Volkswagen has made it no secret that it wants to challenge Toyota for the number one carmaker spot, going so far as to set a 2018 target date as the year when its manufacturing numbers will surpass those of Toyota. The CEO with the vision, Martin Winterkorn, has now claimed he wants to stay at VW until the goal is reached.
Speaking with European media, Winterkorn boasted that “German perfectionism and better design” are the advantages VW has in its arsenal to overcome Toyota. He didn’t want to state the exact date when VW’s target would be achieved, however, he stressed that by as early as 2010 he wants VW to be where Toyota is today. Over the past 12 months Toyota managed to sell close to nine million vehicles while VW moved just over 5.7 million vehicles.
VW must improve its productivity by around 10 percent, Winterkorn claimed. Each Toyota vehicle manufactured in Japan has a cost advantage above a VW of around 3,000 to 4,000 euros. That’s why the German giant will be investing up to 9.5 billion euros over the next three years to help develop more than 20 new models around modular platforms. At the same time, VW will also try to boost sales in the United States, including manufacturing more unique models in North America.
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