VW working on a 10-year plan to catch up to Toyota

Please note that this is a productivity goal and not a product improvement goal. The VW group is already ahead of Toyota in product superiority. Toyota will go thru the same cycle that GM did, resting on its laurels and staying up all night to figure out ways to save even more cost at the detriment of customers. Sales will then slow or decline as customers gravitate to competitors who did not cheapen the product.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2007 7:35:12 PM | | Votes: 0   

Traget sells better product than Wal-Mart. I concede however that Wal-Mart is an eminently succesful retailer as it caters to lower classes with cheaper product.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2007 7:37:41 PM | | Votes: 0   

"...and their Audi brand trying to do the same thing with their hydrid cars."

Hmm. Seems like you've become a flat-out Audi hater this summer. Anyway, because they're producing ONE hybrid car (Q7), you think they're trying to play "catch-up?" Nope. High-tech, efficient diesels are still their top priority for green involvement.


"And a word of advise VW, don't get to focus on Toyota only, because the Hyundai might surpass you sooner than you expected. They are aiming their gun at you, with their up and coming Audi TT killer. And their Audi A8 killer the Genesis V8. "

Honestly, you didn't know this by now? Hyundai is aimed squarely at TOYOTA. Nobody else. The Genesis is described by Hyundai as an LS competitor!!! And do you really think whatever Kia comes out with will challenge the TT? LOL.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2007 11:49:47 PM | | Votes: -1   

fyi: the redesigned Phaeton is already in the Bentley line up.

— monkeyrun (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2007 9:43:25 PM | | Votes: 2   

How do you know this, Larry? The Phaeton is not their top priority right now. That would be improving their core line- Golf/Rabbit, Jetta, Passat, strengthening ties with Porsche and escalating Audi's impressive profitability with even more desirable products. There's also the matter of redesigning the Arnage, which will probably not have anything to do with the Audi A8 or VW Phaeton.

Anyway, I wouldn't cry for Volkswagen right now. They are still the largest European automaker, by quite a margin. Audi profits are through the roof, driving the entire corporation, and the injection of Porsche profitability know-how doesn't hurt.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2007 11:52:59 PM | | Votes: -1   

Yet still Burger King offers superior food...

— Kinger (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 8:14:34 AM | | Votes: -1   

I'd go with Carl's Jr.,mmmmmmmm Six Dollar Burger!!!

— 2JZSoarer (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 11:18:58 AM | | Votes: 0   

I agree because if they only focus on sales their quality may slip, since they will start cutting costs which is bad. They need to improve so that people would buy from them, if they dont that would never happen.

— M53R (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 12:27:29 PM | | Votes: 2   

Eh, like S4 already said, Hyundai are going after Toyota. If they market their products correctly then they could hurt Toyota sales wise.

The main reason Porsche acquired a larger stake in VW is because they saw VW as the only brand that could go after Toyota sales wise. Now doubt with Porsche's know how quality will be improved and VW's cars will become more fun to drive.

So in response I think its Toyota who needs to watch their back.

I've said it before and i'll say it again, the gap in quality between cars nowadays is nowhere near what you're making it out to be.

— Kinger (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 8:20:05 AM | | Votes: 1   

The Lexus LF-A as you are aware is better than the Bugatti Veyron. Lexus doesn't need 4 turbos to reach 1000 horsepower.

— david989 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 10:47:17 AM | | Votes: -1   

LOL, I was going to reply with something constructive but you crack me up david989, you're being intentionaly stupid right?

— Kinger (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 12:18:06 PM | | Votes: 0   

The TT is a design classic, the LS on the other hand...

— Kinger (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 8:23:14 AM | | Votes: 0   

As long it starts everytime it can compete.

— r_driver04 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 12:08:24 PM | | Votes: 1   

r_driver04, you are the kind of blogger I truly despise, much like david989. Rather than offer facts with references, you just repeat the same bullshit propaganda regardless of what is being discussed. You obviously didn't read the article, nor are you offering any additional information or insight about it.

Let's review, shall we?
"Volkswagen Group is working on a 10-year strategy that aims to decrease the productivity and profit gap with rival Toyota." This means that VW is going to work to improve its FINANCIAL performance, which entails a hell of a lot more than who builds the "best"/highest quality/most durable/your favorite/ car.

By the way, Porsche leads the world in vehicle profitability by a LONG way, and has worked with Toyota in the past to refine its production techniques. Both are top-notch automakers in their own ways, and VW is hoping to refine its manufacturing like Porsche did a decade ago and Toyota did 25 years ago. How can anyone criticise the desire to be more productive? One can't fault ANY auto manufacturer for setting firm, improving sales goals.

Note in the article the VAG CEO Winterkorn explicitly stated that their goals did NOT include outselling Toyota -- they wanted to reach a worldwide sales of 6 million cars per year. I don't see why Toyota fans feel the need to be defensive. It would be unlikely that today's world's largest automaker would suddenly lose all momentum, because unlike GM, Toyota has a much more diverse portfolio of products and a significantly lower cost base thanks to ununionized labor. Moreover, fast-improving automakers like Hyundai (or anyone else thinks that selling the most cars in the world is their most important goal), will probably win more sales by virtue of pricing advantage. More power to them. No objective automotive enthusiast can rightly claim that Toyota or Hyundai isn't a very efficient manufacturer... and that wasn't even close to being the point of this article.

However, most enthusiasts are more impressed with luxury and sports car manufacturers who continue to earn small sales numbers but offer great technological innovation and superior performing products. VW firmly holds the "middle ground" with Buick, Honda, Nissan, Saab, and other brands that offer tremendous value but are written off by economy enthusiasts as being too expensive, by sports enthusists for being too soft, and by luxury manufacturers for not being plush enough. Well, that's apparently all people here do -- bitch about why their brand is "better". News flash: there is no "best".

Oh, and you folks who claim that sales are an idicator of quality: Marketing 101 tells you that the superior product never sells the most, because the cheaper product is more accessible to the greater number of people. This is not a hard rule, of course, since Toyota really ushered in a whole new era of manufacturing whereby product durability and assembly quality were not sacrificed, and cost management w

— moto (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 11:43:44 PM | | Votes: 1   

continued:

... cost management was focused primarily on efficient sourcing and manufacturing. For VW or any auto manufacturer to improve these things is very admirable.

— moto (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2007 11:45:51 PM | | Votes: 1