Volkswagen unveils its biggest ever product offensive in China with plans to launch up to 8 new models in China including NEVs and compact SUVs.
16 Apr 2019 | 11932 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
At the ongoing 2019 Auto Shanghai, Volkswagen unveiled 3 new cars for the Chinese market. Present at the press conference were Dr Stephan Wollenstein (CEO of Volkswagen Group China), Liu Yigong (General Manager of FAW Volkswagen) and Chen Xianzhang (president of Shanghai-Volkswagen), Dong Xiuhui (commercial vehicle vice president, FAW-Volkswagen Automotive and ...
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At the ongoing 2019 Auto Shanghai, Volkswagen unveiled 3 new cars for the Chinese market. Present at the press conference were Dr Stephan Wollenstein (CEO of Volkswagen Group China), Liu Yigong (General Manager of FAW Volkswagen) and Chen Xianzhang (president of Shanghai-Volkswagen), Dong Xiuhui (commercial vehicle vice president, FAW-Volkswagen Automotive and President of FAW-Volkswagen sales ) and Jia Mingdi (executive vice president of sales and marketing, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive).
At the press conference, Dr Stephan announced that Volkswagen is going to launch 5 new models in 2019, which is said to be its biggest ever product offensive in China. The 5 models will include the next generation of Polo and Sagitar and three completely new models including T-Cross and a small-size SUV.
The newly launched Volkswagen Teramont X is said to be Volkswagen’s first SUV coupe model in China. The Teramont X comes with 4905mm body length and 2980mm wheelbase. It comes loaded with a digital cockpit, intelligent driver identification system and adaptive damping control. Apart from the SUV, Jia Mingdi also announced the launch of the new Polo which has already been sold to 1.9 million consumers in China. He revealed that the new Polo has made a big leap in terms of design, manoeuvering, safety and entertainment features. The wheelbase has also been extended by 94mm. It is set for launch in May. In the NEV segment, Jia revealed that e-Lavida is already on display at their stall in Auto Shanghai 2019.
The next generation of Sagitar TSI, the first car to adopt Volkswagen’s new MQB A2 platform was unveiled. It has the body size of a B-class sedan. During the unveiling, Dong Xiuhui announced that they have already ventured into NEVs (new energy vehicles) with e-Golf which would represent FAW-Volkswagen’s brand new energy strategy.
The press conference also saw the unveiling of ID. Roomzz, a concept electric SUV and the next generation zero emission SUV from Volkswagen. It is also the largest SUV that they are planning to come up with on their fully electric MEB platform. The SUV features a different kind of seating configuration which has been designed to offer more space inside the car. They call it as the ‘lounge of wheels’. It also comes with a fully digital dashboard. The steering wheel actually acts as a secondary display floating in front of the driver. It comes with 225 kW all-wheel drive. Dr Stephan revealed that the vehicle comes with a fully autonomous ID pilot mode. The car will be first launched in China in 2021.
Dr Stephan proclaimed that they aim to be the number one NEV brand in China and the ID.Roomzz will be playing an important part in that. In his concluding note he said, “With our local partners FAW and SAIC, we have supported the development of China’s auto industry and we have been fortunate to experience great success here. We have served over 30 million customers. We employ over 100,000 employees directly with many more working for our dealer network and suppliers. Today, China leads globally in many aspects such as e-mobility.”
Celebrating its 35th year as a brand in the Chinese market, Dr Stephan revealed that in order to commemorate 70th anniversary People’s Republic of China (PRC), Volkswagen showcased all the three models in a specially created red colour.