New Jetta: cut-price entry model to come

Volkswagen will employ the same sales strategy for the new Jetta sedan as it has with the sixth generation Golf, with a cut-price, cut-spec version on the cards once the current range has established itself.

Quizzed about the likelihood of a cut-price Jetta appearing once the model is bedded in, VW Australia managing director Anke Koeckler told motoring.com.au that the strategy has paid handsome dividends with the Golf.

In late 2010, the company cut the entry price to the Golf by $3K with the introduction of a new base model powered by the smaller 1.2-litre, 77kW TSI petrol engine first seen a year beforehand in the Polo. In doing so it pitched the Golf into direct competition on price with big-selling small cars like the Mazda3, the Holden Cruze, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic on price. Prior to that, the Golf’s price premium had kept it in its own spot upmarket.

It’s an increasingly popular sales ploy among auto makers with the introduction of each new model: launch it in new base and higher specifications, give the early adopters time to snatch them up, then come in with a lower base model to draw in a new, more parsimonious customer base.

Toyota did it with the introduction of the CT200h, the first Lexus to drop through the $40K price barrier. Two years after launching the third-generation Prius with a base price tag of $39,990, it launched the CT – essentially a Prius in a tuxedo – for the same base money, and knocked $5K off the Toyota. The effect was to give the company reach to two new customer profiles: those not willing or able to go to $40K for a Prius, and those who like the idea of an affordable Lexus.

Koeckler refused to be drawn on timing, but it took about 18 months to happen after the Golf VI lineup’s Australian launch in Q1 2009. This year has been the busiest for a long time for VW Australia, with the launches of new Passat, Amarok, Touareg and now Jetta lineups. Koeckler says 2012 won’t be much different, with the launch of the Scirocco coupe and a strengthening of its branding activities.

The increasing emphasis on sharpening up pricing for appeal downmarket is evident in the price difference between the Jetta and the only-just-bigger Passat launched in April. The base Passat commands a $12,500 over a Jetta with the same 118 TSI drivetrain.

Alongside the new low-ender, the company is also looking at bringing a BlueMotion-badged eco-diesel version of the Jetta, but tenuously at this point. The BlueMotion Golf uses a version of the familiar 77kW 1.6 litre oiler tweaked for extra fuel-efficiency and cleanliness. An overhaul to the EMS, a drop in idle speed, auto stop/start, extensive aerodynamic mods and low-resistance tyres help it to 3.8L/100km combined and 99g/km of CO2 – down significantly from the normal 77 TDI’s already impressive 5.1L/100km and 133g/km.

“We’re going on that at the moment, looking into that, that is all I can say,” says Koeckler before going into lockdown on possible introduction time-frames.

It’s all contributing to ‘Strategy 2018’ – the company’s grand vision of itself as the world’s biggest auto maker by 2018. Australia’s contribution here has been palpable, says Koeckler, including in direct sales figures.

“We’ve never sold as many vehicles in a first half as we have this year. Sure, that’s partly because with so many new vehicles being launched many of our models have been in run-out mode.”

But part of this, she says, is the payoff for brand-building in advertising and sponsorship deals with high-profile moving billboards like the Sydney Swans. “It’s all about becoming relevant to Australians.”

It’s also about the product. The way the master plan falls into place in 2012 will be through making sure the volume product launched this year is available – avoiding problems such as the company has experienced with the Polo GTI, for which the wait still extends well into the new year.

“So yeah, it’s about making all that product available and adding more emotionally appealing models – our beautiful new Golf Cabrio and, of course, the Scirocco,” Koeckler said.

While the company is keen to diversify away from being ‘the company that makes the Golf and other models’, it’s not about to let its most successful platform since the Beetle slip out of relevance by being overly focused on its original hatch incarnation. “It’s our iconic model, so of course we want to give customers the luxury of owning a Golf, whether it’s a hatch, a wagon or a cabrio – across a big stretch of market.”

To accommodate the anticipated increases in volume, the company will also consolidate its operations into new premises in Sydney, including a substantially increased parts warehouse.

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