Martin Sander’s Post

The North America Region is key to Volkswagen – it’s among the top in the world  – and when I visited last week I was greeted by energy, enthusiasm and great commitment to our brand.    ➡ The strong performance of #VW in the region is one of our key pillars. In the #US, #Volkswagen is one of the fastest growing volume brands, with an updated #portfolio that includes our popular seven-seater mid-size SUV, the #Atlas, and the elegant #Jetta sedan.   ➡ In #Canada, sales have been at a #record high in 2024, with a strong line up of models that will help them to build on this success further.   ➡ And in #Mexico, Volkswagen is making history as the most #digital #brand in the field of automotive, with every key social media platform providing fans with exciting content that’s having a real impact on growth.   It’s been a real pleasure to meet and exchange with #colleagues and #dealers, who have plenty to look forward to with the all-new #Tiguan on its way. I’d like to thank them all for their outstanding commitment and energy. And for a truly warm welcome! 👍

They call it the city of love, and here on day one at the Mondial de l’Auto - Paris there’s been no shortage of passion for our products, which include an #EV for less than 30,000 Euros and our brilliant new #SUV – the #Tayron*.   🔹 Sharing the limelight on the Volkswagen stand is the ID. GTI Concept**. This show car looks ahead to the small electric #VW that will hit the roads with the ID.2 in 2026, priced at less than 25,000 Euros. In the meantime, the ID.3 is on offer in #Germany and now in #France at less than 30,000 Euros.    🔹 From e-mobility to flexibility, the public debut of the Tayron was a great success – and that’s because there’s a lot to love about this up-to-seven-seater. Spacious, comfortable and great-looking, it will come with a choice of seven power units, including two innovative new plug-in-hybrids.   The #Volkswagen portfolio is broad and it’s brilliant but best of all it gives customers choice. It was fantastic to witness such enthusiasm for the products we’ve brought to #Paris. What a city. And what a day! *Near-production concept car. The vehicle has not gone on sale yet. **Concept Car

🆕 We often talk about a box-ticking exercise as if it’s a negative thing. But what about when you find something that ticks every box? Something that’s as #practical as it is #efficient. As packed with technology as it is #comfortable. As beautifully designed as it is versatile. I’m talking about the new #Tayron – an #SUV that is pure Volkswagen, through and through.   ➡ Today marked the world #premiere of this brilliant new car, which will ultimately be offered with a choice of seven efficient and innovative drive systems: mild #hybrid, #plug-in hybrid, #petrol and #diesel. Available with five or seven seats, it offers best-in-class #comfort, a long #range, and up to 2,000 litres of boot #space. It can also tow up to 2.5 tonnes.   I’ll be there when the Tayron is unveiled at the #Paris Motor Show on Monday and I can’t wait to get feedback on a car that is exactly what #Volkswagen customers have been asking for. It’s a box ticker – and in the best possible way.

🆕 Inspiring customers to switch to e-mobility is Volkswagen’s primary goal and now, as well as offering our great #ID family of #EVs, we’ve launched a smart #charger in Europe that can reduce domestic charging costs by up to 40 per cent. The Elli Charger 2 #wallbox integrates a home’s #photovoltaic system and monitors market prices so that the car always charges when cheap, ‘green’ #electricity is available. It’s part of #VW’s unique EV eco-system that covers everything from the #car, to the wallbox, a dedicated flexible #energy tariff, photovoltaic technology and access to 770,000 public charging points in Europe. Because simplifying access to charging and energy products is as crucial to a successful #transition as the attractiveness of our cars. https://lnkd.in/ewfbiGxn

It really was a great honour to join the German #Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice #Chancellor, Robert Habeck, at the Volkswagen factory in #Emden today. It’s here, in the far north-west of Germany, that the ID.4* and ID.7** are being built with great skill and passion, by people who care very deeply – about the #brand, about #mobility and about the #future.   Walking along the #production line of the super-efficient, spacious, comfortable and fast-charging electric #VW ID.7 – which was voted the ‘German Car of the Year 2024’ – felt like the perfect place to discuss the future of the German #automotive industry. Right now we need the support of the #German and #European administrations to act decisively and quickly to safeguard the future of #sustainable #mobility.    As you may expect, we talked about: ➡ How to reignite the love for #electric cars in Germany ➡ The broad and appealing electric #portfolio that we have in the pipeline, with eight exciting new electric #Volkswagen models due to hit the roads by 2027. ➡ The electric entry-level segment: from the ID.2*** to the forthcoming 20,000-euro ‘#Volksstromer’. ➡ The conversion of our factories towards #electromobility and how we are investing massive sums in training our workforce for the transition.   But we also pressed how the #transformation into the electric age is not progressing as quickly as anyone expected, or planned.   The truth is that major shifts in #technology and attitude don't happen overnight or without help in these initial stages. We need #politicians to play their part in engaging consumers, increasing confidence, and in making visible progress in #infrastructure so that everyone can reap the economical, ecological and practical benefits that e-mobility will bring.   We need more momentum. We need effective, reliable political frameworks in place. And we need to come together: for the benefit of car manufacturers, their workforces, the economy and every single person who drives a car. In short, we need action. * ID.4 - Power consumption in kWh/100 km: combined 18.7 - 15.9 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions in g/km: combined 0. Only consumption and emission values in accordance with WLTP and not in accordance with NEDC are available for the vehicle. Where ranges of figures are stated, the values for consumption and CO₂ emissions depend on the selected vehicle equipment ** ID.7 - Power consumption in kWh/100 km: combined 16.3-14.1; CO2 emissions in g/km: combined 0; only consumption and emission values in accordance with WLTP and not in accordance with NEDC are available for the vehicle. Where ranges are stated, the values for consumption and CO₂ emissions depend on the selected vehicle equipment *** ID.2 - the vehicle is a concept car and is not available for sale

