Volkswagen is celebrating 20 years of the Touareg with the Touareg “EDITION 20”. This special-edition model will join the premium SUV model family from mid-June 2022 and features a particularly extensive range of exclusive equipment – including an extremely expressive exterior design and an elegant leather package in the interior. Since its market launch in 2002, the luxury SUV has become an out-and-out success. More than one million units of this innovative technology carrier have been sold worldwide up to the present day. The special-edition model is available to order now, with prices starting from 77,530 euros (for V6 TDI with 170 kW/231 PS).

20 years ago, Volkswagen took the bold step into a new segment with the stylish Touareg. Since then, the company’s premium SUV has firmly established itself in the respective markets and has become an outstanding success. More than one million units have been sold up to the present day – an impressive figure in the SUV C-segment. Modern optional features such as Travel Assist and the Innovision Cockpit with 15” infotainment system display (standard in the Touareg “EDITION 20”) ensure even greater comfort and maximum connectivity. Technologically sophisticated running gear innovations such as the optional air suspension and roll compensation increase the vehicle dynamics and make the Touareg much easier to handle than its size might suggest.

Exterior with exclusive visual highlights. The distinguishing features of the new special-edition model include the completely new paintwork in Meloe Blue as well as the high-gloss polished 20-inch Bogota wheels, which are only available for the anniversary model. The expressive exterior design is rounded off by darkened side and rear windows, LED tail lights with cherry red tint, and an “EDITION 20” badge on the B-pillar. The wheel arches and diffuser additionally have a Black Glossy paint finish.

Standard leather equipment and “EDITION 20” details. The exclusivity of the Touareg “EDITION 20” is continued in the ultra-modern interior. When getting into the vehicle, the driver and occupants are welcomed by illuminated sill panel trim with the “EDITION 20” logo. High-quality black Savona leather seats with distinctive diamond stitching and seams in the contrasting colour Ceramique, a light beige, underline the extremely stylish overall impression. The sporty character is highlighted by red accents: Perfectly matched double seams (piping) in Ceramique/Red can be found on the dash panel, steering wheel and door inner sides. The leather-covered selector lever for the automatic gearbox features the “EDITION 20” logo.

Four engine variants with superior power. The new Volkswagen Touareg “EDITION 20” is offered with four drive variants:

• 170 kW (231 PS) 3.0 V6 TDI with 500 Nm torque
• 210 kW (286 PS) 3.0 V6 TDI with 600 Nm torque
• 250 kW (340 PS) 3.0 V6 TSI with 450 Nm torque
• Plug-in hybrid V6 TSI with 280 kW (381 PS) system power and 600 Nm torque

All four engines transmit their power to an eight-speed gearbox with all-wheel drive system. This makes it possible to tow braked trailers with a weight of up to 3.5 tonnes.

Technology carrier and record holder for 20 years. When it was introduced in 2002, the Touareg surprised with a 5.0-litre V10 TDI engine and an impressive torque at the time of 750 Nm. The “Race Touareg” from Volkswagen Motorsport dominated the Dakar Rally for three years in succession from 2009 to 2011. Various long-distance world records followed, such as on the Pan-American Highway, where a distance of up to 23,000 kilometres was covered in just under twelve days. In 2006, the Touareg pulled a Boeing 747 weighing 155 tonnes out of its hangar and in doing so secured another world record.

In 2005, the Touareg “Stanley”, one of the first truly intelligent vehicles in automotive history, won the DARPA Grand Challenge for autonomous vehicles organised by the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It was one of only four vehicles from the 23 that started the race to reach the finish line. Today, Volkswagen customers benefit from many years of development experience with systems such as Travel Assist and the optional Park Assist Plus with remote parking capability.

Articles source: https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/happy-birthday-touareg-exclusive-special-edition-model-for-the-20th-anniversary-7980

Volkswagen Group will launch an all-electric pick-up and rugged SUV in the United States. The decision of the Board of Management was confirmed today by the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group.

The vehicles will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the U.S. for American customers. To this end, a separate, independent company will be established in the U.S. this year as the Volkswagen Group moves the strong iconic U.S.-brand Scout into the electric vehicle space. The first prototypes are to be unveiled next year, and production is scheduled to start in 2026. The electrified Scout brand will be built upon a new technical platform concept which brings new pickup and RUV credibility beyond the existing Volkswagen Group portfolio.

