Volkswagen commercial vehicles to use new launches to push growth

27 September 2008

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has made five world premieres at IAA Commercial Vehicles, including a preview of the Volkswagen Pickup which will be launched as the fourth new series of light commercial vehicles towards the end of 2009.

The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand is on a growth track - deliveries to customers on a worldwide basis rose by 9.3 per cent to 343,100 light and heavy commercial vehicles by the end of August.

''New products, new markets, new technology - the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand continues to experience sustainable and profitable growth'', emphasized Stephan Schaller, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles told eporters at a press conference.

The brand intends to increase its worldwide deliveries of light commercial vehicles to 800,000 units by 2018. According to Schaller, this growth will be achieved by introducing new products and by developing variants of the existing product range, some of which can be seen for the first time at IAA Commercial Vehicles.

The most spectacular highlight of the trade fair from VWCV's perspective is its first ever presentation of a Volkswagen pickup show car. This adds a fourth series (in addition to Caddy, T5 and Crafter) to the brand's range of light commercial vehicles, which already boasts an extensive set of variants.

This means that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be the first volume manufacturer in Europe to enter the 1-tonne pickup segment, with its high growth global potential. According to Schaller, the key markets for the Volkswagen Pickup are the countries of South America - especially Brazil. He also sees South Africa, Australia and South East Asia as being important markets for this universally adaptable commercial vehicle. And the vehicle will also be introduced into the European market. Overall sales projections for the new Pickup amount to around 100,000 units per year.