Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Updated: 27/06/08
The Rabbit won't be axed from the U.S line-up. VW of America spokesman Steve Keyes, said "We are currently planning the new Golf VI and GTI introduction for the fall of next year. The estimated volumes are already included in our 2009 financials." Citing sources close to VW Chairman Martin Winterkorn, Der Spiegel reported that VW would not place the new Golf, which is due to make its world debut at the Paris motorshow in October, on sale in the U.S. due to concerns over currency-exchange rates and the depressed state of the North American economy. With the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro holding well above the $1.50 mark, VW's marketing strategists didn't see much chance of the new hatchback contributing to profitability, according to Der Spiegel.
Volkswagen is strongly considering dropping the Rabbit from the U.S line-up due to the weak U.S dollar. Volkswagen also said that the Scirooco won't go on sale in the U.S for the same reason.
The German firm wants to improve its profitability margins in its pursuit of market leader Toyota but the Rabbit (Golf in Europe), isn’t selling as well as the company would like.
The Tiguan and Touareg SUVs are massively popular, but the U.S market has proved disastrous for VW recently, with the North American wing of the company posting billion-dollar losses.
Volkswagen is likely to build a new factory in the U.S in 2011 and it’s possible that production of an American version of the next-generation Golf could start there. Until that point, it’s likely that sales will be halted in the US.