Volkswagen has stated numerous times its goal of becoming the top-selling car company in the world. To aid in achieving that goal, VW execs are now considering a larger and somewhat affordable seven-passenger SUV.
According to The Detroit News, the proposed SUV will be larger, but cheaper than the Touareg, which currently starts at $45,270 including destination. If VW truly wants its new SUV to be successful, it will have to price it below $30,000 to steal market share from other seven-seater competitors including the Toyota Highlander ($28,900), the eight-passenger Honda Pilot ($29,130), and the 2012 Ford Explorer ($28,995).
"The most important thing is to have the right vehicles, priced correctly," said Volkswagen of America Chief Executive Jonathan Browning.
VW has already made drastic price cuts to some of its more popular and established models including the 2011 Jetta, which was launched at a super-low $16,765 MSRP (price has since jumped to $17,265). So far, the aggressive pricing strategy has worked for the Jetta, which posted a 60 percent sales increase this year compared to 2010. Overall, VW-brand sales are up 22 percent and the automakers predicts to end 2011 with double-digit gains. VW's sales push extends to other brands within the group including Audi, which has just priced the new 2012 Audi A6 at $42,175 (including destination), about $3900 cheaper than the outgoing 2011 A6.
The VW Group is on track to sell 7.69 million in 2011, placing it second to General Motor's projected sales of 8.65 million vehicles and above the predicted 7.33 million cars for Toyota.