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Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI gets more kit, price up by RM5k

October 13, 2011 at 6:44 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volkswagen

When we test drove the Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI late last year, we liked the car’s solid build and great drivetrain, but were slightly disappointed at the low spec appearance that wasn’t “as advertised”. One year on, things have been rectified and Volkswagen Group Malaysia is now offering an enhanced Polo that looks better and has more kit.

The main ingredients at play here are the addition of the 17-inch ‘Boavista’ alloys and fog lamps for the exterior, which means that the actual car now looks like the one in the ads.

Comfort equipment have been added too, including a centre front armrest and the RCD 310 audio system with CD player, USB adapter cable and MEDIA-IN mobile device interface. The latter is an upgrade from the basic RCD 210 set given previously.

With that, the Polo’s price is now RM113,888, which is RM5,000 costlier than before. Read our take on the Polo 1.2 TSI here. For those looking for more performance, VGM recently launched the 180 PS Polo GTI, available in both three- and five-door form.

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VW teaser ads surface – new cars launching next week!

October 13, 2011 at 9:51 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volkswagen

There’s something brewing at Volkswagen Group Malaysia (VGM). We first noticed teaser ads featured in a local daily two days ago, and the same three teaser images have surfaced on their official website as well.

All three images of the to-be-launched models zoom in at their headlamps, and all point to the date 21 October, so we should expect a triple launch from VGM.

As for the identity of the models, based on the teasers, yours truly is guessing that the grey car (Are you a visionary leader?) with the four bar chrome grill is the Passat, the blue car without LED DRLs (Do you see a step ahead of your peers?) is the Jetta, and the brown car (Are you illuminatingly unconventional?) is perhaps a CrossTouran.

However, I noticed that a report in Tuesday’s Starbiz mentioned Polo Sedan, Jetta and CrossTouran, so perhaps they know something we don’t. What do you think?

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Volkswagen cross up! Concept previews 5-door up!

October 4, 2011 at 5:51 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Volkswagen

We first saw variations of the Volkswagen up! with more than just 3-doors back in 2007 when the car was still very much a concept. The Volkswagen space up! was shaped more like a van though, with a pretty long wheelbase.

Frankfurt 2011′s Volkswagen cross up! concept is yet another take on a 5-door up!, looking like a smaller version of the Golf Plus with offroader style bodykits slapped on and a ground clearance that has been raised by 15mm.

Volkswagen says the cross up! is near production and showcases what the 5-door version of the up! will look like.

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Volkswagen-Suzuki rift: no resolution despite deadline

October 3, 2011 at 1:10 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

So does the spat continue with the now out-of-love pair. According to reports, the ongoing feud between Volkswagen and Suzuki remains unresolved, with a September 30th deadline set by Suzuki – for VW to retract what it called a defamatory accusation – having gone past without the desired response.

Suzuki had sent a letter to VW last week giving the German automaker until the above date to publicly revoke a statement that the Japanese automaker had violated a pact by signing a diesel engine deal with Fiat, saying that the claim had damaged Suzuki’s reputation.

On Friday, the reports said that Suzuki stated it had received a response from the German automaker that was “not worth commenting on,” declining to disclose the contents of the response. Suzuki added that it hadn’t yet decided on the next course of action, now that its request had been ignored.

According to a Suzuki spokesman, the company wanted to keep the contents of the recent correspondence private, and that it simply wanted to inform that VW had honoured a request to respond by the due date. Meanwhile, VW also declined to reveal what it said in the emailed letter, but did repeat its demand that Suzuki reverse the alleged breach of contract within several weeks. It has also remained steadfast in its refusal to sell back its 19.9% stake in Suzuki to the Japanese automaker. A full takeover by VW has been bandied recently, but is very unlikely.

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Volkswagen e-up! Concept: production car due in 2013

September 29, 2011 at 3:38 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Volkswagen

This is another Volkswagen up!-based concept car called the e-up!, and although we’re just looking at it in concept form now, it’s been decided that a production version of the e-up! will be launched in 2013. This Frankfurt 2011 concept is a near-production study, which has some design differentiation for one to identify it compared to the regular internal combustion engine powered up!

The most distinctive design feature would be the arc-shaped layout of the LED daytime running lights integrated in the front bumper. The gap between the hood and the bumper which normally has a cooling grille in the up! is covered by a chrome trim strip since the narrow air intake slots above and below the licence plate suffice to cool the electric ddrive.

The e-up!’s electric motor makes a peak power of 60 kW and a sustained power of 40kW, and typical of electric motors, has a high torque of 210Nm from zero revs. The electric motor can take the e-up! to a top speed of 135km/h.

The car’s battery capacity of 18kWh enables a maximum distance of about 150km depending on driving style, which should be enough for city driving. The batteries themselves are located in the underbody of the e-up!. Meanwhile, all key drive and ancillary components are housed in front in the engine compartment.

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Volkswagen GT up! Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show 2011

September 29, 2011 at 1:39 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Volkswagen

With the launch of the production Volkswagen up! at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen also showcased a total of 6 concept cars, which are different variations of the vanilla Volkswagen up! This particular car is the GT up!, which Volkswagen calls an “up! for the fast roads”.

While the production up! currently has a 75 PS motor as its most powerful engine option, the GT up! takes it up a notch with a 100 PS engine, which is a decent number for a car that’s supposed to weigh barely 900kg. Remember, the original Mk1 Golf GTI only had 110 PS.

Volkswagen designers gave the GT up! its own front bumper design, which features a large central cooling air intake with a honeycomb grille. There are also two cooling air intakes for the brakes, integrated in these openings are the wing-shaped LED daytime running lights. On the sides, there are painted side sills, black door mirrors and 17-inch alloy wheels with 195 tyres. At the rear you have a roof edge spoiler, and a double flow exhaust system with two visible chrome tailpipes, one on the left and one on the right.

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Volkswagen Polo Sedan, Jetta and CrossTouran at JPJ

September 25, 2011 at 5:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

Reader Kamil Hafizi spotted a whole fleet of new Volkswagen cars yet to be launched in Malaysia at the JPJ complex in Putrajaya, and uploaded them onto our Facebook page. We’ve got a white Volkswagen Polo Sedan, a blue Volkswagen Jetta and a brown Volkswagen CrossTouran.

We’ve seen the Polo Sedan and Jetta being tested on the road before, but the CrossTouran is new, and if launched here would represent Volkswagen’s first foray into the people mover segment. The CrossTouran is essentially a Touran with an offroader styled bodykit. The Volkswagen Touran/CrossTouran is a Golf-based MPVs that can seat 7.

From the images we can see that both the Jetta and the CrossTouran have TSI badges, which indicate these particular units are powered by Volkswagen’s 1.4 litre TSI force inducted direct injection four cylinder engine. The Polo Sedan has a 1.6 badge at the rear, which indicates a normally aspirated 1.6 litre four cylinder.

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Suzuki demands Volkswagen detract claims that Suzuki violated tie-up agreement with Fiat engine purchase

September 23, 2011 at 12:46 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Suzuki, Volkswagen

The drama continues with Volkswagen and Suzuki’s rocky marriage – Suzuki has sent a letter to Volkswagen demanding that the German company retract its claim that Suzuki violated their tie-up agreement by purchasing diesel engines from Fiat.

According to Suzuki, their global reputation has been significantly damaged by the announcement, and denies that the diesel engine purchase from Fiat Powertrain Technologies violated the agreement. Suzuki claims they consulted Volkswagen about buying the Fiat diesel engines in January, and both parties came to an agreement at that time.

Furthermore, it is claimed that Suzuki only turned to Fiat after engines offered by Volkswagen failed to meet Suzuki’s specs.

The following is an excerpt from a press release issued by Suzuki this week detailing their side of the story of what happened:

Last year, both companies negotiated for several months regarding the conditions for Suzuki’s use of certain engines manufactured by Volkswagen AG, however, Suzuki’s requirements were never satisfied.

