VW in talks to acquire two more brands this year?
09-16-09, 05:45 PM
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VW in talks to acquire two more brands this year?
The iconic head of Volkswagen's supervisory board, Ferdinand Piech, said on Monday that Europe's biggest car maker should have two more brands.
The iconic head of Volkswagen's supervisory board, Ferdinand Piech, said Monday that Europe's biggest car maker should have two more brands.
"Twelve is a good number," Piech told media during an event organised by VW ahead of the 63rd Frankfurt auto show which opens Thursday.
VW already has 10 brands, and is integrating its latest acquisition, Porsche, among others that include Audi, Lamborghini, Seat and VW.
Piech declined however to name the brands he would like to add next.
"Talks are already underway," he noted. "Let yourself be surprised this year."
The "patriarch" as Piech is known in Germany, has already said he would love to add a line of motorcycles to the VW stable that now includes auto and heavy trucks with the Swedish Scania line.
VW also owns a dominant stake in Scania's German rival MAN.
Piech has expressed admiration in the past for cars built by Suzuki, and in late August said VW was considering a cooperation agreement with the Japanese company in the field of city vehicles.
Finally, Piech took a swipe at the announced sale of a majority stake in the German automaker Opel by its US parent General Motors to the Canadian auto parts group Magna and its Russian partner, the state-owned Sberbank.
"From a business point of view, we don't like it when a supplier becomes a competitor," Piech said.
The iconic head of Volkswagen's supervisory board, Ferdinand Piech, said Monday that Europe's biggest car maker should have two more brands.
"Twelve is a good number," Piech told media during an event organised by VW ahead of the 63rd Frankfurt auto show which opens Thursday.
VW already has 10 brands, and is integrating its latest acquisition, Porsche, among others that include Audi, Lamborghini, Seat and VW.
Piech declined however to name the brands he would like to add next.
"Talks are already underway," he noted. "Let yourself be surprised this year."
The "patriarch" as Piech is known in Germany, has already said he would love to add a line of motorcycles to the VW stable that now includes auto and heavy trucks with the Swedish Scania line.
VW also owns a dominant stake in Scania's German rival MAN.
Piech has expressed admiration in the past for cars built by Suzuki, and in late August said VW was considering a cooperation agreement with the Japanese company in the field of city vehicles.
Finally, Piech took a swipe at the announced sale of a majority stake in the German automaker Opel by its US parent General Motors to the Canadian auto parts group Magna and its Russian partner, the state-owned Sberbank.
"From a business point of view, we don't like it when a supplier becomes a competitor," Piech said.
09-16-09, 07:36 PM
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09-16-09, 07:49 PM
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09-17-09, 12:08 AM
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09-17-09, 09:09 AM
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I wouldn't be too quick to judge VW on this. Let's be honest - VW builds cars that people want. They have a good name and their products are good, too. GM was in a position where they only built a handful of good cars that people wanted and offered far to many mediocre cars that people didn't want or weren't prepared to pay for.. They also mismanaged brands like Saab for instance. Mismanage is the important word here.
Portfolio diversification can be a good thing if it is managed properly. VW has done a good job in the past with managing its different brands to the point where Skoda and Seat have become far more respected than VW themselves in Europe for example. Lamborghini, under the guidance of the VW conglomerate has literally experienced a fresh revival and awakening.
Portfolio diversification can be a good thing if it is managed properly. VW has done a good job in the past with managing its different brands to the point where Skoda and Seat have become far more respected than VW themselves in Europe for example. Lamborghini, under the guidance of the VW conglomerate has literally experienced a fresh revival and awakening.
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09-17-09, 11:13 AM
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Volkswagen is starting to look a lot like the Roman Empire right now. It has a lot of subjects at its mercy, each with far too different ideologies and histories. Soon enough, it will all collapse not because it is being mismanaged but because eventually Volkswagen will attempt to assimilate the other brands. We've been seeing this more and more with the R8 (and even more so now that the V10 is out), which is basically a poor man's Gallardo, and the Porsche Panamera, which is a supped up version of the European Phaeton.
As Volkswagen grows here in the U.S. (we'll refer to it as the Eastern Roman Empire), it is quickly becoming stale and underappreciated in Europe (the Western Empire) because of all the assimilations of differing brands and whatnot (the Goths, Germanics, &c.). Soon enough, these smaller brands will want a voice and everything will collapse.
As Volkswagen grows here in the U.S. (we'll refer to it as the Eastern Roman Empire), it is quickly becoming stale and underappreciated in Europe (the Western Empire) because of all the assimilations of differing brands and whatnot (the Goths, Germanics, &c.). Soon enough, these smaller brands will want a voice and everything will collapse.
09-17-09, 12:30 PM
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Volkswagen is starting to look a lot like the Roman Empire right now. It has a lot of subjects at its mercy, each with far too different ideologies and histories. Soon enough, it will all collapse not because it is being mismanaged but because eventually Volkswagen will attempt to assimilate the other brands. We've been seeing this more and more with the R8 (and even more so now that the V10 is out), which is basically a poor man's Gallardo, and the Porsche Panamera, which is a supped up version of the European Phaeton.
09-17-09, 01:39 PM
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Volkswagen is starting to look a lot like the Roman Empire right now. It has a lot of subjects at its mercy, each with far too different ideologies and histories. Soon enough, it will all collapse not because it is being mismanaged but because eventually Volkswagen will attempt to assimilate the other brands. We've been seeing this more and more with the R8 (and even more so now that the V10 is out), which is basically a poor man's Gallardo, and the Porsche Panamera, which is a supped up version of the European Phaeton.
As Volkswagen grows here in the U.S. (we'll refer to it as the Eastern Roman Empire), it is quickly becoming stale and underappreciated in Europe (the Western Empire) because of all the assimilations of differing brands and whatnot (the Goths, Germanics, &c.). Soon enough, these smaller brands will want a voice and everything will collapse.
09-17-09, 08:17 PM
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Piech has expressed admiration in the past for cars built by Suzuki,
Last edited by mmarshall; 09-17-09 at 08:25 PM.
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