Volkswagen graduates from art class. But is there any work out there?
Verfasst: Fr 1. Sep 2017, 10:03
Volkswagen New Zealand general manager Tom Ruddenklau reckons he got some illuminating advice about the future market for four-door cars from a German VW executive a few years back: "When it comes to sedans, you have to go premium or go home."
That explains the just-launched Arteon, then. It's ostensibly a replacement for the CC sedan and like that model, it's based on the Passat.
But Arteon aims to go a lot more upmarket than its predecessor, with VW eyeing up the likes of the BMW 3-series, Mercedes-Benz C-class and Jaguar XE as potential rivals for this $74,990 newcomer. They don't mention the sister Audi A4/5; so we will.
That premium thinking makes more sense than ever in 2017, says Ruddenklau: "There are 5000 sedans sold in this country every year. When you look at the profile, there's a large mainstream Japanese competitor [Camry] that dominates that sector. But ranked at two, three, four and five are Europeans. It's premium that does really well."
For more you can check Video Explainer
That explains the just-launched Arteon, then. It's ostensibly a replacement for the CC sedan and like that model, it's based on the Passat.
But Arteon aims to go a lot more upmarket than its predecessor, with VW eyeing up the likes of the BMW 3-series, Mercedes-Benz C-class and Jaguar XE as potential rivals for this $74,990 newcomer. They don't mention the sister Audi A4/5; so we will.
That premium thinking makes more sense than ever in 2017, says Ruddenklau: "There are 5000 sedans sold in this country every year. When you look at the profile, there's a large mainstream Japanese competitor [Camry] that dominates that sector. But ranked at two, three, four and five are Europeans. It's premium that does really well."
For more you can check Video Explainer