Mk7

"Volkswagen to start selling new Golf end 2012/early 2013

VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
VOWG_p.DE
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7:35am PST

BERLIN | Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:14am EST

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will begin selling the seventh generation of its flagship VW Golf hatchback at the "end of 2012 or early 2013.," a spokesman for the company said on Saturday.

The spokesman was responding to a report in industry publication Automobilwoche, citing a person close to VW's chief executive, that the new model would arrive in showrooms in November 2012 . However, the VW spokesman said no specific month had yet been targeted for the launch.

The Golf Mk VII will be the first Volkswagen brand model to be based on the cost-saving modular transverse architecture, known by its German abbreviation "MQB," that will eventually be used to build some 3 million vehicles group-wide every year.

The company has said they expect savings in the double-digit percentage range thanks to a production process that differs from the previous vehicle platforms, which only offer synergies across brands using the same underpinnings rather than synergies across both brands and models.

The very first vehicle to use MQB-based modularity will be the new Audi A3 due in the summer of 2012.