Type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | 1980[1] |
Headquarters | General Pacheco, Argentina |
Area served | Worldwide [2] |
Key people | Thomas Owsianski (President) [1] |
Products | Automobiles, pickups, transmissions |
Services | Automotive financial services |
Number of employees | c. 7,000 |
Parent | Volkswagen Group |
Divisions | List
|
Website | volkswagen.com.ar |
Volkswagen Group Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of German automotive manufacturing company Volkswagen Group. It was established in 1980 when the company acquired defunct business Chrysler Fevre Argentina including its two plants in San Justo and Monte Chingolo. [1]
Nowadays VW Argentina has two plants, one in General Pacheco where the company produces its vehicles, and the other in Córdoba. The last one is dedicated exclusively to make automobile transmissions, with total of the production exported to Europe. [1] Both plants were inaugurated in 1995 and 1996 respectively. [2]
In 2010, a total of 135,600 vehicles were delivered. [4] During its more than 40 years operating in Argentina, Volkswagen has produced and imported several type of vehicles including automobiles, pickups, minibuses, and trucks.
Volkswagen started its operations in Argentina in 1980 after acquiring Chrysler Fevre Argentina and its plants in San Justo and Monte Chingolo in Buenos Aires Province. Therefore "Volkswagen Argentina" became the 8th subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group worldwide. [5] Volkswagen took over production of the 1500 model, previously marketed by Chrysler under its Dodge brand. When VW took over complete control in 1982, the car was rebadged as "Volkswagen 1500", [6] [7] being also produced by Volkswagen Brazil. [8] The VW 1500 was produced in Argentina until 1990, when it was discontinued. [7] Since its inception in 1971, a total of 262,668 Dodge/VW 1500 were produced. [9]
Volkswagen introduced its first utility vehicles in 1982, producing the 2nd. generation of the Transporter (renamed "Combi" locally). [10] The Combi was produced until 1990 in three versions: minivan, panel van, and pickup. The minibus version was the most popular with 11,331 units produced while the pickup was discontinued in 1986. [11]
In 1983 the company started production of the "Gacel", a 4-door version of its Brazilian Volkswagen Gol first generation. The firm also imported the Passat and Santana (renamed "Carat") models from Brazil. [5]
For economic reasons, in 1987 Volkswagen started a joint venture with Ford Motor Argentina to form Autolatina, moving operations to Ford's Pacheco Stamping and Assembly. During those years, the company commercialised the Gol model (which became the all-time most selling model in the history of Argentine industry) and the Saveiro pickup truck. By mid-1994 Ford and Volkswagen dissolved AutoLatina and the local VW subsidiary started to operate as "Volkswagen Group Argentina". [5]
When the economic situation improved significantly by 1995, Volkswagen re-founded its plants and in the same year commissioned a new plant in General Pacheco. [12] That same year the Gol began to be made in the country, having produced 190,511 units until 2003. In 1996 Volkswagen started production of the Polo Classic and the (second generation of) Caddy van (originally designed by SEAT and marketed in Spain as "SEAT Inca"). A total of 287,000 vehicles (Polo and Caddy) had been produced in General Pacheco until 2008. Other successful model produced was the "Suran", a station wagon version of the Fox model with more than 440,000 units produced from 2006 to 2019. [10] Volkswagen opened a new plant in Córdoba in 2001 to produce transmissions exclusively. [12]
In 2009 Volkswagen Argentina started production of the Amarok, the first global pickup of VW Group. On 15 July 2013, Volkswagen produced its 1,000,000 vehicle in the Pacheco plant. [10] Since 2011, the company has maintained its own chair at the National Technical University in Pacheco with the Ferdinand Porsche Institute. [13]
In 2019, Volkswagen Argentina reached 16 consecutive years as the top selling vehicle manufacturer in Argentina, with 1,5 million vehicles produced in General Pacheco and 14 million transmissions made in Córdoba. All the transmissions produced are exclusively for export. [5] A total of 568,000 Amarok had been produced by mid-2020, becoming the model with more units made in that factory. The Amarok was exported to over 35 countries worldwide. [10]
With an investment of US$650 million and launched in April 2021, [14] the Taos became the first crossover SUV to be manufactured by VW Argentina. [10]
Name | Type | Origin | Orig. name | Produced | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amarok | Pickup | GER | Amarok | 2009–present | |
Taos | Crossover SUV | GER | Taos | 2021–present [10] |
Name | Type | Origin | Orig. marque | Orig. name | Produced | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1500 [n1 1] | Sedan | UK | Rootes Group | Hillman Avenger | 1982–88 | |
Combi | Minivan / Panel van / Pickup | GER | Volkswagen | Transporter (2nd. generation) | 1981–90 [15] | |
Gacel [n1 2] | Sedan / Station wagon | BRA | Volkswagen | Gol (1st. generation) | 1983–96 | |
Gol / Voyage [n1 3] | Subcompact / Station wagon [n1 4] / Pickup [n1 5] | BRA | Volkswagen | Gol (1st.–3rd. generation) | 1993–2021 [17] | |
Polo Classic | Sedan | GER | Volkswagen | Derby (3rd. generation) | 1996–2008 [10] | |
Caddy | Van | SPA | SEAT | Inca | 1996–2008 [10] | |
Suran | Mini MPV | BRA | Volkswagen | Fox (station wagon) | 2007–19 [18] |
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand after World War II by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst, it is known for the iconic Beetle and serves as the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40 percent of its sales and profits. Its name is derived from the German-language terms Volk and Wagen, translating to "people's car" when combined.
