Volkswagen is in a unique position to leverage on its past and future at the same time, to reach its goal of being the world No.1 car company by 2018.
On one hand, Volkswagen has invested heavily in new technology that will power their future and on the other hand their old technologies/platforms live on in China.
This leaves Volkswagen in a very good position as it plans to develop its own low cost brand (speculated as Tantus) for the emerging markets. The emerging market plan could have vehicles that are region specific as well, like the Mk2 Jetta we show you here.
We all know that Volkswagen is hatching plans to compete against Nissan's Datsun by developing products that will be priced below 5,000 euros. We also know that these low cost products will be like boxing day dinners – developed using old VW technologies that are outdated by now.
ChinaCarTimes reports that the MK2 VW Jetta has been chosen to be a part of the Tantus portfolio for China. Based on the old PQ32 platform, the old Jetta is quite a popular car in China since 1991. VW would want to make anywhere between 450,000 to 800,000 units annually.
VW would not be the first company to use a past (read established) car and modify it for a low cost brand. Datsun's first product for the Russian market is going to be an altercation of the Lada Kalina.
The report comes after FAW-VW’s Vice President Mr. Qin Huan Ming confirmed to the media (without revealing the name of the brand) that a low cost brand is planned and that the Mk2 Jetta could be a donor car for the first offering.
Senior executives of the FAW-VW management (one of Volkswagen’s JV in China) have reached Germany to discuss the possibility of comprehensively using the PQ32 platform to develop multiple products for the Tantus range. There is a possibility of four new products that could be developed by FAW-VW for the Tantus brand, two of them being compact sedans, a MPV and also a compact goods vehicle.
The low cost car market in China is expected to hit volumes of 3.5 million vehicles per year. Most of the growth will come from third and fourth tier city markets.
We face a similar situation in India where most metros and tier 1 cities are showing sign of slowing down. The next wave of growth will come from lower rung cities and rural towns who would love to own a cheaper Volkswagen.
[Source: Chinacartimes.com; Image - AutoHome.com.cn]
