VW Grows Up! Wants Camry Competitor for North America

The Volkswagen Up! Concept was undoubtedly the most important vehicle that the brand unveiled at this year’s Frankfurt show for multiple reasons. Besides pointing at the future direction of Volkswagen’s styling, it’s a giant hint as to what VW will be doing to tackle the problem of city cars. This sub-B-segment vehicle features a rear-engine design much like the original Beetle in order to maximize interior volume, an important task if the vehicle is to fit four full-sized adults plus luggage.

And while VW’s CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn stated that the Up! would end up in production sooner or later, even giving details about specifics for different markets and potential powerplants, it would be a while before anything would materialize. In the meantime, Volkswagen will keep our interests piqued with two more versions of the city car concept car that will be debuting this year.

Later this month, Volkswagen will show an Up! spinoff in Tokyo, while another will be shown at L.A. in November. Because Volkswagen intends on making the Up! a global vehicle, it is important that the brand receives feedback from all of its potential markets. Those destined for first-world markets will take the form of a technologically advanced vehicle much like the original concept car with a high-tech touchscreen / motion sensing interface. Vehicles destined for developing nations would feature conventional instruments and controls in order to save costs.

It’s also been revealed that Volkswagen is looking at bringing a Camry competitor to the market. What about the Passat, you ask? While the Passat is VW’s midsize sedan, and it’s a formidable competitor at that, the main thing that’s really standing in the way of it being a true competitor is its price. Generally speaking, a Passat will set its buyer back on average about 25-percent more than a Camry, something price sensitive buyers simply can’t afford.

Volkswagen knows that in order to be competitive, it will need to trim costs significantly, and one of the ways that it could potentially do this is with cheaper labor. While it’s been brought to the table that VW is considering Chinese labor for a North American product, there is a possibility that in order to reduce the discrepancies made by duties, VW might re-open a plant in the United States. We say re-open as Volkswagen used to build Golfs and Rabbits in the U.S.

But VW isn’t only going after the mainstream midsize segment. According to US auto website The Car Connection, Volkswagen is also seriously contemplating entering the pickup truck market. No definite timeline has been set up for either vehicle, but expect there to be some pretty big changes in the next few years at Volkswagen.