Herbert Diess, CEO Volkswagen AG: “After Volkswagen’s successful turnaround in the U.S., we are now taking the opportunity to further strengthen our position in one of the most significant growth markets for EVs. Electrification provides a historic opportunity to enter the highly attractive pick-up and R-SUV segment as a Group, underscoring our ambition to become a relevant player in the U.S. market.”

Success in the R-SUV & pick-up segments is a key lever to increasing profitability in the U.S. and achieving the targeted market share of ten percent. The Volkswagen Group is thus continuing to systematically expand its presence in one of the most significant global growth markets.

Arno Antlitz, CFO Volkswagen AG: “The company we will establish this year will be a separate unit and brand within the Volkswagen Group to be managed independently. This aligns with the new Group steering model - small units that act agilely and have access to our tech platforms to leverage synergies.”

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Volkswagen is pressing ahead with gearing its plants to electric mobility. Volkswagen is expanding its global production network for electric vehicles by starting to make the all-electric ID.4 in Emden. Emden is now the second site for electric vehicles in Germany following Zwickau and also joins the Chinese plants in Anting and Foshan. Chattanooga (ID.4) and Hanover will also commence production this year. As a result, Volkswagen is creating the conditions in 2022 for building 1.2 million all-electric vehicles a year based on the MEB in the future at its sites in Europe, the U.S. and China. Volkswagen has invested around one million euros in converting the Emden plant with its 8,000 employees. Emden is thus the first high-tech site for electric mobility in Lower Saxony. The Volkswagen Group will invest a total of 21 billion euros in Lower Saxony up to 2026 and make the federal state Germany’s center for electric mobility.

“Rapid expansion of production capacities for our successful ID.4 model is a key component of our ACCELERATE strategy. It helps us accelerate the transformation to zero-carbon mobility and create further capacities to meet the high demand for electric vehicles,” said Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter. “With our clear commitment to the site, we aim to show that cost-effectiveness and competitiveness are not only possible in the region, but that we can even enhance them lastingly.”

Lower Saxony becomes the center for electric mobility
“Volkswagen is making Lower Saxony, where we have 130,000 employees, Germany’s center for electric mobility,” said Ralf Brandstätter. Apart from the ID.4, Emden will make another model – the AERO B – next year. In addition, production of the iconic ID. Buzz will commence this year at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover. It will be joined from 2023 on by the ID.3 made in Wolfsburg, while a further electric vehicle – the Trinity – will then roll off the assembly line at the location starting in 2026. The Group is also investing in Braunschweig, Salzgitter and Kassel, among other things in further expansion of the existing MEB production of battery systems, rotors/stators and electric motors. The Salzgitter location is being expanded further into a European battery hub. Investments in Lower Saxony will add up to 21 billion euros overall by 2026 – an unprecedented level, also by international standards.

Gerardo Scarpino, Deputy Chairman of the General Works Council : “Electric mobility is no longer a distant goal – it’s becoming a reality for our colleagues at more and more plants here. Yet it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that electric mobility would be rolled out comprehensively at our German sites. However, the codetermination bodies campaigned for it and concluded site agreements in good time – and this success proves us right. In particular, our employees are showing that they are highly motivated and flexible in helping to accomplish the conversion and ramp-up work. Their efforts also deserve to be honored today.”

Christian Vollmer, member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management responsible for Production and Logistics said: “The consistent expansion of the production network is key for the success of our global electric offensive. With the knowledge and experience gained in Emden, we will be able to drive the transformation of other plants quickly and efficiently. Innovative production concepts and highly qualified teams form the basis for this approach. This is how we forge ahead with our ACCELERATE strategy – worldwide, in Germany and right here, in Lower Saxony.

Uwe Schwartz, manager of the Emden plant: “Start of production of the first all-electric model at the site is an unparalleled milestone for the whole Emden team. We have prepared intensively to make the ID.4 in the past two years and have eagerly awaited this day. Seeing the ID.4 now come off the line in Emden fills us with pride. We’re proud that Emden is doing its bit to accelerate Volkswagen’s electrification strategy. With this magnificent team performance, we will continue and grow our long and successful tradition of production here.”

