17,500 participants in Volkswagen dealer congress

Jürgen Stackmann, Sales Board Member of the Volkswagen brand: “We are pleased to be able to offer this mega-event for our dealers in Wolfsburg. Where can you provide a better experience of the reorientation of the Volkswagen brand than in its home city of Wolfsburg? This event and our new models are team achievements of which we are very proud. Over the next few weeks, we want to transfer this enthusiasm to our dealers and sales team members so that they can impart it to our customers.”

Volkswagen has developed a new event concept; dealers will not meet for a large plenary session but will visit a number of workshops. In small groups, they will have an opportunity to interact, to ask questions and to engage in discussions amongst themselves. In groups of 50 to 100 people, about 400 participants per day will complete a total of 11 topic studios to try out all the innovations of the new models and to familiarize themselves with all the key aspects. In total, 200 vehicles will be used.

For example, the “ID. Experience Studio” is concerned with topics such as the everyday practicality of the ID.3, ranges, operating expenses and state subsidies. As with all the workshops, the main emphasis is on experience: the participants can test acceleration and battery charging for themselves.

Apart from the electric ID. vehicle family, the congress will concentrate on digital networking with We Connect and the area of infotainment. The dealers will be able to test the Innovision Cockpit, with its digital instruments and intuitive elements such as personalization and voice control. All the topic studios will be chaired by Volkswagen employees who will be available to provide dealers with expert information. The content will be translated into 22 languages.

At the “Technology & Future Studio”, dealers will receive information on topics including powertrains, color and wheel rim configuration possibilities, the IQ.Drive intelligent digital driver assistance technologies and the lighting concept ID. Light & Ambient Lighting.

On an exclusive tour of the plant, Volkswagen will give dealers an in-depth view of vehicle production. Under the heading of “Fascination Production”, the visitors will have a first-hand experience of the team performance involved in the production of each Golf.

The event also includes a test drive with the new Golf 8 which will allow the dealers to try out all the innovations on the road.

All the elements in the event focus consistently on the reorientation of the Volkswagen brand, including a sustainable catering concept based on regional and seasonal offerings.

Volkswagen has set up a showroom with the New Brand Design at the central event warehouse in Isenbüttel. The new showroom has been designed to be as modular, scalable and cost-effective as possible. Many existing elements can also be adapted. In the development of the new showroom, feedback from dealers, network planners and customers from a variety of markets was analyzed and integrated in the concept.

More than 130 employees from all Board of Management divisions were involved in planning the event, including team members from the departments Series Group, Product Marketing, Design, IT, Service Factory and the After-Sales Workshop. In addition, more than 40 external service providers are supporting the event.

This event will also pave the way for the launch of the new digital sales model “Future Sales” in Europe at the beginning of April. The objective is the digitalization of sales for a seamless customer experience. In close cooperation with dealers, vehicles sales and customer support are to become more individual, more efficient and more convenient.