Volkswagen’s Up – the company’s city car rival to Ford Ka and Fiat 500 – will arrive in UK showrooms towards the end of February and is expected to bring a new breed of customers to the brand.
It will also be expected to fulfil the sales potential that neither of its predecessors, the Brazilian-made Fox and Lupo, quite managed, said UK product manager Sally-Anne Norris.
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The Fox sold just under 10,000 in 2010 – its last full year – but that was boosted by scrappage sales at the beginning of the year.
Normal sales were around 7-7,500 a year, about the same as its predecessor Lupo which ended production in 2005.
“We expect a significant increase on that with the Up,” said Norris, adding that many of the sales will be conquest bringing in people “who wouldn’t have considered a Fox.”
Although some 75% of buyers in this segment are aged over 45, Norris thinks the stylish Up gives VW “a real opportunity to attract younger customers.”
Order books opened earlier this month and first deliveries are expected to arrive in showrooms from the end of February.
The Up is priced from GBP7,995 to GBP11,180 and features a new range of three-cylinder petrol engines with power outputs of 60PS and 70PS.
Norris expects a big take-up of the GBP250 option Maps & More which organises navigation, telephone and music, linked through an iPhone, and can be removed and used independently. The system is a rival to Toyota’s Touch & Go launched on the new Yaris as a GBP500 option but free for the first year.
