There will soon be a low-cost brand from Volkswagen Group that will compete with Dacia, among other brands, according to Germany’s Der Speigel magazine. Volkswagen spokesman Eric Felber told Der Speigel that the company has solid plans for a future brand that will rival Dacia and will complement those that are already part of the Volkswagen Group such as volume driven brands like Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat and Audi. Felber said that Volkswagen has been considering having a low-cost brand for quite some time but he asserts that so far, no decision has been made. It is rumored that the Volkswagen Group may use a new low cost brand to further break through the Asian, Indian and Latin American markets as well as to increase its sales presence in Eastern Europe, the Baltic region and Africa. A source from Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg-based headquarters in Germany told Autocar that this new brand is using models intended for the Chinese market (which includes the upcoming replacement for the Santana) as a basis. The replacement for the Santana is based on a low-cost front-wheel drive platform structure comparable to what’s used in the newly presented Skoda Rapid and Seat Toledo.
Volkswagen has plans for a budget subbrand
by Andrew Christian, Email, 13 Oct, 2012
2013 Dacia Sandero
