Jürgen Stackmann, Member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management responsible for Sales, says: “With JETTA, we are closing the gap between the established VW lead brand in the top volume segment and entry-level mobility, which accounts for about one third of the Chinese market and is served mainly by local brands. This way, we will significantly increase our market coverage.”
JETTA is based on the key elements of the Volkswagen DNA: quality, safety, value and a clear design language. With the introduction of JETTA, the Volkswagen umbrella brand will be able to position itself even more clearly as “top of volume” with its vehicles and to further sharpen its profile. In addition, with this offering specially tailored to the needs of the Chinese market and developed together with FAW-Volkswagen, Volkswagen is forging ahead with the further regionalization of the market.
Stackmann: “In China, the Jetta plays an extremely valuable role for us as a Volkswagen model. It has brought mobility for the masses, just like the Beetle once did in Europe. Developed by Volkswagen and built in China, the Jetta China has placed China on four wheels. To this day, it is one of Volkswagen’s most popular models in China – a real icon. This is why we are transforming a model into a brand for the first time in the history of Volkswagen and establishing a separate model and brand family.”
New approaches are also to be adopted in sales. JETTA will establish its own network of dealerships and will approach customers directly with innovative sales formats – digital showrooms, shopping malls and mobile sales trucks. By year end, about 200 dealers are to offer the new brand.
In China, the Volkswagen brand delivered 3.11 million vehicles to customers last year (down 2.1 percent on the previous year). With a share of almost 50 percent in worldwide deliveries, China is therefore Volkswagen’s largest single market. In a market affected by an overall fall in sales (-4.6 percent compared with the previous year), Volkswagen was able to win market shares. In 2018, Volkswagen also delivered the 30 millionth Volkswagen to a Chinese customer. Since Volkswagen came to China more than 30 years ago, the brand has clearly asserted its number one position. China is not only the world’s largest automobile market but is also at the forefront of the greatest transformation ever experienced by the automotive industry. The country is the new powerhouse for e-mobility, digitalization, connectivity and autonomous driving.