VW plans to sell China-built car in North America
A people's car from the people's republic

By ALYSHA WEBB | Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek | Published 07/23/07, 11:37 am et

SHANGHAI - Volkswagen AG and its Chinese partner plan to assemble a car in China and sell it in North America and China.

The car, a reworked version of the next-generation Passat, will be assembled by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., which revealed the plan here last week.

Details of the plan, such as timing and sales goals, have not been decided, said spokesmen at Shanghai Volkswagen and Volkswagen.

Shanghai Volkswagen is owned 50-50 by Volkswagen and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

Gu Huan, Shanghai Volkswagen spokesman, said his company will be responsible for the car's exterior and interior styling.

Models for North America and China will be largely the same, said Gu. "Tastes in China and North America in the main features are similar," he said. "There will be some differences in the smaller details, though."

The car will be built on VW's next-generation Passat platform that will be developed in Germany, Volkswagen China spokesman Kai Grueber said.

"We will first focus on the China market," Grueber said.

In a similar deal, Chery Automobile Co. has said that it will assemble cars for the Chrysler group for sale worldwide, including the United States in mid-2009.

Trying to cut some costs ehhh V-Dub?

So.. they're selling the Passat and the Chinese cheapo version of the Passat in the same market?

Maybe with the Chinese working on it it'll have less quality/electrical problems than the current one does?

Talk about being dated. That thing looks 20-years old.

Reminds me of the last few cars AMC put out.

Edited July 25, 200718 yr by AxelTheRed

Talk about being dated. That thing looks 20-years old.

Reminds me of the last few cars AMC put out.

It is 20+ years old...the VW China Santana is based on the 2nd gen Passat, which was sold in the US in the '80s as the Quantum.

Is it what they will sell when they make a comeback after pulling out of US market?

Somebody has jokes.

Fly's pulling our leg a little with the picture. It won't be THAT car, if you read the article they haven't said which one yet, maybe one that's not even on sale in China yet.

The picture at the top of the article is also misleading, they say further down that it WON'T be the dated Santana pictured. Before you go crucifying VW for still selling that thing, keep this in mind - it is their major fleet vehicle, sold largely as a cab. Ford Crown Vic, anyone? How old is that platform now? :AH-HA_wink:

It looks like North America is going to continue to be the world's 'dumping' ground - and I mean 'dumping' in the trade sense. VW hasn't had the decency to build their vehicles on our shores (like GM and Ford do in Europe), so now they plan to club us over the head with their crap built in China.

IS ANYBODY IN WASHINGTON OR OTTAWA AWAKE?????

>>"Before you go crucifying VW for still selling that thing, keep this in mind - it is their major fleet vehicle, sold largely as a cab. Ford Crown Vic, anyone? How old is that platform now?"<<

Is VW really still building that relic somewhere?

At least Ford hasn't kept the exact same sheetmetal for 25 years !!

The only way anyone knows the CV has the same basic platform is because we read it.

It looks like North America is going to continue to be the world's 'dumping' ground - and I mean 'dumping' in the trade sense. VW hasn't had the decency to build their vehicles on our shores (like GM and Ford do in Europe), so now they plan to club us over the head with their crap built in China.

IS ANYBODY IN WASHINGTON OR OTTAWA AWAKE?????

VW builds cars here. In fact there is a VW plant about 1km from me right now, here at work in Pickering.

Check out the southeast corner of the intersection in this map, note all the silver cars in a line behind the building, those are new Golfs and Jettas.

I wasn't aware that they had a factory here until I saw it myself.

Although the Santana is still in production, it's not the one shown in the pic.

I'm pretty sure it's just the same models already in market, just a manufacturing shift. As long as they don't start selling the Mk.II Jetta here, it should be fine.

It looks like North America is going to continue to be the world's 'dumping' ground - and I mean 'dumping' in the trade sense. VW hasn't had the decency to build their vehicles on our shores (like GM and Ford do in Europe), so now they plan to club us over the head with their crap built in China.

IS ANYBODY IN WASHINGTON OR OTTAWA AWAKE?????

Well, they will build their minivan in the Chrysler plant in Windsor

VW builds cars here. In fact there is a VW plant about 1km from me right now, here at work in Pickering.

Check out the southeast corner of the intersection in this map, note all the silver cars in a line behind the building, those are new Golfs and Jettas.

I wasn't aware that they had a factory here until I saw it myself.

Nah man, that is their warehouse, where they distribute their cars to the GTA dealer network.