BULLI FOR VOLKSWAGEN - AUTOLINE AFTER HOURS 118

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This episode of Autoline After Hours features a deep dive into Volkswagen's quality initiatives and market strategy with Executive Vice President of Group Quality, Marc Trahan. Trahan addresses past perceptions of Volkswagen's quality, highlighting significant improvements, particularly in reducing repair frequency, citing data from CSI studies. He emphasizes a shift towards focusing on 'softer' quality aspects like intuitive human-machine interfaces, alongside traditional reliability. The discussion also covers the new Chattanooga plant, stressing a 'quality first, volume second' approach for the North American-specific Passat, which is built with a high percentage of locally sourced content. Trahan expresses optimism about Volkswagen's ambitious sales goals in the US, aiming for 800,000 units by 2018, while reiterating the importance of dealer profitability and overall business quality over sheer volume. The conversation touches upon electrification, diesel's role in the US market, and the potential for future Audi models in the US, while ruling out immediate production of concepts like the Bulli.