Manfred Wulff, Chairman of the Works Council at the Emden plant: “The Works Council campaigned strongly for investing in electric mobility in Emden. Then we in East Frisia proved that Volkswagen can convert a factory to electric mobility in the space of two years. The ID.4 marks the successful start of electric mobility here. The AERO B saloon and the Variant will follow next year and the year after next. Emden is now a leading player in electric mobility. As a result, we’ll secure jobs in our region lastingly with three all-electric vehicles made in East Frisia. My thanks go to the great team that prepared and implemented everything successfully.”

The ID.4’s start-up is on schedule, despite the global challenges during the two-year conversion phase. Emden’s maximum production capacity at the end of 2022 will be 800 units per working day, depending on the supply situation.

Six new production halls and five new conveyor bridges and logistics buildings over a total area of some 125,000 square meters have been created as part of the plant’s conversion. A foundation for successful transformation is the qualification concept at Emden, which comprises training near to the production line and virtual training, as well as sharing of knowledge and experience with Volkswagen’s Zwickau site. More than 400 employees from Emden have been assigned to Zwickau since early 2020 in order to prepare for producing electric vehicles.

ID.4 is now made at four sites – High demand – Additional production capacities
The ID.4 is now produced at the Emden and Zwickau sites and at the Anting and Foshan plants in China. And expansion continues: Production for the U.S. market will start in Chattanooga in the fall. The global production network will then grow to five locations. Following its market launch in early 2021, the ID.4 has quickly become a success: In the first quarter of 2022 alone, Volkswagen delivered more than 30,000 units – meaning every one-in-two all-electric vehicles from Volkswagen is an ID.4. 163,000 units have been delivered since its launch, making the ID.4 the Volkswagen brand’s and the Group’s best-selling e-vehicle. In many markets, the electric SUV jumped to the top of the sales charts in its very first year and was the best-selling all-electric vehicle in countries such as Denmark, Finland, Ireland or Sweden. There are currently around 73,000 orders on hand worldwide for the successful model.

Articles source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

2022. In the first three months, the operating profit before special items increased to EUR 513 million (Q1 2021: EUR 490 million). Sales revenue came in at just under EUR 15 billion (Q1 2021: EUR 17.6 billion) due to an optimized model and price policy, while the number of deliveries in the same period came in at around one million vehicles (Q1 2021: 1.36 million) due to the war in Ukraine, the global semiconductor shortage and the most recent coronavirus measures in China. In contrast, the operating return on sales before special items rose to 3.4 percent (Q1 2021: 2.8 percent).

“We further improved our economic efficiency in a difficult environment. This underscores that Volkswagen has chosen the right path for achieving a lasting improvement in its competitiveness and profitability with the ACCELERATE strategy. We have therefore laid a very solid foundation for the accelerated transformation to zero-carbon and fully networked mobility,” says Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter.

Continued focus on cost efficiency – outlook for 2023 confirmed

Volkswagen is continuing to work hard on improving its cost efficiency – for example on further reducing its fixed costs and overheads – in order to strengthen its competitiveness long term. “We are currently facing different challenges such as the geopolitical uncertainty, commodity and energy price hikes and the effects of the pandemic in China. We’re working to counter these risks with our cost-cutting measures and by improving the quality of our operating result in specific areas. However, we’re sticking to our target of an operating return on sales of 6 percent in 2023,” said Volkswagen CFO Alexander Seitz. This forecast is contingent on how the war in Ukraine evolves and in particular on its impact on the global economy and thus on the Volkswagen brand’s business activities. Customer demand remains high for both ICE and electric models.

Further sharp rise in unit sales of all-electric models

53,400 all-electric vehicles (BEVs) were delivered in the first three months (+74 percent). The fully electric ID.4 plays a key role in this. More than one in two electric vehicles delivered was an ID.4, of which 30,300 units were handed over to customers. Volkswagen is now pressing ahead with the expansion of production capacity for its best-selling electric car. On May 20, 2022, the plant in Emden will start series production of the ID.4, creating additional capacity for the successful model. The ID.4 will also roll off the production line in Chattanooga in the United States in the second half of the year. The models of the entire ID. family continue to enjoy buoyant demand, with over 120,000 customer orders being placed for the ID. models in Europe alone.

The backlog of orders across all drive types reached a historic high of more than 670,000 vehicles in Europe alone. The Group is therefore working hard on keeping delivery times for customers as low as possible and processing the large backlog of orders swiftly.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com