No image available
/ 13 December 2006

Volkswagen launches powerful new Passat

Volkswagen is launching the most powerful Passat built to date, featuring a 220 kW/300 hp motor and the special ”deep blue pearl effect” colour. The Passat R36, presented at the Essen Motor Show in Germany last month, will be on sale in the second quarter of next year, the manufacturer announced.

No image available
/ 1 May 2006

The original hot hatchback celebrates 30 years

A boxy little car with 110 horsepower under the bonnet and a badge with the suffix GTI — viewed with hindsight, it doesn’t sound very special. Thirty years ago, this combination was enough to launch a whole raft of nimble, sporting saloons; indeed, it heralded a completely new class of car — the hot hatchback.

No image available
/ 13 March 2006

Drive your Volkswagen with Google Earth

Car maker Volkswagen (VW) and internet giant Google are developing an in-car navigation system that gives directions using Google Earth images, Volkswagen said on Monday. The three-dimensional display, combining road maps with satellite imagery of locations, also makes use of online data that provides the driver with information on traffic conditions and the weather, VW said.

No image available
/ 10 March 2006

Volkswagen to wield jobs axe

Volkswagen (VW), Europe’s biggest carmaker, gave a warning recently to its 100 000 German employees that they would have to accept thousands of job losses and several plant closures if the group was to survive. Linking his own future to that of the company, the chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder and his fellow directors bluntly told staff that VW was doomed.

No image available
/ 27 September 2005

Volkswagen chooses Wolfsburg for new SUV plant

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest car maker, said on Tuesday that its new compact sports utility vehicle, the Golf Marrakesh, would be built at its plant in Wolfsburg, north Germany. VW management had threatened to relocate production of the SUV to Portugal where unit costs were much cheaper, if the works’ council in Wolfsburg did not agree to new employment conditions.

No image available
/ 5 September 2005

Volkswagen preparing to cut thousands of jobs

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest car maker, said on Monday that it planned to step up job-cutting measures, particularly at its main plant in Wolfsburg, north Germany. "Despite rising sales, the Volkswagen group still has considerable overcapacity and will therefore be intensifying its efforts to cut back manpower," the car maker said in a statement.