In January of this year, when Mr. Osamu Suzuki conferred with Dr. Winterkorn in Hamamatsu, Suzuki delivered its message that Suzuki would not be using Volkswagen diesel engines together with background reasons.

In response to such explanation, Dr. Winterkorn requested Suzuki to issue a written notification if Suzuki decided not to use diesel engines manufactured by Volkswagen AG. Within a couple days of such request, we formally notified Volkswagen AG of such decision in writing. Immediately after issuing such notice, engineers from both companies who are responsible for this matter also mutually confirmed with each other that Suzuki will not use diesel engines manufactured by Volkswagen AG.

Volkswagen AG has requested Suzuki in the mentioned notice to implement a process to compare the diesel engines manufactured by Volkswagen AG and by Fiat as a remedial action. We believe it is clearly unreasonable for Volkswagen AG to claim on 11 September that Suzuki is in breach of the Framework Agreement based on presumption that this process is deficient, after a considerable amount of time has passed since Suzuki and Volkswagen AG mutually confirmed that Suzuki would not be using such engine.

In addition to the above, we have fully expressed our views in the rebuttal letter which we have sent today and have included references to the factual background of this matter including negotiations that occurred before the execution of the agreement which established the alliance on 9 December 2009, and detailed quotations from letters exchanged between the two companies.

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Volkswagen to invest more than US$85 billion up to 2016

September 20, 2011 at 1:59 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

It’s the largest-ever investment package in Volkswagen’s history for new models, environmentally friendly technologies and production facilities – the VW Group is set to invest more than US$85 billion (62 billion euro) in its automotive division into 2016 as it continues its march towards becoming the world’s leading automaker.

Investments in property, plant and equipment will account for around US$68 billion, with 57% of this in in Germany alone. Of the amount, US$44 billion will be used on modernising and extending the product range for all its brands. The main focus will be on new vehicles and successor models in almost all vehicle classes, allowing the company to systematically continue its model rollout with a view to tapping new markets and segments, though powertrain movement is also on the cards, with new generations of engines – offering additional enhancements to performance, fuel consumption and emission levels – set to come about. In particular, development of hybrid and electric engines is a focal point.

The joint ventures in China are not consolidated, and are separate to the above figures. In China, the Group is set to invest US$19 billion through 2016. The investment includes spending for a batch of new models and two new assembly plants that have already been announced.

There may yet be a need to add to those two factories being built, according to reports – currently, VW already has 11 plants in China, yet with 1.9 million units sold in the country last year and a solid projection that sales could climb to 2.4 million units this year, additional plants may be needed to keep up with the ever-increasing demand.

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Volkswagen takeover of Suzuki is unlikely to happen

September 20, 2011 at 12:46 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

The Volkswagen-Suzuki relationship may be heading south, but the rumour mill continues to run unabated. Now, a report speculates that VW is mulling a full takeover of Suzuki, even as the Japanese automaker is seeking a complete separation from the partnership.

German mag Der Spiegel reported that a senior manager at VW was quoted as saying that he didn’t rule out a full takeover of Suzuki. Other reports, however, have come out stating that this is highly unlikely to happen, given that Suzuki would have to want to sell, and without the willingness on the part of company chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki in any bid would ultimately fall through.

Earlier reports said that Suzuki is looking to end its two-year relationship, following a fall-out that began when VW accused Suzuki of violating the agreement of the partnership by looking at Fiat for an engine deal. Suzuki has reportedly offered to buy back VW’s 19.9% stake, but VW has said it is happy with the investment and has no intention of selling.

While VW is unable to raise its stake in the Japanese company without the latter’s consent as long as the alliance is still in place, it can begin to do so if Suzuki cancels the partnership, the report adds. The takeover attempt is probably not going to get very far, given that the Japanese will likely adopt a protectionist attitude towards what would be correctly regarded as a hostile foreign bid.

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