In a bid to strengthen its technological prowess this year, Volkswagen is getting ready to begin a series of part sharing devices in VW's portfolio of small and medium cars, like Golf and Passat. This is an effort made by the German company to ensure more savings keeping the future in mind.
These new part sharing devices will help the company increase the application of standardised components like axles and chassis. Moreover, these common parts will be seen in other brands owned by Volkswagen, such as Audi and Skoda. With this development, the company will be successful in manufacturing 3.5 million cars and retain € 15 billion over the next 4 years.
Volkswagen's German plants will be the first to be integrated with these devices. It is expected that the company will be able to lower manufacturing costs by as much as 20 per cent, while reducing assembly time by 30 per cent.
The German automotive major is also planning to acquire 50.1 per cent of the automotive arm of Porsche SE since it would be able to save as much as €1 billion in taxes. It has only till 2014 to make this acquisition if it wishes to save the taxes.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the company suffered a loss of 1 per cent in operating profits, earning a total of €2.29 billion. However, it was able to raise the dividend by 80 cents to €3 per share for all common shareholders, whereas the preferred shareholders will stand at €3.06. Riding high on the success of A3 and Golf, its top selling models, the manufacturer aims to sell 100 million cars globally by 2018.
