450bhp monster, with hardly any noticeable increase in spool time. In fact, 435 ft-lbs of torque are achieved at all four wheels, at a mere 3300rpm! By now you are probably asking yourself how this is even possible on a 2.0L engine that made nearly half that power from the factory. By employing true twin-scroll technology into the cast turbo manifold and pairing it with a state-of-the-art BorgWarner EFR turbocharger, IE was able to keep spool time at a minimum and bring the fastest-spooling big turbo setup to the market. “We wanted to offer a kit that would dramatically increase the power output without making the car lose its amazing street-friendly drivability,” mentioned one of the IE engineers. We are told the IE450T leaves the car driving jus
Post a Comment
Read more