On Wednesday evening, Shanghai Volkswagen officially launched and announced the price of its first compact car under the Volkswagen brand, the Lavida, ranging from 112,800 yuan to 149,800 yuan. Since the exposure of the codes "Model-Y" and "Model-X" by Sohu Auto, these two new models from North and South Volkswagen have been the focus of media and consumer attention. During the Beijing Auto Show in April, both the Lavida and the New Bora were globally launched simultaneously, but their subsequent fates were quite different: compared to the grand pre-launch publicity for the Lavida, the New Bora remained unusually quiet, with only a debut at the Beijing Auto Show. The New Bora did not become the focus of promotion for FAW-Volkswagen this year, forming a stark contrast with Shanghai Volkswagen's all-out launch of the Lavida. So, what is the New Bora waiting for? Or what reasons have kept the New Bora backstage instead of being the star? In response, I will exclusively provide you with answers.
A Rocky Road? The New Bora’s Troubled Birth!
In sharp contrast to the smooth journey of Shanghai Volkswagen's Lavida from concept car to testing and then to launch, the birth of FAW-Volkswagen's "future strategic model," the New Bora, has been fraught with numerous difficulties and setbacks. From the initial idea of producing a new generation of compact family cars domestically in early 2003 to today, the New Bora has yet to see its launch after five years. Meanwhile, its "younger brother," the Shanghai Volkswagen Lavida, has already received orders from nearly ten thousand customers and announced its price last night.
In early 2003, while introducing the Bora and preparing to introduce the Jetta, FAW-Volkswagen also considered launching a replacement model for the Jetta, hoping to develop a second-generation model based on the Jetta, positioned as an economical family car priced between 80,000 and 100,000 yuan. The original intention was to attempt localized product development using mature technology and local market research results. However, after nearly two years of development, the "New Jetta" plan by FAW-Volkswagen was rejected by Volkswagen Germany.
Starting in 2005, the booming sedan market and the continuous emergence of new models made it impossible for Volkswagen Germany to accept FAW-Volkswagen's plan to develop new cars on the PQ32 platform used by the Jetta. At the same time, Shanghai Volkswagen also planned to develop a compact family car based on the "Nezha" concept car. Thus, through coordination and efforts by Volkswagen China, and after both sides made compromises, North and South Volkswagen finally decided to jointly adopt Volkswagen's fourth-generation A-class car platform (PQ34 platform) as the basis. By extending the wheelbase and applying modular design concepts, they would create two compact family cars primarily competing against Toyota's Corolla (the previous generation of the Cardola), each with its own independently developed exterior styling. These are the later well-known "Model-Y" and "Model-X."
Due to a lack of sufficient styling and appearance design talent, the entire design process of the New Bora was led by German designers, while Shanghai Volkswagen completed the full design work of the Lavida from concept to production with its trained design team. The unique styling design philosophy of the Lavida and the Volkswagen family is the result of innovation by Shanghai Volkswagen's Chinese design staff incorporating Chinese elements. German Volkswagen personnel frankly admitted that when designing the New Bora, they considered integrating traditional Volkswagen design elements to facilitate distinguishing between the new models of North and South Volkswagen. On the other hand, there was concern about the "revolutionary" styling of the Lavida; if the styling and design philosophy of the Lavida failed to gain recognition from domestic Volkswagen brand consumers, there would still be a "genuine" New Bora available as an alternative choice for those consumers.
Racing Against Time? Busy Testing Domestically and Overseas for the New Bora!
After FAW-Volkswagen announced at the end of last year that it would produce a locally developed compact family car during the 2008 Olympics period, the New Bora encountered some technical issues again. According to relevant personnel from Volkswagen Germany, there were some minor problems with part of the engineering design of the New Bora, mostly due to the lack of experience among Chinese design staff. Issues related to oversight and design deficiencies continued to surface during the test vehicle phase of the New Bora.
From exclusive domestic test vehicle spy photos obtained by Sohu Auto, these New Boras were still in the trial assembly stage for testing purposes. Since the camouflage was minimal, it could be seen that these vehicles were not pre-production trial production models but rather early-stage trial assembly test vehicles. This indicates that the New Bora may still be some distance away from mass production.
