Reference to the July 2007 sales records, Volkswagen Canada is brimming with great results. Records show that a total of 3,442 new units were sold for that particular month alone, a 2.8 percent increase as compared to the 3,347 new units sold in July of the previous year. The abovementioned statistics also runs through the Year To Date (YTD) sales of the company which is 22,850 units up to July of this month only, a leaping 21.6 percent increase from the January to July 2006 YTD sales of 18,785 units.

For the specific players, the Volkswagen City Jetta can be considered as one of the big winners amongst the VW line. Nailing a record for its most outstanding month in Volkswagen Canada history, the City Jetta excelled this July of 2007 with 608 units sold, which is a 28.7 percent hike from last month’s sales. Not far along from the City Jetta in terms of revenue is the Volkswagen Passat Sedan, bagging 191 units in sales, thus enjoying a 16.5 percent increase in sales this month from that of last year.

In terms of Year-to-date sales of the various VW models, the Volkswagen GTI and the New Beetle have been performing exceptionally well in the market. The GTI already had the accumulated sales of 1,064 units as of July of this year, a skyhigh 53.5 percent increase from last year’s July YTD record. The New Beetle, on the other hand, equaled to 1,160 units YTD, another improvement increase worth 34.9 percent due to the 860 units sold last year.

Below is the complete VW lineup regarding sales results for the period of July 2007:

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July 2007
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VW model >> # of units
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City Golf >> 730
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City Jetta >> 608
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Golf >> 13
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Rabbit >> 637
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GTI >> 145
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New Beetle >> 173
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Jetta >> 731
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Eos >> 82
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Passat >> 272
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Touareg >> 51
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Despite a grueling year for vehicle sales worldwide, dealers of Volkswagen are quick to assert that their organization is in a class of its own.

Volkswagen of America, Inc., has proudly announced that Volkswagen dealer profitability has outstandingly produced an average return of sales worth 2.45 percent, surpassing that of the 2006 industry average of 1.5 percent.

Currently, Volkswagen dealership is operating in two levels: Volkswagen-exclusive dealers that only handle Volkswagen units, and Volkswagen dealers who have the Volkswagen models in its fleet of various brands. Combining these two groups resulted to a remarkable average of 2.5 percent profitability as of June 2007. Said updated statistics have exceeded the sales records last December 2006, wherein the Volkswagen dealers only garnered a 1.5 percent in profit percentages, while Volkswagen-exclusive dealers vied for 1.44 percent.

Matthias Seidl, Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen of America noted: “Dealer profitability is at the core of our dealer network strategy. It is important because it benefits the customer — profitable dealers are better able to hire and retain great sales and service personnel and ensure high customer satisfaction.”

Seidl also divulged plans in sustaining and further nurturing this positive development in dealer profitability. One includes Volkswagen’s strategy to maintain about 600 dealers in the upcoming years. The other pertains to what the company is working on at the moment, which is to add more Volkswagen-exclusive dealerships in its roster. With all these, Volkswagen is firm in its declaration that said dealerships will be maintaining its main goal of performance in terms of sales growth and customer satisfaction.

Seidl concluded the press release with a meaningful message of higher productivity rates to come: “We have a quite a way to go before we achieve a return on sales of 2.5 percent on the average across all dealers, but early indications are that our strategy is starting to pay off.”

Volkswagen of South Africa (VWSA), currently the producer and exporter of the VW Golf 5 model for the Asia Pacific market, was quick to squelch a report published by a certain German newspaper, which states that Volkswagen is planning to shift its Golf Production from South Africa to Germany.

“Purely Speculative.” Those are the firm words of VWSA spokesperson Bill Stephens.

In an issued statement, Stephens further vehemently denied that such plans exist: “No decisions have been taken with regards to rationalizing the future Golf and Jetta production platforms within the VW group.”

However, Stephen also browsed over the effects if such a situation would indeed occur, as he further stated that, “If at some future stage it was decided to rationalize Golf and Jetta production in Europe, the Golf and Jetta brands would continue to be marketed in South Africa on a fully built-up basis.”

“At the same time, an alternative production platform would be established in South Africa, enabling Volkswagen of South Africa to optimize production volumes to both domestic and export markets.”

Stephens further adds that this probable strategy would definitely ensure job retention to existing workers, as well as guarantee that there is absolutely no threat to the Volkswagen’s established brands such as the Golf and Jetta in the South African soil. He then closed his statement with another reassurance that all of these are pure speculations only, and that Volkswagen is very much contented with its South African plant.

The issue was initialized by German newspaper, Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, with a released article dated Friday that Volkswagen is planning to shift the manufacturing duty of its VW Golf 6 model from South Africa to Germany, specifically from Uitenhage to VW’s primary production plant in Wolfsburg. According to the newspaper, the continental move is based on a pledge agreed upon by the Volkswagen board and Germany’s Trade Union in this year’s wage negotiations. The company was said to have promised a new VW model to the Wolfsburg plant, equivalent to 1,100 German jobs, provided that the workers would dedicate lengthier work hours but without the additional pay.

