Volkswagen Releases Teaser Sketch

What is this, some kind of a joke?!

You have to love the fun folks at Volkswagen. Promising editors that a high resolution photo of its proposed new Chattanooga-made midsize sedan was available for downloading, eager journalists streamed over to the designated page to find none other than a roughly drawn sketch. That’s right, a scribbled outline of what the new VW will look like.

Publicity Stunt?

Maybe we shouldn’t be upset with VW for pulling such a stunt, given that the company wants to hold the vehicle as close to the vest as possible. Due to be released in 2011, the newest VW is being designed and built for the North American market exclusively. That means the Passat will return overseas while a made for America model gets sold in its place instead.

So why the secrecy and false move? I can think of at least four reasons: Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Chevrolet Malibu. Include the Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima and a host of other midsize sedans with those four and you probably are beginning to understand what I’m getting at: Volkswagen is seeking to find its place in an incredibly tight and popular segment of autodom. Leak too much information in advance and your competition will discover what you’re up to and make needed adjustments in order to repel the new kid on the block.

Chattanooga Plant

The Chattanooga factory, which will be VW’s first US plant since closing down Westmoreland (PA) in the late 1980s, is now under construction. Volkswagen will begin producing the first of its unnamed sedan in late 2011 for the 2012 model year. When fully ramped up, initial capacity will be 150,000 units, but bet on it being doubled if the secretive sedan is a hit. After all, VW wants to increase its US market share and it can’t rely on Audi alone to do that for them.

Speaking of market share, Volkswagen has been on a tear of late, increasing market share while holding down its year to year losses to under ten percent. Even with the end of  “cash for clunkers” in August, Volkswagen saw its month over month sales drop by less than one percent for September 2009. Credit hot cars like the Jetta, Golf and CC with helping to bolster VW sales.

Concept Debut

Will VW release something beyond the horrid sketch anytime soon? Don’t count on it, but expect that at some US auto show in the near future a mock-up concept of this midsize sedan will be rolled out, a tangible teaser we can all wag our tongues over.

Ugly sketch courtesy of Volkswagen.

Toyota Stays No. 1, But Barely

How is this for an amazing bit of news?

Bankrupt General Motors, which has been losing market share like crazy since last year, nearly beat out Toyota during the first half of this year for global sales.  Toyota sold 3.56 million vehicles during that time span, while GM sold 3.55 million, a difference of just 10,000 cars.

Having relinquished its 77 year long hold on the top spot just last year, news that GM nearly overtook Toyota is nothing short of stunning. However, a look at the operations of both companies reveals that over the past several months Toyota sales have dropped more precipitously than GM in the United States while GM sales in China continued to surge.

Strong 2nd Quarter

Perhaps most telling is that GM actually outsold Toyota in the second quarter as the automaker rode a Chinese sales wave to beat out Toyota 1.94 to 1.4 million vehicles. That may carry forward to the third quarter as GM stabilizes its losses and keeps production levels realistic. Toyota will soon be ramping up production of its hybrid models, but will there be enough demand to justify the increased production?

But both manufacturers have more pressing business to contend with than an annual sales battle. GM is on government life support, having emerged from bankruptcy in July with all of its most troubled assets left behind. The automaker has lost tens of billions of dollars over the past five years while Toyota itself has been posting record losses and is expected to continue to do so this fiscal year.

Volkswagen Presses In

Of course, if keeping track of sales is your thing then you may be interested in noting that Volkswagen is gaining on both companies, having sold 3.1 million vehicles in the same period. Indeed, some analysts are openly predicting that Volkswagen will soon become the new #1, letting Toyota and GM fight for the second slot.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

See Also — Study Reveals That Americans Open To Cars From China, India