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Breaking the mold: Why Volkswagen Philippines’ affordable new offerings shouldn’t be ignored

By Gerard
.
May 26, 2018

May 18, 2018—this day will be remembered by many in the motoring industry as the day Volkswagen Philippines introduced an entire lineup of vehicles that would change the Philippine automotive landscape. It wasn’t just a single car that was introduced, mind you,. Not even a pair of new vehicles. But the German carmaker’s Philippine distributor took the covers off five new offerings in one go.

We’re talking about the new Volkswagen Santana MPI M/T Trendline, Lavida 230 DSG Comfortline, Tiguan 280 DSG Comfortline, Santana GTS MPI AT Comfortline, and the Lamando 280 DSG Highline. Following the launch at the posh Shangri-la The Fort, VW Philippines embarked on a simultaneous mall tour in three major shopping destinations in Makati, Eastwood, and Cebu in order to allow more Filipinos to experience the new Volkswagen models.

But why is the German company making such a big deal out of its new products? Probably the biggest reason this side of town are the more affordable and dare we say, competitive pricing. Imagine getting a decently-spec’d Volkswagen that starts out at just P686,000. Yes, that’s how much a new Santana will set you back.

Even the other models like the Lavida costs just P1,171,000 while the Tiguan can be had for P1,648,000. These are fully-loaded vehicles with stuff like leather, a sunroof, and the whole alphabet soup of safety systems. And yes, the Volkswagen badge is on offer at a price point that even undercuts the Japanese and Korean competition.

So how did Volkswagen do it, you ask? They sourced their cars from China and took advantage of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). While this may throw you off a bit, what with Chinese products being considered as cheap and of low quality, you might want to keep in mind that almost everything nowadays is made in China—including that phone or laptop you’re using to read this piece.

And Volkswagen assures us that no matter where its cars are made, each one adheres to the strictest quality standards before leaving the factory. Volkswagen Philippines has even pegged the service interval to just once a year or 10,000kms,. This means that they have the hghest faith in the quality of their products, not to mention lowering service costs.

And all this breaks the usual mold of European cars being expensive both to acquire and maintain. Of course, only time will tell how these cars will hold up. But if Volkswagen’s track record is anything to go by, then we should see them running for quite a long time. As for those more affordable Euro nameplates coming in from China, well, that’s another story we might want to keep an eye on.

Photos bySabina Cruz

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About the Author

Mr. Gerard Jude Castillo
Gerard has been a self-confessed car nut ever since he was a little boy. As a grown-up, he indulges in his passion by collecting toy cars (which he started since childhood) and reading up on the latest cars out there.  As Associate Editor, he will ensure that you get your fill of the latest cars in the market, as well as a load of automotive features.