Executive Speeches
11 January 2010
Stefan Jacoby Remarks at Detroit Autoshow
It is a pleasure to be back in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show.
A lot has happened at Volkswagen over the past year.
We’ve had much success in 2009. …. with solid sales, market share and increased customer satisfaction, loyalty and consideration.
December capped off six straight months of growth over 2008.
We have laid the foundation for the future and we will continue with this momentum in 2010.
Volkswagen is at home in America.
The construction of our plant in Chattanooga is on track and in a bit more than a year, cars will begin to roll off the assembly line at this LEED aggressive facility.
And, as this video shows, we are well on our way.
We already have about 300 employees in Chattanooga, and we will begin to hire production workers in the first quarter of this year.
Our new employee training center will open this quarter to prepare our workers to produce world-class vehicles.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are also making progress on other key elements of our strategy.
Strategic Vision honored five Volkswagens with top ratings for the Total Value Award.
Consumer Reports now recommends eight Volkswagen vehicles, up from three in 2008.
With our eight new vehicle launches we are hitting the sweet spot in every major demographic.
As we said when we announced our Chattanooga facility we believe in this market and that it will grow again. We are beginning to see that in 2010.
And Volkswagen will leverage this growth.
We will unveil a new ad campaign during the Superbowl.
We will introduce our new compact sedan in late summer.
We will continue to increase sales, grow market share and strengthen our dealer organization.
We are also looking further into the future.
Last year we showed you Volkswagen’s view of a sustainable future with the L1,the E-Up! and the Up! Lite.
Today, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, a Board of Management member with responsibility for development, will show you another environmentally responsible concept vehicle – the New Compact Coupe.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg…
