- 13,000 dealership representatives from about 60 countries traveling to Hamburg through the end of March
- Presentations and discussions about Volkswagen’s strategy, product portfolio and services for the next four years
- Imelda Labbé, the member of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen for Marketing, Sales and After Sales: “Our dealers are and will remain the most important face of the brand to our customers.”
Imelda Labbé and Thomas Schäfer (from left).
Brand Experience: Volkswagen excites worldwide dealers about the brand
Volkswagen dealers from all parts of the world are coming to Hamburg at the moment. Their destination is the “Brand Experience” where they are gaining fresh insights into the way that the brand plans to position itself in coming years and bring the term “Love Brand” to life. The focal points of the program extend well beyond the brand’s strategic position and its new design language and also include a detailed look at the brand’s future line of models. The 13,000 dealers attending the event are learning about 14 vehicles that are being planned for the next four years, including the second generation of the ID.3, the ID.7 and the showcar ID. 2all. They also have a chance to take a sneak peek at the still secret Tiguan and the future Passat.
“Car dealerships play a key role in vehicle sales today and will continue to play this role tomorrow. This is why we really want to have our dealers join our journey into the future, generate enthusiasm for our brand and jointly tackle future challenges”, explained Imelda Labbé, member of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen for Marketing, Sales and After Sales.
The core aspect of the Brand Experience is an emotional show. During the presentations, Labbé is being joined by Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer, Kai Grünitz (the member of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen responsible for Technical Development) and Andreas Mindt (the Head of Volkswagen Design). The speakers are introducing the visiting dealers to the brand’s future strategy and exciting them about the strong products and innovative digital services that the brand is planning. Thomas Schäfer, the CEO of the Volkswagen brand, said: “We are making Volkswagen a true Love Brand once again. Our dealers will play a key role in this process – because they are the individuals who have direct contact with our customers.”
During their visit to Hamburg, the dealers are also gaining insights into the company’s strategy: The brand plans to produce only e-vehicles in Europe starting in 2033 and will introduce ten new e-models by 2026. Other regions of the world will be electrified as well.
After the show, the dealership representatives have an opportunity to talk with the brand’s management team and technical experts. They can ask questions and actively share their ideas about the shape of the future. Labbé said of the event: “The aim is to jointly discuss the shifting future perspectives of the dealerships. After all, we can tackle the transformation of the traditional car business only with the help of our dealers.”
The dealers have been excited about the event from the very first days of the conference. They have traveled from such places as China, South America and India. Two focal points of the event have generated a tremendous amount of positive feedback in particular: the use of digitalization in future vehicles and the refinement of marketing communications. “The dealers are our link to our customers. This is why their feedback is so tremendously important to us,” Labbé said.
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