Wolfsburg, Germany - As the auto industry evolves its way into a new and somewhat challenging electrified era, many car companies are looking for ways to cut costs and boost profits.
One of the ways to achieve this is through product rationalisation, and that’s exactly what Volkswagen aims to implement in the coming years.
The German carmaker announced its “Accelerate Forward - Road to 6.5” programme on Thursday, with the aim of achieving a 6.5% return on sales by 2026, effectively improving its earnings by around 10 billion euros (R198 billion).
Along with the streamlining of production and administrative processes, Volkswagen Brand CEO Thomas Schäfer said the company would rationalise the model range and reduce the number of model grades on offer, while improving quality.
Schäfer didn’t mention how many products would be dropped from the line-up, but he did use the Arteon as an example of a lower-volume model that would face the axe soon.
“We will focus on a small number of – though genuine – Volkswagen core models. This will reduce complexity and deliver higher profits,” Schäfer said.
He added that there was plenty of opportunity to reduce the number of model variants on offer, and mentioned, as an example, that the new ID.7 electric sedan offers 99% fewer configuration options than the Golf 7 did.
He didn’t mention any other models facing the axe, although it was previously hinted that the Polo could be on the way out due to the cost of implementing the tough Euro 7 emissions standards.
It also appears that Volkswagen will develop tighter product synergies with other Group brands like Seat and Skoda, and we certainly hope this doesn’t result in blatant badge engineering of the kind we’re seeing with rival firms.
Farewell to the Arteon
Available either as a coupe-inspired sedan and shooting brake, the Arteon was widely admired by VW fans for its elegant and striking lines. First launched in 2017, the sedan version made its way to South Africa in fairly limited numbers, before being discontinued in 2020, just before the global facelift.
The following year Volkswagen announced ‘R’ versions of the Arteon sedan and shooting brake, powered by the 235kW version of the 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine also found in the Golf R. Equipped with 4Motion all-wheel drive, the Arteon R could accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds.
However the very existence of the Arteon begs the question of whether the company really needs this and a Passat. Surely a more visually appealing replacement for the latter could kill two birds with one stone?