Volkswagen may launch commercial vehicles in the United States in future, as part of steps to expand its core brand in the world’s second largest vehicle market.
Commercial pickup trucks and vans such as VW’s box-type Caddy model “certainly represent an opportunity” for the United States, Jonathan Browning, chief executive of VW Group of America told Reuters at the Frankfurt show, referring to the success of Ford’s Transit Connect van.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“There are preliminary discussions (with VW’s Wolfsburg-based management) but no definitive plans at the moment,” Browning said.
The VW group sells Audi and Porsche, the ultra-luxury Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini nameplates as well as the VW passenger car brand in the US.
VW is seeking to boost its presence in the United States, eyeing 800,000 VW-brand and 200,000 Audi-brand sales by 2018, when it aims to pass Toyota and General Motors to become the world’s top automaker.
Still, Browning made clear that rather than adding to VW’s offerings in the United States, the company would for now focus on maximising the potential of volume-boosting models including the Jetta compact sedan, the Passat mid-size sedan and the Tiguan compact SUV.
“The immediate future is making the most of the vehicles we have plus the CrossBlue B-SUV,” Browning said, referring to the seven-seat concept car VW presented at the Shanghai show this year.
He added that a decision on whether or not to build the CrossBlue would be taken by the end of this year.
Launching commercial vehicles “would be a second phase” of the brand’s US expansion, he said.
