VW Profit, Sales Energizes Future Plans

The AIADA newsletter reported that Volkswagen'simproved quality, and revamped sales and marketing
positive first-quarter results were exactly whatstrategies, to be launched in 2008.
Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking had inVW Finance Chief Hans-Dieter Pötsch said their
mind when he took a controlling stake in the Germancompany certainly needs to enrich their product
automaker last year. Meanwhile, VW of America, Inc.portfolio in the US. He also said they need models
recently announced April 2007 sales of 19,086 units.which are more specifically designed and
This represents a decrease of 7 percent from lastmanufactured to North America, with a more
year's sales of 20,528 vehicles.competitive cost base. He was also glad to say that it
Business Week, on the other hand, reported thatis exactly what they are doing.
Volkswagen's operating profit for the months ofVolkswagen, a manufacturer of performance quality
January to March of 2007 rose 81%, making theirVW tail lights, is an automobile manufacturer based in
profits amount to $1.48 billion. That generated a 4.1%Wolfsburg, Germany, and is Europe's largest
margin.automaker. It forms the core of Volkswagen Group
Winterkorn, an executive of VW, has this biggest joband is the world's fourth largest car producer after
of building a real export powerhouse. For all its hugeToyota, General Motor and Ford, respectively.
$143 billion in revenues, Volkswagen's success remainsVolkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle
largely centered on Europe.convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos,
Still on a positive side, in the spring season,and Touareg.
Volkswagen's new hard-top convertible Eos posted itsThe name means "people's car" in German. Its tagline
best month ever with April sales of 1,142 units. The Eosis translated in English as "For the love of the car" or,
is the world's first four-seat, hard-top convertible with"For Love of the People's Cars", as translated by VW
an integrated glass sunroof.in other languages, though in direct translation it reads
To take on Toyota, Volkswagen has to build serious"Out of love for the car."
market sales in the U.S., where last year it sold onlyOn the other hand, Volkswagen of America, Inc. was
397,000 cars. To bolster Volkswagen's weak U.S.founded in 1955. Its headquarters is in Auburn Hills,
market operations, Winterkorn is betting on newMichigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen in Germany.
models. These include a van with lower costs,It has approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers.