Volkswagen has redrawn the map of the small car world. The goal: to develop a small car with charisma, a small car with maximum space on a minimal footprint, a small car with the most fuel-efficient engines or an electric drive, a small car with intuitive infotainment and operating systems, a small car with the safety of a large car. The result is the new up! It measures a short 3.54 metres and is a specialist for everyday urban living that was thought through to the last detail. This car – like the larger Polo and the even larger Golf – will appeal to people of all ages and mobility wishes. Read the rest of this entry »
A look back to the start: at the beginning Volkswagen built one of the most successful cars of all time and did not even give it a name. Why should it? After all, it was the Volkswagen! People loved it, and on all of the world’s continents the small car was nicknamed according to precisely what it looked like: Beetle, Käfer, Vocho, Coccinelle, Fusca, Maggiolino or 甲壳虫! It embodied the automotive concept itself and symbolised the democratisation of mobility. 21.5 million cars were sold. Then the New Beetle arrived in 1998. It introduced a new automotive feeling to the world and brought with it Beetle Mania. In 2010, the Final Edition completed the New Beetle series that had sold more than one million cars. And now? A look forward. The future of the most famous car in the world begins now. In a completely new generation. It’s The Beetle! And because Volkswagen and the Beetle call the globe their home, the new car is celebrating a transcontinental world debut – simultaneously in Shanghai, Berlin and New York. Read the rest of this entry »
The Volkswagen bus, like no other car, stands for the spirit of freedom. It debuted over 60 years ago in 1950 with a contagiously simple design. Its internal Volkswagen code name was T1 for Transporter 1. The Germans called it the Bulli, and to Americans it was the Microbus. It was driven on all continents. And the world’s first van is still appreciated by a fan base which spans the globe. Now Volkswagen is reinterpreting the compact original form of this automotive legend and sending it into the future – in the form of a concept vehicle for a new generation Bulli! It is spacious like it was in 1950, it is as inspirational as ever, and it has clean styling like never before. Read the rest of this entry »
In its presentation of the new Golf Cabriolet at the 81st Geneva International Motor Show, Volkswagen is writing a new chapter of a global success story. The four-seater has an innovative soft top with an electro-hydraulic drive that opens the Golf’s top in just 9.5 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »
Future mobility is one of the most stimulating topics of our time. The key question here: Just how much could the energy consumption of cars be reduced if all the stops were pulled out for efficiency? There is now an answer to this question, and Volkswagen is delivering it in the form of the new XL1. Combined fuel consumption: 0.9 l/100 km. No other hybrid car powered by an electric motor / internal combustion engine combination is more fuel efficient. The prototype will be unveiled in a world debut at the Qatar Motor Show (26 – 29 January). Read the rest of this entry »
The Jetta – whose latest version was tailored to the USA more than ever – is the most successful car in America with German technology. Now, that best-seller is being followed by the world premiere of a car in the next class up – another model that Volkswagen has specifically developed for the United States: the entirely new Passat. Larger, more comfortable, more efficient and with higher quality than ever. The car’s technology and styling came from Germany, while Volkswagen of America provided the conceptual direction. The saloon will be built in the new US plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Market launch begins in mid-August.
Even the base version is driven by a powerful 125 kW / 170 PS five-cylinder petrol engine (extra urban driving range with automatic transmission: 31 mpg). Other engine options: an extremely economical Clean Diesel (TDI) with 102 kW / 140 PS (43 mpg extra urban) and a six-cylinder petrol engine, the VR6 with 206 kW / 280 PS, which is paired with a standard dual clutch transmission (DSG). The alliance of VR6 and DSG makes the Passat a top-flight sports saloon (28 mpg extra urban; 0-60 mph in 6.5 s). Read the rest of this entry »
With over 15 million cars sold, the Passat by Volkswagen is one of the most successful automobiles in the world. Now there is a new Passat. It is the seventh generation since 1973. The styling of the bestseller was completely re-interpreted, and its front end shows parallels to the Phaeton and is more impressive than ever. Furthermore, the Passat has always mirrored the course of technological progress. And this applies unreservedly to the seventh Passat, which will launch simultaneously as a saloon and estate car. The overall range of technological innovatio¬ns now implemented in the Passat Trendline (entry-level), Passat Comfortline (mid-level) and Passat Highline (top model) has reached a scale previously found only in upper and luxury class cars. Read the rest of this entry »
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