Volkswagen moves up in fleet environment

VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) says it has won additional fleet contracts for its passenger cars from companies which have decided to do business with car companies that have a good environmental policy rather than a policy of simply offering cheap cars.

“(These are) corporate customers who want to be seen as more environmentally responsible,” VGA managing director Jutta Dierks told GoAuto last week.

Woolworths is the most recent addition to the list of fleet customers who have bought Volkswagens, joining Linfox, Pink Hygiene Solutions, Rentokil Pest Control, Kea mobile homes and German company Linde.

According to VGA, Woolworths and other fleet customers are ticking items on the Volkswagen passenger-car menu for field managers and the like. In the case of the supermarket giant, the fleet deal is for 3000 Passats and Jettas.

Ms Dierks said VGA had not been actively pursuing fleet business because the company did not see value in trying to compete in the cut-throat business for little or no margin.

“We are very reluctant to chase fleets,” she said. “We don’t give presents away because we don’t need to at the moment.” Ms Dierks said the fleet contract business simply fell in Volkswagen’s lap. “They come and ask,” she said, adding that she believes the motivation had as much to do with Volkswagen’s environmental record as a company as the fuel efficiency of the cars themselves.

Ms Dierks said one company in particular had requested specific details about Volkswagen’s environmental position globally.

She expressed her surprise at winning the Woolworths deal and how easily fleets generally had adapted to small-medium European four-cylinder cars after a diet of large Australian six-cylinder cars.

“I was worried after they came from Falcons and Commodores into a smaller car that they wouldn’t like it,” she said. “But actually the opposite is true.” VGA’s other most recent contract was for 40 New Beetles and 80 Transporter T5 Cab Chassis vehicles for Pink Hygiene Solutions.

Volkswagen goes back to the future

VOLKSWAGEN plans to introduce new dealerships and service centres in regional areas to add to its roll-out of new dealer representation in the metropolitan areas.

Volkswagen entered the top ten in sales last year, from 10,754 in 2004 to 27,400 in 2007. Its 2008 year-to-date figures are also promising, with 22.2 per cent growth over the same period last year.

While Ms Dierks would not comment on which dealers were to be appointed and in which areas, she said that “the target is to cover the areas where our customers are as quickly as possible”.

To service this growth, Volkswagen wants to expand its dealer network of not just full sales and service centres but also regional service centres.

Left: VGA managing director Jutta Dierks.

Volkswagen currently has 62 dealers, with recent regional additions including Alice Springs.

Volkswagen is looking at giving some regional service centres the opportunity to sell cars without the imposing investment of having showroom facilities.

“We are thinking about service outlets, where you have the opportunity to sell but not show,” she said.

“We have lots of applicants for the franchise, and we also have ones interested in servicing our cars, which will help us a lot because we have ambulances outside [the Volkswagen service network], we have the mobile homes outside. (Service outlets) reach areas where we don’t have dealers, so probably we’ll go down that track.” The service centres will have all the authorised Volkswagen technical equipment and training to service the entire Volkswagen vehicle range.

“We also think about the opportunity to have mobile service workshops [such as a fully equipped Crafter vans] near the big fleets.”