According to an article on the BBC on line, VW have had a record year. Since its acquisition of Porsche, VW has never looked back. If you include the Skoda group, this year alone will see as many as six model launches that have already been announced with some fantastic steps forward in their eco credentials from a range of new efficient engines. Even Asia and North America have shown growth this last year, especially for the Porsche brand, Porsche alone sold 60,000 cars between August and December last year. Growth seems to be a consistent trend for quality German manufacturers, with BMW having a record year as well.
Europe is of course much more difficult, with no one manufacturer showing an increase in sales of cars for the last three years. VW has in fact shown a drop of about 7% in sales numbers in Europe.
VW now has a strong suite of cars to cater for virtually all tastes and markets, including commercials. This last year has seen VW launch a new small car and has also forayed into the luxury market once more with a re- launched Phaeton, a car which actually shares a platform with the Bentley Coupe.
VW has clearly gained from being a player on a global scale, whereas the European based manufacturers, for example Citroen Peugeot who have seen a fall of 16% in 2012, have suffered much more.
As a product for the leasing industry, VW could not be remotely better. A lease vehicle should be reliable, efficient and a pleasure to use. Across the VW, Skoda & Porsche range, I just don’t see how you could ask for more. We have a Skoda Yeti on Contract hire (test drive) and it is an absolute joy to use, we also have a VW Tiguan and a Golf 2.0 Tdi. None of these cars has ever let us down.