The German article further asserted that the production will be move somewhere in the middle of 2008. And that no final decisions will be established until Volkswagen comes up with the alternative production for Uitenhage, South Africa.

The Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury-car division, has reported notable sales record in July of 2007. A significant 9.2 percent increase in revenue was reached, as demand considerably increased in both China and the United Kingdom. China’s Audi purchases totaled to 37 percent to 8,779 units. United Kingdom, on the other hand, reached 21 percent to 7,797 vehicles sold, which can be considered a much bigger market than the United States.

The past month showcased a sales results of 81,000 cars and sport-utility vehicles, as compared to the 74,296 units sold last July of the previous year. Seven-month deliveries surged to 9.7 percent to 590,200 units.

Volkswagen’s Audi is currently in direct competition with Mercedes-Benz which is DaimlerChrysler’s own luxury line division, and also with Bavarian Motor Works or more commonly known as BMW. Thus, to be more viable to the market, Audi has announced early of this year its plans to sell 1.5 million vehicles annually by the year 2015. This is a very big leap from the 905,200 units that Volkswagen Audi has produced last year. Said unit increase would complement the estimated 18 new models that would be introduced by 2015, bringing the total lineup of Audi to 40 sophisticated models.

Volkswagen AG has decided to return to its own specialized TDI branding for diesel vehicles. This move would mean that its partnership with DaimlerChrysler in the Bluetec diesel campaign would come to an end, aborting a crusade that has just been forged early last year.

Responding to a report in the German magazine Wirtshaftswoche, VW spokesperson Hans-Gerd Bode explained that the reason for this partnership pull-out is due to the fact that Volkswagen itself has not produced any diesel products in the market as of late. This scenario can be further traced to the strict implementation of the Unites States emissions regulations. And with their renewed focus on its own branding, Volkswagen aims to put an end to the company’s dieseled-unit manufacturing drought through the introduction of its new line of diesel vehicles in 2008.

Wirtshaftswoche magazine, in its article, has insinuated that the major reason for the partnership breakup between the two automobile giants is due to the fact that the Bluetec brand has earned a strong brand association with Mercedes. The article further disclosed that being strong competitors in the market, this entrance of Mercedes to the Bluetec name didn’t sit well with Volkswagen.

With this, Bode vehemently denied said allegations. According to him, there is no such ill will in the Volkswagen camp: “We already have 800,000 diesel vehicles running in the United States, and for that reason we want to go ahead with our TDI brand,” he said.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is planning to invest in Germany’s Volkswagen in building its first car plant in Russia. The EBRD has estimated that it could spend 30 million euros to acquire the enterprise’s stock, as well as another 250 million Euros as credit to Volkswagen.

At present, the total volume of investments made for the development of the Volkswagen plan has exceeded one billion Euros. Plant construction has already started last October 2006

In the American Station Wagon Owners Association’s (ASWOA) national convention that was held from July 27 to 29 in Ohio, Volkswagen of America, Inc permitted a preview of their new and much-awaited Jetta SportWagen. The SportWagen, which was scheduled for release on March 2008, was placed reverently at the center of the Volkswagen’s exhibit area, along with a 1973 Type III Squareback, 1980 Dasher, 1987 Quantum Syncro and a 1988 Fox.

ASWOA President Tim Cleary has this to say on the viewing privilege given by Volkswagen manufacturers: “We’re delighted that Volkswagen participated in our national gathering,” said Tim Cleary, ASWOA President. “It is nice to see the station wagon receive the continued commitment that Volkswagen has shown throughout the years.”

At this year’s International Automobile Exhibition in Frankfurt, one of the participants to watch out for is the Volkswagen fleet. This is in relation to VW automakers’ press release that their 9000 square meters section in the motor show would be showcasing more than 50 of their top models – eight of which are world premieres, six are part of the new nature-friendly BlueMotion models, and one is said to be the prototype of their mystery rear-engine small car.

This much-awaited prototype, momentarily known as the City Expert, is officially being described as a “future compact model.” Speculations have abound that this new VW small car is comparable in design with regards to the original Beetle, and is being geared to go up against a Mini Cooper and other small cars in the market.

Another showstopper is the Tiguan, VW’s new generation SUV. Its official release is estimated to be the following year as a 2009 model, but its world debut is all happening in Frankfurt. The Tiguan is designed to compliment with the VW Touareg, but it will be reflected as a smaller and cheaper version. VW further asserts the benefits of a Tiguan as a fun-to-drive vehicle and its leaning towards a decent fuel economy.

Set to unveil as well in the Frankfurt motor assembly are the six BlueMotion vehicles. These models are fast gaining popularity in the auto world with their diesel-powered engines but environmental-friendly emissions. In fact, as previously reported, the Volkswagen Diesel Polo has already reached the no.1 spot in green motoring, a feat well-lauded by the automotive community. In line with this, VW officials have also announced that in the course of the year 2008, at least nine more Bluemotion models will be offered in the market.

Those are just some of the top vehicles that Volkswagen has in store for the upcoming Frankfurt exhibition. More details will be provided as the show progresses.