Germany's Spiegel Online is reporting that currency concerns will force Volkswagen to not sell the upcoming Mk VI Golf in the United States, Brazil, and Australia. It all boils down to profitability, and it appears that the forthcoming Golf simply cannot be sold in our market (or Brazil or Australia) in the current economic climate without falling short of VW's targets. Thus, Spiegel reports that VW boss Martin Winterkorn told a meeting of the board that the next Golf won't make an appearance here in the States, period. The original article (in German) is here, and any German-speaking readers are welcome to add clarity to the report in the comments below.
In the US, the Golf (Rabbit) family is VW's second-highest seller behind the Jetta. If this drastic measure does indeed come to pass, we're left wondering what, if anything, would fill that void. Would the current Mk V soldier on, much in the same way VW continues to offer the Mk IV in markets like Canada under the City moniker? This is going to be an interesting story to follow, regardless of what ultimately transpires. Thanks to all who sent tips.
It looks like Porsche's aggressive advances at Volkswagen are less than welcome by Volkswagen's management. Its CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has warned Porsche to keep its mitts out of operations, saying that he will resign his position if there's interference. Winterkorn isn't alone in his agitation, as Der Spigel reports Audi managers are concerned that Porsche will go a-meddling in Ingolstadt once its stake increases above 50 percent. Though VW, Audi, and Porsche are all cousins of a sort, Audi's product line comes uncomfortably close to Porsches in some cases, which doesn't portend well for the continuation of the status quo. Stay tuned as "Alle Meine Kinder," brought to you by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, continues.
[Source: Forbes, Photo by MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP/Getty]
"Do you need the Polo?" That's going to be Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn's query to US dealers when he meets with them this week. The answer could determine whether or not we see a sub-Golf sized VeeDub here in the United States. Rising fuel prices have made small cars big again, and VW's taking a hard look at capitalizing on that. The inrush of Volkswagen's competitors to smaller models also makes the segment hard to ignore. BMW's got the hotly anticipated 1-series, Daimler's trend-tastic Smart has been foisted upon us, Saturn's slick Astra is nearly here, and Ford's threatening to give us the Fiesta in a couple of years, too. If we were a VW dealer, our answer to Winterkorn would be a resounding "YES!"
Having unique character might be good for enthusiasts, but it's not so good for the bottom line, and Martin Winterkorn is more concerned about the latter. That's why the CEO of Volkswagen AG is planning on remaking its struggling Seat brand in a new mold.
Although not offered in the North American market, overseas buyers know Seat by the "auto emocion" moniker, positioning the Spanish carmaker as the group's sportier subsidiary offering more aggressive-looking models compared to the more traditional images of the Volkswagen and Skoda divisions (Hmm, sounds like the European version of Pontiac). Unfortunately, that strategy hasn't seemed to pay off for Seat, and to keep it in the black, Winterkorn is ordering a change of strategy that involves appealing to a wider customer base and cutting ten percent of its workforce.
We can't help but wonder what Seat will have to offer if it's brand image is tossed aside. But treading on each other's turf seems to be the strategy du jour at Volkswagen group, where VWs go upmarket to compete with Audis and the corporate structure includes three ultra-premium brands. Whether Winterkorn's strategy pays off remains to be seen.
Audi has raided the castle at Wolfsburg and changes are in store. New boss Martin Winterkorn has ordered that the new Scirocco, Golf and Passat be presented for scrutiny. Rounding out the new royal court at Volkswagen will be a coterie of raiders from Ingolstadt, among them Walter de'Silva. de'Silva will be tweezing the look of the new cars until Winterkorn is satsified. Also, the petrol-powered V10 returns to the Touareg, giving back a unique offering and hopefully enticing sales. We're not sure what Mr. Winterkorn doesn't like about the styling of the new cars, but we're hopeful that de'Silva will be allowed to stretch his legs and stun us when the re-designs start trickling out. As Winterkorn consolidates and centralizes power in Wolfsburg, we're sure to see bigger changes coming out of Volkswagen and its brands. We're all for it - what's the worst they can do, screw up? Judging from de'Silva's portfolio, that's not bloody likely.
The latest news in the regime change at Volkswagen is that incoming group chief Prof. Martin Winterkorn is planning some big changes in management structure across the entire corporate spectrum.
Although several don't operate in the US market, Volkswagen AG has grown to GM-like proportions in the number of marques under its umbrella. However, rather unlike GM and other auto-making conglomerates, Volkswagen group members don't cooperate as much in the development of new products. (The Volkswagen and Audi brands, for instance, will often develop separate vehicles with different engines, sometimes even competing against each other, but which could be combined into one project.) As Audi chief, Winterkorn can't have been happy to see Volkswagen stealing any of its market share.
Winterkorn plans on changing all that, placing the group's marques into two categories: volume and premium. Like Ford's Premier Automotive Group (which includes Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin), VW's new "premium" group will include Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti, while the "volume" group will include Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda. All this should mean better products offered in more packages at lower costs with reduced development times. And that's something any car buyer could appreciate.
What else can we expect from Winterkorn? It's doubtful he'd be willing to throw as much resources behind Bugatti as did his predecessor, but as we can see from Audi's diesel-fueled domination at Le Mans, he evidently believes in the benefits of racing.
The surprise resignation of Volkswagen CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder may have been orchestrated by VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech (grandson of Ferdinand Porsche) and major VW shareholder, Porsche.
Analysts have long speculated that Piech was grooming Audi CEO Martin Winterkorn as Pischetsrieder's replacement, while Porsche's 20-percent holding in VW saw Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking gain a seat on the VW supervisory board, alongside Porsche's CFO.
Tuesday's move has analysts speculating that Porsche may expand its influence over VW by increasing its stake enough to gain a third board seat, with some investment bankers going so far as to suggest that Porsche may attempt to buy VW outright, or to swap its stake in VW for control of Audi.
Audi's next salvo in its rapidly expanding softroader arsenal, the Q5, will be built in Ingolstadt, Germany. The announcement came this week, courtesy of Audi's Chariman of the Board, Dr. Martin Winterkorn. Production of the new model is expected to commence in 2008, involving about 1,700 workers. The decision is being touted by the automaker as an important demonstration of their commitment to their assembly operations in Germany. This is the second sign of the automaker's investment in its motherland, as Audi announced not long ago that its coming R8 supercar is to be build in Neckarsulm, a German city near Stuttgart.
The 
Paris Preview: Officially Official, Honda's new hybrid is the Insight!
Mazda Kiyora city car concept, MX-5 facelift head to Paris
Leaked: Official updated Mazda MX-5 image
Reader Spy: Chevy Volt caught on set of Transformers 2
Spy Shot: Production interior of Chevy Volt (maybe)
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged
By the Numbers - August 2008: New Digs Edition
In the Autoblog Garage: KITT Shelby GT500 KR
First Drive: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Nissan Murano