With no other options, the batch production and launch plans for the New Bora had to be pushed back repeatedly. Not long ago, the author also discovered overseas media capturing spy photos of the New Bora undergoing testing in Germany. Many domestic media outlets mistakenly identified these as the next-generation three-box version of the Jetta. However, after verification, it was confirmed that these were indeed test vehicles of the New Bora from FAW-Volkswagen, sent to Volkswagen Germany for additional testing and detailed modifications to ensure the New Bora could be launched around the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Simultaneously, senior management in Wolfsburg, Germany, was evaluating the New Bora from FAW-Volkswagen to assess its potential for production or sales in third-world countries like Brazil in the future.
Given Volkswagen's current global market sales, the new models launched in recent years have strong competitiveness in the traditional European market. However, due to the continuous appreciation of the euro and Volkswagen's historically poor sales in North America, the promotion of new models in the North American market has not been smooth. In China, South America, and other third-world countries, the sales volume of older Volkswagen models far exceeds that of expensive new models. This has prompted Volkswagen to decide to launch different new models targeted at different countries and markets in the future. The New Bora from FAW-Volkswagen and the Lavida from Shanghai Volkswagen can be seen as a significant attempt by Volkswagen in China.
Replacing the Bora! What Will Drive the New Bora's Sales Breakthrough?
Unlike the Lavida, the New Bora inherits many design elements from the Volkswagen family in terms of exterior design. Its front face and headlight designs serve as a bridge between the Polo and the Jetta, positioning it to replace the current classic Bora model (formerly known as the New Bora), which is set to cease production at the beginning of 2009.
Previously, both the Jetta (fifth-generation Bora) and Magotan (sixth-generation Passat) introduced by FAW-Volkswagen adopted the new "Teng" naming system for various reasons. However, this naming method, lacking heritage and clarity, confused some consumers regarding the relationships between the Jetta, Magotan, and Benteng models, affecting the sales of these two main new models. A typical example is the Magotan from FAW-Volkswagen: as the replacement model for the Shanghai Volkswagen domestically produced Passat B5, without the "Passat" golden nameplate, the Magotan struggled to break through in monthly sales, lagging far behind the slightly modified Passat Lingyu from Shanghai Volkswagen.
Perhaps due to these reasons, FAW-Volkswagen opted to reuse the "New Bora" name, hoping that its compact family car could inherit the naming of classic models. Leveraging the excellent reputation of the Bora brand in China's compact car market, along with the advantages of a longer wheelbase and new styling, the New Bora aims to smoothly enter the high-sales phase.
Currently, the price range of the classic Bora model (previously called New Bora) is between 100,000 and 140,000 yuan. As the New Bora gradually becomes the dominant model in the market next year, the 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter versions of the classic Bora will be phased out around mid-2009, with their price ranges replaced by the 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter versions of the New Bora. It is expected that the 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter versions of the New Bora will adopt the same powertrain configuration as the Lavida, allowing the two models to maximize joint procurement, reduce costs, and prepare for possible price war threats in the future.
The author believes that with the launch of the Lavida, competition in the domestic compact car market will become increasingly fierce. The timing of the New Bora's launch is expected to be around the end of this year or the beginning of next year. The pricing of the New Bora will largely reference the prices of the Elantra-Yuedong, the New Excelle, and the Lavida. A pricing strategy higher than the New Excelle but lower than the Lavida might be the most practical choice for the New Bora. Compared to Shanghai Volkswagen's extensive promotion of the Lavida brand, the New Bora can maximize the use of the Bora brand's reputation and goodwill, gaining consumer recognition quickly upon launch and seizing market opportunities early.
Although the Lavida has already been launched, the New Bora continues to remain backstage, shrouded in mystery. How long can the anticipation and enthusiasm for the New Bora generated during the Beijing Auto Show in April last? All these factors will influence the future market performance of the New Bora. Can the Lavida and the New Bora become the foundation of sales for North and South Volkswagen in the coming years, like today's Santana and Jetta? Let the Chinese consumers vote themselves! Author: Tong Jiren
Copyright Statement: This is an exclusive article by Sohu Auto. All copyrights belong to Sohu Auto. Without permission, translation and reproduction are prohibited, and any violations will be pursued.
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