VW ending Daimler van relationship - will develop new van with MAN trucks

[Haf-E]

VW Announced that it is going to develop its own new van in 2016 with MAN trucks. Currently VW sells a version of the mercedes sprinter van called the crafter.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/finance/20130109/US-DAIMLER-VOLKSWAGEN-TRUCKS/

 

[haven]

I think the import duty ("chicken tax") on an imported van would be too high to make economic sense. So the only way we'll see VW/MAN vans in USA is if they are shipped as kits and assembled in USA. That's the way Mercedes imports the Sprinter, and Ford the Transit Connect. Today, VW sells a re-badged version of the Dodge Caravan to avoid the import duty.

 

[4xdog]

I probably see fifty or a hundred Sprinters in Europe for every Crafter. The Sprinter has been a terrific success in Europe, mainly (my German friends tell me) because it pioneered a new segment of a largish-capacity truck that was able to use the speed limits of traditionally smaller vans. I don't think the VW Crafter ever cracked the code into the European truck market. It would be shocking if they came into the US with its replacement.

Don

 

[Mrknowitall]

Building a van with MAN would really be an in-house exercise for VW. When the Amarok was under development, it was said to be using extensive Crafter hardware, but that might have been limited to things like engines/transmissions. Before the Crafter name, VW sold a 1st gen Sprinter derivative under the revived LT name. The LT, in turn used a cab that was shared with MAN and many others for decades.

 

[ihatemybike]

I think the import duty ("chicken tax") on an imported van would be too high to make economic sense. So the only way we'll see VW/MAN vans in USA is if they are shipped as kits and assembled in USA. That's the way Mercedes imports the Sprinter, and Ford the Transit Connect. Today, VW sells a re-badged version of the Dodge Caravan to avoid the import duty.

Only cargo vans are subjected to the "chicken tax".

The Sprinter is built in Dusseldorf, Germany, cargo versions are partially disassembled, then reassembled in Ladson, SC, while passenger versions are shipped as complete units.

The Turkish built Ford Transit Connect is shipped as a passenger vehicles with seats and windows, WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc in Baltimore, MD performs the conversion to cargo.

The VW Routan being made by Chrysler is less about chicken tax and more about having a passenger van designed for the North American market. While the VW T5 Transporter and the Caddy are good vehicles and could be imported similar to the Transit Connect, their styling does not match current US taste in minivan styling.