Volkswagen Financial Services are electrifying the fleet of Siemens AG together with the Volkswagen brand: the company's fleet will be gradually supplemented with up to 1,000 leased Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles. These all-electric vehicles are part of the electrification and sustainability strategy pursued by Siemens, one of the largest and longest established industrial companies in Germany.

"Fleets of companies and public authorities provide significant leverage for the market ramp-up of e-mobility. Therefore, the electrification of vehicle fleets is also of central importance to us at Volkswagen Financial Services. We are observing that more and more fleet managers are also electrifying their service vehicles. This shows how suitable and practical electric mobility has become for everyday use," said Armin Villinger, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen Leasing GmbH.

"The fleet customer business is of great importance to Volkswagen. That is why we are pleased to continue our long-standing and trusting cooperation with Siemens into the era of electromobility," stressed Achim Schaible, Chairman and Spokesman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Germany.

Siemens has set ambitious goals for the electrification of its own fleet within the framework of its sustainability strategy. The company aims to make the entire fleet CO2-neutral and fully electric by 2030. "The electrification of our fleet is a clear commitment to achieving our climate goals. But we also want to be a pioneer in our industry and send a clear signal for sustainable fleet management in line with our DEGREE framework," explained Stefan Kurz, Head of Global Fleet Management at Siemens. He added: "We chose the Volkswagen ID.4 because, in our opinion, the vehicle offers a good combination of range, charging speed, trunk volume, and price."

The ID.4 is the first all-electric compact SUV from the Volkswagen brand. It is produced and offered for sale in China, the USA, and Europe. The modular electric drive matrix (MEB) forms the technical backbone of Volkswagen's electric offensive. In the case of the ID.4, the design of the MEB platform allows for a very spacious interior. At the same time, the car impresses with its strong driving performance and maximum ranges of up to 512 kilometers or 531 kilometers (the two versions in the WLTP cycle). Its quick-charging capability with up to 135 kW helps it cope with long distances.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

The Golf is the heart of the Volkswagen brand – and it stands for the term “bestseller” like hardly any other model. More than 37 million vehicles have been sold in eight generations. Volkswagen is celebrating the popular model to mark its 50th birthday next year. After all, the Golf has not only shaped mobility in Germany, but also in many other regions all over the world. However, the company is not just looking back as part of the birthday celebrations: the world premiere of the new Golf will take place already at the end of January – and like its predecessors, it will bring numerous innovations into series production.

Most successful European car
It was an automotive revolution when Volkswagen presented the first Golf and thus the successor to the legendary Beetle in 1974: with front-wheel drive (instead of rear engine) and a variable overall concept thanks to the large boot lid and folding rear seat backrest. In addition, the straight-line design created by Giorgetto Giugiaro helped Volkswagen adopt a new style, which was also continued in its successors. The Golf quickly became a true “Volkswagen”, and the first million units were sold as early as 1976. More than 37 million vehicles have been delivered to date. This makes the compact car the most successful European car, the best-selling Volkswagen of all time – and an icon.

No matter which generation – the secret of success was and still is the sum of all its characteristics. This is because the Golf has always been a perfect companion for everyday life, embodying versatility, functionality, reliability and quality. Over the decades, the portfolio has been expanded to include further variants: whether Golf GTI, Golf Cabriolet or Golf Variant, or many others. With each new model generation, state-of-the-art technologies, safety concepts and convenience features have been incorporated into the compact class. The Volkswagen Golf has thus democratised not just technologies such as the monitored catalytic converter and anti-lock braking system, but also airbags, cruise control and electronic assist systems as well as mild and plug-in hybrid drives.

In the anniversary year 2024, Volkswagen will present the evolutionary development of the eighth Golf generation. It will impress with visually refined features, new assist systems and powertrains, and also next-generation infotainment systems and software. The world premiere of the new Golf is just a few weeks away, with pre-sales scheduled for spring 2024.

Keeping history alive Volkswagen Classic will also accompany the Golf in its anniversary year and will present historic Golf models from the Volkswagen collection on numerous occasions. From 31 January to 4 February 2024, the Golf Generations I to VII will enhance Volkswagen France’s presence at the “Salon Rétromobile” show in Paris. Directly afterwards, from 2 to 4 February 2024, Volkswagen will show a Golf I and the unique EA 276 concept car – the Golf predecessor from 1969 developed in Wolfsburg – at the “Bremen Classic Motorshow”.

Media information and stories about the Golf
Further information, numerous texts and image material on the Golf in its eight generations can be downloaded from the Volkswagen Newsroom. Additional background information, detailed information on the model history and many stories about the successful model can also be found at Volkswagen Classic.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Under the motto “Coming Home – Reloaded”, Wolfsburg will become the new home for the GTI fan community next summer: The legendary meetup will take place in the vicinity of the VfL Wolfsburg stadium from July 26 – 28, 2024 and will be organized in cooperation with the Autostadt. In addition to vehicle presentations, stage shows and club meets, there will be many other activities and surprises for GTI enthusiasts.

As Imelda Labbé, Member of the Board of Management for Sales, Marketing and After Sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, explained: “The GTI isn’t the only icon – the GTI Meeting has also acquired cult status over the decades. We feel it’s important to give the GTI community a new home at the heart of our brand here in Wolfsburg!” Volkswagen is giving fans plenty of time to make their plans by announcing the date early: The big GTI party will be held on the last weekend in July 2024.

GTI – these three letters have stood for sportiness, emotions and dynamics for almost half a century. The fan community all over the world is still growing today and the cult brand enthusiasts meet regularly in clubs and exchange information with one another in GTI communities. Since 1982, the largest GTI meetup has traditionally taken place at Lake Wörthersee in Austria. However, in early 2023 the Maria Wörth local municipality announced that it would no longer host the annual event. Volkswagen therefore decided to bring the GTI Meeting home to Wolfsburg. Official GTI meets – complementing the Lake Wörthersee events – were already held outside the gates of the Volkswagen factory back in 2017 and 2018.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

The new ID.7 from Volkswagen has received the top score of five stars in the renowned Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) safety test. This puts the all-electric limousine among the best-rated models of 2023 in the overall ranking by the independent European test organisation. With its five-star rating, the ID.7 joins the ranks of the other ID. models that have also received the highest award.

The Euro NCAP safety assessment is based on the results in four categories. The ID.7 achieved the best result in the 'Occupant protection for adults’ category with a rating of 95 per cent. Likewise, the ID.7 achieved excellent results for ‘Occupant protection for children’, ‘Protection of unprotected road users’ and the driver assist systems available as standard.

Good marks thanks to driver assist systems
Alongside occupant protection, Euro NCAP also examines how well automatic emergency braking systems can protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists in the event of an impending collision. The testers additionally attach great importance to other standard assist systems. The ID.7 Pro has the following systems on board:

• Oncoming vehicle braking when turning and swerve support
• Driver Attention Monitor and Driver Alert System
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
• Travel Assist, Lane Assist and Emergency Assist
• Memory function for Park Assist
• Autonomous Emergency Braking Front Assist with Pedestrian and Cyclist Monitoring
• Park Assist Plus including Park Distance Control
• Side Assist, Rear Traffic Alert and exit warning system
• Area View including rear view camera system
• Dynamic Road Sign Display

Another technology that every ID.7 in Germany has on board is Car2X. This allows the vehicle to communicate with other vehicles and the traffic infrastructure to exchange information about local hazards.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com