Volkswagen leads compact car segment

Volkswagen (VW) Korea is leading the boom in the imported car industry with its new compact hatchback models. VW launched its flagship hatchback model, the Golf GTI and GTD in June, targeting younger customers. It plans to launch the Golf 1.4 TSI BlueMotion this month.

“One of the key values of the our Golf series, which combines strong car body and German engineering technology, is offering the best driving experiences to different users with various tastes.

“The Golf GTI and GTD are the models equipped with the most powerful design and innovative technologies in our history that will give drivers the experience that driving can be a sport,” said Thomas Kuehl, president of Volkswagen in a statement.

It is also strengthening its gasoline product line-up. The gasoline-powered Golf GTI debuted in 1972. The GTI, termed a sports hatch or hot hatch, has been a dominant player in the high-performance compact segment among car-lovers.

The seventh-generation model has had its weight cut by 55 kilograms through VW’s new Modular Transverse Matrix, or MQB, production technology platform. It also made its body 15 millimetres smaller compared to that of the ordinary Golf.

Meanwhile, the diesel-powered GTD boasts stronger performance and better fuel efficiency. Launched in 1982, the GTD has also been fully transformed through the MQB platform. The GTD is similar to that of the seventh-generation GTI with some conspicuous features that only the GTD has.

The key features lie in its design. It has its unique and symbolic tornado shape, and a honeycomb radiator grille. In the booming Korean foreign car market, Volkswagen Korea is No.1 in car sales to customers in their 20s and 30s, the firm said.

The firm sold more than 9,668 cars in April this year, a 33.2-percent increase year-on-year. It sold 25,649 cars last year, up 39.4 percent from a year earlier. The explosive sales growth was largely attributed to the popularity of its new hatchback series, such as its Golf models.

Volkswagen Korea is a pioneer in the compact hatchback market with the massive success of its Golf series in the past few years. Some 6,220 Golfs in six models were sold here in 2012 alone. Sales of imported vehicles in Korea reached an all-time high last month, according to Korea Automobile Imports & Distributors Association (KAIDA).

A total of 76,460 foreign-brand cars were sold until May, up 23.9 percent from a year earlier.