Volkswagen is now again cutting back on the model program and significantly reducing the list of optional equipment.
Volkswagen needs to be slimmed down. And in several ways.
Already in June of last year, it was announced from the director's corridors in Wolfsburg that the brand must find a staggering 10.6 billion euros in savings. This corresponds to just under DKK 80 billion.
This, in turn, must mean that Volkswagen's sales grow by 6.5 percent by 2026 at the latest. And that without the brand necessarily having to ask employees to take pay cuts or leave their jobs.
Having said that, the savings plan is going to hurt large parts of the German brand's model range. Volkswagen wants to get rid of its niche models.
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– We will focus on a small number of Volkswagen's core models. It must cut down on complexity (in production, ed.) and give a higher profit, said director Thomas Schäfer.
And now something has happened. Because according to an email Volkswagen sent to Motor 1 , the last Arteon sedan, which is technically a liftback, was built in 2023. The factory in Emden, Germany, simply isn't building the car anymore.
If you look at the Arteon's sales figures, they are not impressive either. In the first 5 months of 2024, only one Arteon has been given Danish number plates. Porsche has sold twice as many – again, it's 2 units – 718 RS Spyder.
The estate car version, which is again technically a shooting brake, will be allowed to live on a little longer. At the factory in the city of Osnabrück, the Arteon assembly line will not stop until 2026.
Back in June 2023, Thomas Schäfer would not say anything about which other models follow the Arteon into the grave. But it is certain that more cars will go that way. Among other things. because Volkswagen will use the money to reduce the development time.
Right now, Volkswagen is a little more than 4 years, 50 months to be exact, to develop a new car. Because the model program will be smaller, it must be cut to 36 months. So 3 years.
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