Volkswagen's latest attempt to penetrate more deeply into the American market was just unveiled at the 100th Chicago International Autoshow.
The big new Volkswagen is called the Routan. It's a minivan built as a joint effort with Chrysler LLC at the American manufacturer's plant in Windsor, Ontario.
Chrysler helps out with building and development- though Volkswagen stresses that the Routan is a German product through and through. It will feature design and functional elements characteristic of their other vehicles.
The new model is extensively tailored to our particular marketplace to help VW meet their goal of boosting sales in the USA to 800,000 vehicles by 2018.
The interesting name combines the American word "route" with the "an" suffix- which shouts back to their German roots and already finishes the names of several other VW models like the Touran and Sharan.
Routan measures in at over 5 meters long, and offers plenty of space for up to 7 passengers and their belongings. This is a cargo-van by German standards- but VW is hoping it will be just the right size to be a hit in on our side of the pond.
photo:Volkswagen
The big new Volkswagen is called the Routan. It's a minivan built as a joint effort with Chrysler LLC at the American manufacturer's plant in Windsor, Ontario.
 |
Chrysler helps out with building and development- though Volkswagen stresses that the Routan is a German product through and through. It will feature design and functional elements characteristic of their other vehicles.
The new model is extensively tailored to our particular marketplace to help VW meet their goal of boosting sales in the USA to 800,000 vehicles by 2018.
The interesting name combines the American word "route" with the "an" suffix- which shouts back to their German roots and already finishes the names of several other VW models like the Touran and Sharan.
Routan measures in at over 5 meters long, and offers plenty of space for up to 7 passengers and their belongings. This is a cargo-van by German standards- but VW is hoping it will be just the right size to be a hit in on our side of the pond.
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photo:Volkswagen
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