The Volkswagen Gol is a subcompact car that has been manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil since 1980 as Volkswagen's entry-level car in the Latin American market—where it succeeded the Volkswagen Type 1 (Fusca) and the Volkswagen Brasilia. Several variants of the Gol-derived Voyage and Parati were marketed in North America as the Volkswagen Fox from 1987 to 1993.
The Volkswagen Type 3 is a compact car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1961 to 1973. Introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt International Motor Show, the IAA, the Type 3 was marketed as the Volkswagen 1500 and later as the Volkswagen 1600, in two-door Notchback, Fastback, and Variant body styles, the latter marketed as the 'Squareback' in the United States.
AutoLatina was a joint venture between Volkswagen Group subsidiary Volkswagen do Brasil (51%) and Ford Motor Company subsidiary Ford Brasil (49%) in South America. The main reason for the joint venture was the bad economic situation at the time, which made joint survival more attractive than an individual fight for a share in a dwindling market.
The Volkswagen Group B platform is a mid-size automobile platform from the Volkswagen Group. It has been used for saloon cars/sedans, estate cars/station wagon, and coupés - under the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT and Škoda marques.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is a German marque of light commercial vehicles, owned by Volkswagen Group. It is headquartered in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. Originally part of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, it has operated as a separate marque since 1995.
Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda. is a subsidiary arm of Volkswagen Group, established in 1953 with local assembly of the Volkswagen Type 1 from parts imported from Germany. It produced over 20 million vehicles in Brazil, having been market leader for the majority of their more than sixty years in existence. Beginning in 1958, the Type 1 ("Fuscas") had a 24-year run as the number one in sales in Brazil. From 1987 until 2012, the Gol was first place in sales.
Motorcars first arrived in Mexico City in 1903, and since then several vehicle brands have been especially successful. A number of manufacturers make vehicles in Mexico, and may brands have been and continue to be available.
The Volkswagen Routan is a seven-seat minivan and rebadged variant of the Chrysler RT platform, with revised styling, content features, and suspension tuning from the fifth-generation Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.
The Volkswagen Amarok is a pickup truck produced by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles since 2010. It is a body-on-frame truck with double-wishbone suspension at the front and leaf springs at the rear. The Amarok range consists of single cab and double cab, combined with either rear-wheel drive or 4motion four-wheel-drive, and is powered by turbocharged petrol or turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines.
Ford Argentina S.C.A. is the Argentine subsidiary of Ford Motor Company founded in Buenos Aires in 1913. Its first products were Model Ts assembled from complete knock down (CKD) kits provided by Ford Motor Company in 1917. Nevertheless, Ford Motor Argentina is best known in more recent times for producing the Ford Focus and, previously, the Argentine version of the Ford Falcon, originally a U.S. model introduced in Argentina in 1961, but adapted to the Argentine market.
Renault Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault. It is one of the oldest Renault operations in the world and is ranked consistently in first place by sales between the local automakers. Renault Argentina was officially established in 1975, but the French company had a long presence in Argentina before that.
Toyota Argentina S.A. is the Argentine subsidiary of Japan-based conglomerate Toyota, being also the first Japanese automotive company to produce in Argentina. Established in 1994, the company has its manufacturing plant in Zárate, Buenos Aires, which opened in 1997.
The Volkswagen Taigo is a subcompact crossover SUV (B-segment) with a sloping roofline manufactured by the German automaker Volkswagen. Based on the Mk6 Polo, the Taigo is built on the Volkswagen Group MQB A0 platform.
The Volkswagen Taos is a compact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen. It was first released in October 2018 as the Volkswagen Tharu in China, while the Taos was released in October 2020 as a restyled version of the Tharu for the North American, South American, and Russian markets. In the brand's lineup, the vehicle is positioned below the Tiguan, and in South America and China above the T-Cross.
Chrysler Fevre Argentina S.A. was the Argentina subsidiary of US-based automotive manufacturer Chrysler Corporation. Originally established in 1890 as a supplier for tanning industry, the firm began to commercialise vehicles after an agreement signed with Dodge Brothers Company in 1916, which allowed it to import and commercialise automobiles and trucks in Argentina.
Stellantis Argentina S.A. is the Argentine subsidiary of international conglomerate Stellantis which produces and markets Citroën, Fiat, and Peugeot vehicles in the country. Established in 2021, the company is successor of several firms that had operated in Argentina as subsidiaries or licensors for these brands, such as Fiat Argentina, and Groupe PSA Argentina.