Volkswagen and Me
For one of the assignments in LFS 100 which I took this year (I know I was exempt but I wanted to take it regardless) we had to write a short one page letter to a politician, media outlet or institution on a topic we felt passionately about and see if we got any responses. I am very passionate about cars to the point that I wrote my GRS application essay on the current state of the automotive industry and various forms of alternative fuels and the like. So I altered the assignment a little and instead of writing to any of the allowed people or places I instead wrote to Volkswagen head offices in Germany commending them on their drive (pun intended) to product fuel efficient diesel cars and at the same time ask them why their excellent European models were not available in Canada. I was not expecting a response or anything more than a general brush off blanket letter that they send to people that make such inquires. Imagine my surprise then when over the next two weeks I received three different personalized responses from Germany and Canada including the public relations manager for Canada who gave me his personal email and cell phone number and told me to contact him directly for any more questions I might have. I was completely dumbfounded by the level of response that I received and I am attaching all of the emails because I think you might find them as interesting as I did.
Please feel free to let me know your thoughts
Dear Volkswagen AG,
I am writing to you today because for one of my courses at the University of British Columbia in Canada, I have to pick a topic which I feel passionately about and write a letter to the appropriate media outlet, politician or institute. I (and I’m sure my instructor who I have to cc in this e-mail) knows full well that Volkswagen AG is none of the above. Regardless I have chosen to write to you because if there is one thing that I feel passionately about besides cars, that one thing would have to be the environment.
What does Volkswagen AG have to do with the environment you ask? Well you currently make some of the most fuel efficient vehicles in the world, the majority of which are not sold in Canada or even the United States for that matter. I picked you, Volkswagen AG to write to instead of say Toyota for example because Volkswagen AG has focused on the development of clean diesels as opposed to hybrids which, I feel are far more harmful to the environment than even standard gasoline cars due do their huge carbon offset during production and battery disposal. I read in a study that the added carbon emissions in the production of a Toyota Prius when compared to the production of a standard car are more than a full-size truck will make in its entire lifetime.
I know there are emissions and crash regulations which are different in Europe and North America but surely some form of compromise can be made to allow Canadians to receive some of these vehicles. Even your most efficient vehicle offered here which, are some of the highest in Canada pales when compared to your European offerings. Might I direct your attention to figures from your 2010 European corporate product line and present you with some information that I have compiled into an easy to follow chart. “Combined MPG” is the combined MPG from City and Highway ratings.
| Vehicle Class | European Vehicle | Combined MPG | CO2 (g/kg) |
| Compact | VW Polo 1.2 TDI 75PS BlueMotion | 83 | 89 |
| Seat Ibiza ST 1.2 CR TDI 75PS Ecomotive | 81 | 92 | |
| Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI 80 PS Ecomotive | 76 | 98 | |
| Small | Skoda Fabia 1.2CR TDI 75PS Greenline II | 83 | 89 |
| VW Golf 1.6 TDI 105PS BlueMotion | 74 | 99 | |
| Seat Leon and Audi A3 with same engine | 74 | 99 | |
| Large | VW Passat Estate with same engine | 64 | 114 |
| Audi A4 2.0 TDIe 136PS | 61 | 119 | |
| Sports | Audi A3 Cabriolet 1.6 TDI 105PS | 66 | 114 |
| Vehicle Class | Canadian Vehicle | L/100km | CO2 (g/kg) |
| Small | VW Golf TDI Clean Diesel | 4.6-6.7
(+/- 40 Combined MPG) |
136 |
Using the VW Golf as a comparable example, you can see there is a huge discrepancy between what is available for purchase in Europe and in North America in terms of environmental benefit. According to the 2008 Global Market Data Book, there is almost the same number of cars sold in Europe (22.9 million) as in North America (19.4 million) so the market share is clearly there.
While I would like to go on, for this assignment I have to keep my letter one page in length so I will leave you with one question that captures the entire point of this letter. What will it take so that North America will be able to enjoy the same fuel efficient vehicles while helping to save the planet that Europe currently has?
Sincerely,
Ashley Canavan
Dear Mr. Canavan,
Thank you for your message.
We kindly request your understanding that it is not possible for us to attend to all our customers from our headquarters in
Wolfsburg, but count on the competence of our world-wide network. Consequently, we have forwarded your correspondence to our
importer
Volkswagen Group Canada Inc.
777 Bayly St W
AJAX ON L1S 7G7
Kanada
Tel.: +19054286700
responsible for all matters concerning sales and service of Volkswagen in your country, asking them to look into your issue and
get in touch with you directly. Please expect further communication from them.
Yours sincerely,
i. V. Mario Meyer i. V. Sven Grabowski
Volkswagen AG
38436 Wolfsburg
Tel +49 (0) 1805 865579*
Fax +49 (0) 1805 329865*
Dear Mr. Canavan
Volkswagen AG has forwarded your inquiry regarding the availability of the full TDI line up in Canada to our attention. We would like to thank you for taking time to contact us, and appreciate your interest in the Volkswagen brand.
We were pleased to learn of your enthusiasm for our products and our brand; we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your passion and loyalty to our brand. As you mention our TDI technology is a really attractive alternative to many consumers and an asset to our brand.
Presently there are no plans to introduce the full TDI line up into this market since they are not designed to meet our Canadian Motor Vehicle Standards. We appreciate the information you have provided to us and this was shared with our product-planning department. We would like to confirm to you that Volkswagen does not take your comment lightly and we hope we will soon meet your request for a larger array of diesel-powered vehicles in Canada.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact Volkswagen. If you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact our Customer Care Center at 800.DRIVE VW.
Sincerely,
Jessyka
Volkswagen Customer Care Center
Hello Ashley.
Thank you for your letter. It is clear that you are quite passionate about the environment. It is also clear that you have a firm grasp on the automotive industry. Your question, though a simple one, does not have a simple answer.
At Volkswagen, we, too, are passionate about the environment. When we are designing our automobiles, we seek to strike a balance between the needs of the customer and the needs of the market in which we sell our vehicles. You are correct when you state that we are industry leaders in the development of TDI Clean Diesel technology. In Europe, we offer a complete range of these engines. An advantage we have in our “home” market is a greater demand for smaller, more fuel efficient models. In North America, consumers tend to purchase larger, more powerful vehicles. Why this is the case is not always clear to us, but it has been the case for as long as the market has existed.
As such, we at Volkswagen must balance what is environmentally sound, and what will actually be purchased by the consumer…and do it at a price that is within reach of this consumer. We have had great success in the last decade with our TDI Clean Diesel engines, which are now available in our Jetta, Golf, and Golf Wagon cars, as well as the Touareg Sport Utility. Next year, it will also be available in our “New Midsize Sedan”, a vehicle that will be produced in our new “State of the Art” manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This factory will use all of the latest technologies to reduce the amount of waste and pollution inherent with the process.
Going forward, we will continue to pursue our Clean Diesel strategy, along with other forms of alternative propulsion. It is our greatest hope that as more and more motorists become familiar with this technology that they will see fit to giving it a closer look. Soon, with more and more consumer awareness, the number of Clean Diesel-powered vehicles could reach the point where the technology becomes as widely accepted in North America as it is in Europe. When this occurs, making these engines available in Canada will become far more viable.
I hope that this has helped you with your question. Please feel free to contact me directly should you wish to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Thomas Tetzlaff
Manager, Public Relations
Volkswagen Canada