Photo: Catalin Garmacea
When I talked about kicking Volkswagen while they’re down due to the Dieselgate scandal, I meant that in a metaphorical way, but it seems that more than one competing carmaker has taken things literally, offering incentives for VW customers who trade in.
Fiat Chrysler has thrown out rebates of up to EUR1,500 ($1,700) in Italy, seeking to bring in new customers coming from Volkswagen.
As shown in an internal memo that was confirmed by dealers (via Bloomberg), the discounts come on top of other incentives and apply to any VW Group brand. The fishing hooks are offered for the current month and range form EUR500 (applying to a Fiat Panda) to EUR1,500 for a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
This isn’t exactly the first time when the two carmakers have threatened each other. Back in 2012, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne accused VW of generating a “bloodbath” on the European market by introducing an aggressive pricing strategy as carmakers were struggling to face the market slowdown. In response, VW said it could leave ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), which, at the time, was led by Marchionne. However, the German carmaker didn’t take action.
That’s not a thing that can be said about Ford, who reportedly instructed its Italian dealers to offer an EUR750 trade-in incentive for Volkswagen owners. The bonus is said to cover the Blue Oval’s entire line-up.
The automaker might end up spending between $26 billion (EUR23 billion) and a whopping $87 billion (EUR78 billion) to deal with the consequences of the scandal, as shown in a report issued by Credit Suisse. And that’s an amount of money that could threaten more than just VW’s position as the world’s number one carmaker by sales volume.
As shown in an internal memo that was confirmed by dealers (via Bloomberg), the discounts come on top of other incentives and apply to any VW Group brand. The fishing hooks are offered for the current month and range form EUR500 (applying to a Fiat Panda) to EUR1,500 for a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
This isn’t exactly the first time when the two carmakers have threatened each other. Back in 2012, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne accused VW of generating a “bloodbath” on the European market by introducing an aggressive pricing strategy as carmakers were struggling to face the market slowdown. In response, VW said it could leave ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), which, at the time, was led by Marchionne. However, the German carmaker didn’t take action.
That’s not a thing that can be said about Ford, who reportedly instructed its Italian dealers to offer an EUR750 trade-in incentive for Volkswagen owners. The bonus is said to cover the Blue Oval’s entire line-up.
The future looks... expensive for Volkswagen
More or less fair competition practices aside, VW has its hands full as it works to clean up the Dieselgate mess.The automaker might end up spending between $26 billion (EUR23 billion) and a whopping $87 billion (EUR78 billion) to deal with the consequences of the scandal, as shown in a report issued by Credit Suisse. And that’s an amount of money that could threaten more than just VW’s position as the world’s number one carmaker by sales volume.
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