Filed under: Convertibles, Marketing/Advertising, Volkswagen
VW Eos nearly sells out in Canada without advertising, launch campaign cancelled
What a pleasant "problem" to have! The Volkswagen Eos has left such an impression on Canadian drivers who already snapped one up, that dealer lots were picked clean of the Rabbit-based convertible purely on word of mouth alone. That's all well and good, but when you're an automaker with a new car to launch, you pull out all the stops for an advertising campaign to roll it out. As these cars were zipping off to homes, VW was in the middle of planning the Canadian marketing launch of the Eos. Looking at the numbers, it quickly became obvious that the car was selling itself, and that it no longer made sense to go through with the launch campaign. We're sure that VW's trying to figure out why that happened for the relatively affordable Eos, and not the über-sedan Phaeton.
Thanks for the tip, Erica
[Source: mediaincanada.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
chris 9:18PM (8/01/2007)
As one of the only FWD hardtop convertibles, it makes sense for Canadians holding out for a practical hardtop convertible for their climate. The turbo's nice too.
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dakota 10:36PM (8/01/2007)
Last time I checked the G6 comes standard with a hard top and the Sebring has a choice of 2 soft and 1 hard top, and they're wrong wheel drive too.
mmm 2:44AM (8/02/2007)
volvo has one too
AZ 9:36PM (8/01/2007)
Only saw it twice here in Toronto on the road....
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Henry 9:38PM (8/01/2007)
Wow, VW sold both of the Eos allotted to Canada without marketing!
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PiCASSO 9:48PM (8/01/2007)
Henry @ Aug 1st 2007 9:38PM
"Wow, VW sold both of the Eos allotted to Canada without marketing!"
Hahaha...
PiCASSO 9:49PM (8/01/2007)
But seriously... I'm curious on the amount of vehicles that VW alloted for Canada. 500? 1,000?
Bob-o 12:38AM (8/02/2007)
Why do they spec the US and Canadian models differently? In theory, they could ship all the excess US stock to Canada under NAFTA, right?
Rambo 9:48PM (8/01/2007)
This seems to be a questionable statement because figures are not given. Canada isn't one of VW biggest markets and I sure the volume supplied to dealers is very low.
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EEGeek 10:59PM (8/01/2007)
According to the VW.ca website, they sold 110 Eos in June, and 3778 overall. July figures should be up any time now. Overall VW sold 19,408 through the end of June.
jg3 10:42PM (8/01/2007)
Saw one on the lot here in upstate NY; it was $41,000 & change. No deal.
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Rambo 12:15AM (8/02/2007)
WHAT?! NICE 'PEOPLES' CAR"!
SOhp101 12:12AM (8/02/2007)
There's a lot more to engines than the way the cylinders are laid out.
It's a good thing the Eos is selling so well in Canada but what about the US?
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Nick Dasko 12:46AM (8/02/2007)
Well it sells so well because a fully loaded Eos 2.0T in Canada has an MSRP of under 43,000 while an entry level Volvo C70 starts at 56,000 and once you add leather and such you're up to over 64,000. With a Saab 9-3 Convertible starting at 52,000 Canadian its the cheapest European convertible in Canada.
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Nick 6:50AM (8/02/2007)
Please...do not put the Eos on par with the C70. "People don't get the C70 because a VW is 13K less..." Please, if you go with an Eos, you are NOT in the market for a Volvo. I assure you. Completely different markets.
I find it to be sad that this car is only 13K less than one of the hottest luxury cars on the planet. This is why VW struggles.
Chase 2:00PM (8/02/2007)
"Different markets" Que?
http://autos.aol.com/autos_compare?v1=9407|USB80VWC111D0&v2=9347|USB80VOC101A0&cur_page=details
Volvo, Volkswagen, & Saab are the "Sub-premium European" brands. They are the most direct competitors to each other.
The Eos is basically the same car as the C70, its just cheaper, more powerful, a bit smaller, and has a sunroof in the hardtop.
Derek Kreindler 2:54AM (8/02/2007)
I've seen maybe two on the road. Too bad, because the Phaeton is much better than this GTI-for-dentists-wives.
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moa 5:05AM (8/02/2007)
to sell phateon, they slap bentley badge on it and call it flying spur. ;]
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Realisticism 9:31AM (8/02/2007)
Nice advertisement with conveniently absent numbers. Tiring.
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clevershark 10:48AM (8/02/2007)
It's been sold out for some time, actually. My mother was interested in an Eos and went to the largest Montreal VW dealership to ask about it, and was told that no EOS would be available before at least December. That was about a month ago.
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