VW wants to Expand its SUV Line-up, Plans to Triple U.S. Sales by 2018

Volkswagen hasn’t given up on its plans to become the world’s biggest automaker and for that it needs to sell more cars in the U.S. The Germans want to triple their American sales in the next seven years and one solution is to expand their SUV line-up in order to catch up to GM and Toyota.

“We will be looking to really grow, particularly in the compact SUV segment”, VW's U.S. chief Jonathan Browning told Bloomberg news. “Over time, I think there's also scope for growth in terms of a larger SUV within the portfolio”.

Volkswagen sold 20,946 Tiguans and 4,713 Touaregs in the U.S. last year, which is insignificant compared to the total of 3.3 million SUVs delivered in the country.

“VW is simply not a player in the American SUV segment”, said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. “Their models aren't being recognized as sufficiently competitive”.

The automaker is exploring other means to increase its sales as well, one of them being the all-new New Mid-Size Sedan (NMS), which is set to debut at this year’s North American International Auto Show.

The yet to be named model will be assembled at the company’s new factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with deliveries programmed to start in the third quarter of 2011.

Source: Bloomberg

VW Releases 'Greener' Touareg BlueMotion with 225HP V6 Diesel

Blue is Volkswagen's way of saying green with the automaker applying its ecological brand to the most efficient and economical models in each range. The latest BlueMotion model is based on the Touareg SUV and is equipped with a more efficient but less powerful version of the standard car's 3.0-litre V6 TDI common rail diesel engine which develops 225HP and 550Nm (405-lbs/ft) of torque, and drives through a six-speed automatic tiptronic gearbox.

Like all BlueMotion models in the Volkswagen range, the Touareg features a number of modifications to improve fuel efficiency including revised aerodynamics, an optimized engine with a more efficient alternator, low rolling resistance tires and a 25mm lower ride height to reduce drag.

Altogether, these revisions help the Touareg BlueMotion boost fuel economy from 30.4mpg UK (23.3mpg US or 9.2lt/100km) to 34.0mpg UK (28.3mpg US or 8.3lt/100km) while cutting down CO2 emissions from 244 g/km to 219 g/km.

improved fuel efficiency and, well below the tax threshold of less than 225 g/km. Prices for the most efficient version of Volkswagen's luxury off-road vehicle start at £34,150 on the road RRP for the entry level model and rise to £37,545 for the SE.

Performance-wise, the Touareg BlueMotion is a tad slower than its standard 3.0 TDI counterpart with a 0 to 62 mph (100km/h) time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 126mph or 203km/h (vs 8.0 sec and 207km/h respectively).

Prices for the BlueMotion version of Volkswagen's luxury off-roader start in the UK at £34,150 for the entry level model and rise to £37,545 for the SE. The first examples are scheduled to arrive in showrooms in September.