A Chat With VW: Automaker Outlines Product, Sales Strategy Amid Crisis
We talk with VW product marketing boss Joerg Sommer in Detroit.
At a time when automakers flaunt their latest accomplishments and new products, Volkswagen started off the Detroit auto show on a humble note with more apologies for the diesel scandal, yet optimism for the future. Matthias Mueller spoke to U.S. media for the first time as CEO at a reception prior to the show, saying the company's top priority for 2016 is regaining consumer trust. We sat down with Joerg Sommer, vice president of product marketing for the Volkswagen brand in the U.S, who shared with us further details on Volkswagen's attack plan.
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"We need to consider much stronger the needs of the U.S. market in our product planning," Sommer said in summation of Mueller's sentiments the previous night and VW's remarks during Monday's press conference. Now that he has been at his current post for about two years, he's already starting to see the change in the way things work. Executives in the U.S. now have a more direct say in product decisions in Germany, and Sommer meets with designers to provide feedback on product usability from U.S. customers and dealers. Often it's the little things that make a difference -- while European customers like cupholders that can be covered when not in use, drivers in the U.S. prefer cupholders easily accessible and open. "Anything you do that is small and closed is not so convenient for the U.S. customer," he said. As far as changes on the tech side, Sommer says that VW's infotainment strategy should focus not on Europe but on the U.S. market first, considering the 'States is the leader and trendsetter in this space.
Electrification Plan
That's just one part of the strategy. Along with increasing its awareness of the U.S. market, VW's other big goal is electrification. Sommer, who headed Volkswagen Group's Electric Mobility sales and marketing before taking his current position, is quite familiar with the quest to electrify VW. For the future, VW aims to make electric vehicles into volume models. The e-Golf, currently VW's first and only full electric vehicle sold in the U.S., has seen a drop in starting price and will increase range by 30 percent on next year's model. By that logic, the car, now rated by the EPA at 83 miles, should breach the 100-mile mark. Beyond that point, VW aims for volume EVs to reach beyond 150 miles in the future. New cars, like the Tiguan GTE Active Concept shown at the Detroit show, will ride on the new MQB platform that can accommodate a variety of drivetrains from mild hybrids, traditional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric vehicles. That means more flexibility for product offerings.
"You cannot just offer electric vehicles," Sommer said. "You need to have other electrification [options] in your portfolio for different customer needs."
That said, EVs will also play an important role. Toward the end of this decade, VW will go further and we'll see elements from the Budd-E concept in action. "Whether this specific vehicle will materialize or not, that's something still to decide. But I think it was a vision model of technology we are committed to bringing to the market. It's not a research vehicle."
By using the MEB platform specifically designed for EVs, previewed on the Budd-E concept from CES, we can expect more from car interiors in the future. "This kind of car platform will change the proportions of cars in a way that you get the interior size of one class of vehicle up because you can push the wheels out and you have very little overhangs because you don't need an engine compartment anymore." The platform can also accommodate multiple body styles, VW says. Sommer says the U.S. market will drive electrification, and that's why the company is investing $7 billion in manufacturing plants between Mexico and the U.S. over the next few years.
