Aspects such as the suspension and brakes also will be uniquely Volkswagen to provide the desired dynamics, Jacoby says. He won’t say whether negotiations between the two automakers included rights to offer Chrysler’s Stow ‘n Go seating system that allows the second and third rows to fold into a storage well in the floor.
Parent Volkswagen AG has said it will invest $14.1 billion over the next three years in new products, plants, and production capacity. To cut development costs, the automaker is working on four new architectures, including a transverse-engine platform known as MQB that will be used for about 20 small- to medium-sized vehicles for the VW, Audi, Škoda, and SEAT brands.
On the sales side, the automaker has ambitious plans to sell 10 million vehicles globally by 2018 (up from 5.7 million in 2006), including one million in the U.S., of which 200,000 would be Audis. That will be quite a feat, as sales of the two brands in 2006 combined were fewer than 330,000. New products aiding the cause in the U.S. include the minivan, the Tiguan small SUV, a larger replacement Passat, the return of the Phaeton, a car between the Passat and Phaeton, potentially a version of the Up! subcompact concept, and the new Audi A4, Q3, and Q5.
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