I’ve always believed in open and honest #communication, and when Volkswagen’s entire #sales department met digitally this week, that was my main focus.   It was only my second such meeting since I took on this great role, and the #challenges faced by the #automotive industry were – as you may expect – high on the agenda. But it was also an opportunity to celebrate our strengths and recent successes, across the markets.   ➡ We talked about passion – what it is that makes Volkswagen loved by so many, around the world. ➡ We focused on the positive coverage of our cars and the media awards and tests we’ve been winning. ➡ We looked at exciting plans to invest in electromobility, and how to continue inspiring our customers in every market, with products that cater to everyone’s needs.   Communication has always been the key to #Volkswagen’s success, and I look forward to talking more about our exciting plans over the coming months – with #colleagues, #dealers and #customers.  

Shared values, mutual respect, and being as reliable as a #Swiss watch: when it comes to fruitful #partnerships, this is a fine recipe. Volkswagen’s relationship with the AMAG Group - the importer and distributor for the Group across #Switzerland – has all these ingredients and more. And it has since the two sides began working together in the middle of the last century. AMAG is Switzerland’s market leader in terms of #Volkswagen Passenger Cars, and is key to us enjoying a current market share of 7.6 per cent. With top management from both sides coming together in Zurich, it was an opportunity for us to really study the development of the Swiss market; to #exchange information and ideas, and to develop the #strategic projects that will see Volkswagen continue to thrive in this part of the world. I’d like to thank our colleagues at #AMAG for their steadfast commitment to the #VW brand and its customers, and for their hospitality. Times are changing in the automotive industry, but if anyone knows about time, it’s the Swiss.

Thirty years of collaboration with #Turkey’s real #automotive #powerhouse. Now that’s something worth to coming together for. As the country’s leading importer, Doğuş Otomotiv has represented the different brands of the Volkswagen Group since 1994. In that time, it has proved invaluable in building and shaping the Volkswagen brand in this dynamic, lively and all-important market. The secret to the long #relationship has been our absolute alignment in terms of priorities, even when those priorities have evolved. They’ve been with us #Volkswagen on every step of the #transformation, and their knowledge and expertise in such a significant market for us has been so very welcome. I recently learned a famous Turkish proverb: ‘bir elin nesi var, iki elin sesi var’, which means ‘one hand has no sound, but two hands can clap’. It underscores the importance of #cooperation. We look forward to continuing hand in hand, long into the #future.

If anyone was ever in any doubt about the enthusiasm and excitement that electric cars can generate, they only need look to the shores of Lake Maggiore this week.   For the fourth year, the #Swiss town of #Locarno is hosting the #ID. MEETING – a gathering of the international ID. #community. The very people who drive, and love, the ID. family, along with their beautiful cars.   Talking of which, a very special, one-of-a-kind ID.3 made an appearance: the ID.3 GTX* FIRE+ICE pays homage to a 1990s icon, the #Golf Fire and Ice**, and is the result of a fresh collaboration with the German fashion label #Bogner.   As a brand, we like nothing more than spending time with our customers, but the exchanges we’ve enjoyed with the 150-plus participants at this year’s ID. MEETING aren’t just about building #relations: events such as this give our owners a direct line to Volkswagen’s development departments. While they are able to hear from our experts about technical #innovations and future developments of the ID. series, the important feedback that we receive in return helps us to continuously develop and shape our #products and #services.   Thank you to all at the ID. Drivers Club for putting on such a well-thought-out event. 👍 *ID.3 GTX Performance – Combined power consumption 16.5-14.7 kWh/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A. Where ranges are stated, the values for consumption, CO₂ emissions and CO₂ classes depend on the selected vehicle equipment. ** Golf Mk2 Fire and Ice – The vehicle is no longer offered for sale.

🆕 The new Volkswagen R pavilion pre-opening took place yesterday in the Autostadt GmbH in Wolfsburg, and with it an exciting new chapter for the #premium #performance brand. As well as being somewhere to showcase what Volkswagen R is all about, this will be the home of the ‘R’ community.   Our newest brand #ambassador – the German actor and influencer Chryssanthi Kavazi – visited our plant in #Wolfsburg and was there for the opening, having somewhat come full circle. Because before Chrissa became a star of the small and silver screen she completed an industrial apprenticeship as a technician at Volkswagen, and worked for six years at our company. Part of her role will be to share the joys of modern e-mobility with younger target groups, as she goes about daily life with her family in their #ID. Buzz*.   #Electromobility will, of course, ultimately be the focus of the Volkswagen R brand. Five enhanced models with increased power are currently on sale but the portfolio will gradually change with the introduction of all-electric R models, each based on the four pillars of performance, design, innovation and quality.   I’d like to congratulate the Volkswagen R team on the great work they’ve done since the brand was established in 2002, and for their record year in 2023. I’ve no doubt that the new pavilion will be yet another resounding success. *ID.Buzz Pro – Power consumption in kWh/100 km: combined 20.7–18.9. CO₂ emissions in g/km: combined 0. CO₂ class: A. Where ranges are stated, the values for consumption and CO₂ emissions depend on the selected vehicle equipment.