Volkswagen has held steadfast to its goal of becoming the world’s largest automaker by 2018, but one of the German automaker’s top executives has let slip the first indication that the company might miss out on that target.
VW still expects to dethrone industry heavyweights Toyota and General Motors by 2018, but Ulrich Hackenberg, head of research and development for the VW brand, says that goal will hinge on the company’s ability to take advantage of its advanced MQB and MLB production processes. VW says the new parts sharing scheme could reduce the company’s production costs by 20-30 percent.
VW is already planning to parlay those savings into future vehicle programs, but that money is far from in the bank. Widespread sharing of parts could leave VW vulnerable to parts defects, which could bite the automaker in the end. VW’s most widely used current architecture underpins about 1 million vehicles per year, but the new MQB platform is expected to be used for about 3.5 million vehicles per year.
“We have to be very careful, since potential problems would be multiplied and have an impact across all brands,” Hackenberg said.
VW’s next-generation Audi A3 small car will be first to use the new platform technology sometime next year.
References
1.’VW’s 2018 sales…’ view
