VW Cutting Number of Euro Powertrain Offerings in $3.4B Cost Cutting Move

Volkswagen announced plans to trim another $3.4 billion from its operating costs by 2020 during a press conference in Wolfsburg today. The automaker will be “discontinuing 25% of engine and gearbox variants across Europe,” VW chief operating officer Ralf Brandstätter told Autocar, a move that will help it to simplify and streamline its business in the region. It also plans on reducing the complexity of various trim levels and equipment packages for its cars. VW said that it will be looking at removing trim levels or model variants with “low customer demand.”

Cutting back on administrative expenses will also be part of the cost control measures. The automaker has reduced its workforce by around 5,600 employees and a further 9,600 have signed early retirement agreements.

“By 2020 we will achieve three billion euros in cost savings, and now aim for a further three billion euros by 2023,” VW board member Arno Antlitz said during the conference.

In addition to the cost control measures, VW is also hoping to increase its plant productivity by 30% by 2025.

The end goal for VW is to boost profit margins to 6 percent by 2022, which is three years earlier than it had previously hoped to achieve the goal.

At the same time, VW will sink more than 11 billion euros into various mobility-related business operations by 2023, with the bulk of that going toward electric and autonomous vehicles.

“We must force the pace of our transformation and become more efficient and agile,” Brandstätter said. “We cannot let up in our efforts and must realize further substantial improvements. What we have achieved so far is still not enough.”

a version of this article first appeared on AutoGuide

The post VW Cutting Number of Euro Powertrain Offerings in $3.4B Cost Cutting Move appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2zHNTjO
via IFTTT

Comments

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog