There’s been some speculation that Volkswagen has been operating as a zombie car brand for quite some time here in the Philippines. Although, the silence of distributor ACMobility with regards to its sales and marketing efforts is a sign, we finally have concrete proof for the first time.
The brand’s Unbeatable Volkswagen Discounts shows us just how dire the situation is really at “Das Auto.” Case in point? They’re selling the Lamando executive sedan with a P 569,000 discount. Now, you could argue that shedding half a million off your SRP isn’t something uniquely Volkswagen; after all, Mercedes-Benz’s been guilty of that too recently. However, what’s pressing is the fine print.
If you look closely, that P 569,000 discount applies to Lamando SEs (new SRP: P 1,050,000) from the 2020 model year. You read that right. At this point, they’re basically cars that have been sitting in a stockyard somewhere for about five years now. Holy crap! Imagine the sort of wear-and-tear these would have on the fluids, lubricants, battery, tires, rubber, and what have you. Damn.
Slightly fresher off the boat are T-Cross and Tharu models from the 2024 model year which also come with hefty discounts. The T-Cross can be yours for just P 1,070,000 thanks to a P 270,000 discount, while the Tharu SE sees its price drop to P 1,467,000 thanks to a P 341,000 discount. The Tharu SEL, on the other hand, is now just P 1,625,000—a P 320,000 discount.
Now, is the death knell sounding for Volkswagen in the Philippines? For now, there’s no official word from ACMobility, but it must be remembered that in 2024, they said they’d transition the brand into a full-fledged EV player by this year. This was after they bashed gray market importers who brought in China-sourced ID models. Sadly, not much has materialized after that.
TWill you be tempted to buy a brand-new, five-year-old Lamando at this new price?
Think of all the dealers AC motors probably screwed over.
ReplyDeleteVolkswagen Global should sack ACMobility & choose another company as the official distributor.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like there's huge demand for German cars in the Philippines anyway. Every other German car company is in the higher income market. VW is the only one with - close to - budget friendly options (closer with the discounts).
DeleteYes.... that is the best thing they can do. 100% mismanaged
DeleteSack the head (Toti Zara) who has been doing a piss poor job (hello Maxus as well) and just been riding on the back of Ayala who.is working hard promoting BYD.
DeleteToti is already retiring and been made as a consultant:
Deletehttps://www.carguide.ph/2025/05/acmobility-announce-organizational.html
AC Mobility is still under contract to distribute and sell Volkswagen vehicles in the Philippine market
DeletePGA Cars isn't interested of selling Volkswagen vehicles in the Philippine market so does Autohub,Inchcape,Astara and Gateway
Zero mileage??? 😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteI would love to get a tharu if money permits.
ReplyDeleteThere was this feeling before that VW China was using PH as a dumping ground for their unsold inventory. There is practically no introduction of any new products aside perhaps to a Santana SUV, Tharu and Multivan Kombi. It is surprising they had survived this long.
ReplyDeletethe T-Cross or Tharu maybe, if they'll reopen a dealership in QC :P
ReplyDeleteI think SAIC Ph should just handle VW Ph.
ReplyDeleteSAIC Motor Philippines wants to focus solely on MG only
DeleteThey're not interested of selling Volkswagen vehicles
Who would buy a brand new 5 year old outdated car?
ReplyDeleteI would, at the right price
DeleteVolkswagen Philippines is said to be waiting for the much more new line of ID EV vehicles that SAIC will produce next year
ReplyDeleteFor now they'll settle on selling 2024 MY stocks of T-Cross and Tharu
Sales of Volkswagen in the Philippines is still higher than Peugeot which Astara abandoned
Poor Peugeot they been with different Distributor already and still cannot penetrate the market I think before Eurobrands they were under a different distributor aslo and Astara came - I felt that the brand is trying to be a luxury brand in PH with model also outdated already
DeleteYour beating a dead horse, VW ph already dead. Even if VW bring here EV's it wont able to compete vs chinese EV's.
Deleteang gulo din ng website nila. Parang global nag aadvertise sila ng models na wala naman dito. From EV's to the 508 & 508 SW getting its own headline.
DeleteThe car should come with new set of tires. It is already expired. The car should be sanitized may still have covid inside from 2020. Ac motors should bundle this when buying a byd EV. No more range anxiety.
ReplyDeletethose are good ones.... funny even if you are not trying to be. who knows they maybe bundling byd EV with some other cars if byd goes under.
DeleteCan ask dealers for this, including the battery and oil change
DeleteSitting there for 5 years or more. A lot of potential risks for the buyer.
ReplyDeletesame for chinese cars, they selling old stocks to philippines on a cheap price
ReplyDeleteWrong!They're not like Nissan and Toyota that import and sells old hard to sell vehicles from Japan
DeleteChinese car manufacturers mostly bring in and sell vehicles that are meant for export markets here in the Philippines and other countries that's why those vehicles uses different names and badges
Old china zero mileage car
DeleteNot even one Ayala company has gone out and made VW their fleet vehicle.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone really suprised by this? VW started off hot, or at least there was buzz, when they offered models like the Golf estate, Golf GTi, Passat, Polo, etc.... then someone thought it'd be a great idea to replace these marquee models with China domestic market models like the "pang-taxi sa probinsya sa China" Santana, make press releases saying "same lang iyan" and even put premium pricing by installing old Blaupunkt head units LOL. Kala ng mga ito uto-uto ang Pinoy?
Oh, and during all this time, neighboring countries with VW like Malaysia has been selling marquee models and were doing decent sales.
Golf and Jetta vehicles sold in the Philippines back then are made in Mexico that are rejected by Volkswagen North America because of the Dieselgate Scandal.
DeleteThey've sold the units at a loss prices in order to easily dispose those vehicles that are involved in Dieselgate Scandal
Volkswagen Philippines did sell made in India Polo Sedan and hatchback units.
see the pattern..... buying cheap vehicles when involved in a scandal or something and then sell it here...hype it up.
DeleteI think the problem with VW is it is caught in between categories. not premium enough for the high end market like BMW and Merc, not cheap enough to duke it out with the Jap, Korean and Chinese brands. It really is a niche brand.
DeleteStill, I think there is a viable market for enthusiasts. AC Motors can position it as a starter brand into Euro cars.
The problem is not the products but the management
DeleteNo need. no one's going to buy them
ReplyDeleteWhat happened? I thought the new marketing head from Nissan was going to fix all brands of AC Motors. So no more VW under AC Motors?
ReplyDeleteI have also been thinking of why Volkswagen PH is just practically in life support. AC Mobility just let VW gather dust for its second funeral
ReplyDeleteAyala should have learned their lesson a long time ago. Non-automotive people running its automotive arm. Now some automotive background just spending Ayala money.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, at less than 1.1M, t-cross is better than the entry model yaris cross. Much better build quality and spacious interior. A bit smaller trunk space though. Plus 5star euro ncap is a bonus
ReplyDeleteRetain t-cross but better spec, bring back tiguan, change the name tharu to taos and change to a new distributor. Better if they use brazil or mexico spec VWs rather than china.
ReplyDelete