Volkswagen's Jetta becomes a brand

The Jetta name has made the leap from a Volkswagen model to the Volkswagen Group’s latest all-new brand.

The long-running nameplate has been swung in to serve as Volkswagen’s budget brand for the Chinese market, as we exclusively revealed here more than two years ago.

The Jetta brand’s two SUVs and a sedan will be new and built in Chengdu by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture

“With Jetta, we are closing the gap between the established VW lead brand in the top volume segment and entry-level mobility, which accounts for about one third of the Chinese market and is served mainly by local brands,” Volkswagen’s board member for sales, Jürgen Stackmann, said.

“This way, we will significantly increase our market coverage.”

Volkswagen is already the biggest-selling car maker in the world’s biggest car market, but its global reach has long been hampered by its inability to make budget cars.

The search for a budget brand was a key part of its tie-up with Suzuki, and also a key part of the tie-up’s failure.

Another part of the reason for the Jetta brand’s birth is that it allows the Volkswagen brand itself to move up to the junior premium class it holds in Europe.

“In China, the Jetta plays an extremely valuable role for us as a Volkswagen model. It has brought mobility for the masses, just like the Beetle once did in Europe,” Stackmann explained.

“Developed by Volkswagen and built in China, the Jetta has placed China on four wheels. To this day, it is one of Volkswagen’s most popular models in China – a real icon.

“This is why we are transforming a model into a brand for the first time in the history of Volkswagen and establishing a separate model and brand family.”

The Jetta brand will controversially bypass the current Volkswagen sales structures, too, and establish its own dealers, including digital showrooms, sites in shopping centres and selling cars via mobile trucks.

Volkswagen sold more than 3.1 million cars in China last year and about half of Volkswagen’s global deliveries end up in China.

The brand has delivered 30 million cars in China over the last 30 years and is the biggest brand in the country.

The addition of the Jetta brand stretches the Volkswagen Group’s list of nameplates to 19, including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Cupra, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Moia, Sol, Jetta, Scania, MAN, RIO, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus.