"We are working with our dealer partners on this, and will kick start the used car business sometime this year. It is an area we cannot overlook. The used car programme will improve trade-in possibilities and also, new car sales," said VPCM managing director Erik Winter at a media briefing at Sheraton Petaling Jaya.
Another initiative in 2018 will be setting up the online Volkswagen Marketplace.
"Specific online special offers and deals will be made available on the Marketplace," he said.
Meanwhile, the refreshed 2018 Volkswagen Golf 5-door hatchback and its sports performance variants, the Golf GTI and Golf R will be launched soon.
"We don't have plans to locally assemble the Golf, because the volume for 5-door hatchbacks here is small," said Winter.
2017 Volkswagen Golf Mk7 refreshed.
Last year, a total of 6,536 Volkswagen cars were delivered, marking a 8.1% year-on-year sales growth.
Winter said the Polo and Vento compacts, Passat executive sedan and Tiguan sport utility vehicle (SUV) contributed strongly to the improved sales.
He also pointed out that the brand had started 2018 strongly, with "2017 stocks nearly gone" due to recent initiatives such as a 3-year free maintenance programme.
As of 1st January 2018, all Volkswagen cars come with a 3-year or 45,000km (whichever comes first) free maintenance programme.
The programme covers all maintenance costs, as per the standard maintenance schedule, with the exception of wear-and-tear parts such as brake discs, pads, windscreen wipers and bulbs.
Recently, the company also launched a “Leaders of the Pack” Chinese New Year campaign which offers attractive rebates on the Volkswagen line-up, and also a free "Liquid Gold" petrol card worth RM1,188 for those who book and register their Volkswagen cars by February 28.
Improving customer engagement and after-sales
"In 2018, we aim to maintain sustainable growth and further improve customer experiences. Areas that we are continuously working on include improving dealer processes with our customers, addressing and handling customer enquiries more efficiently, reducing waiting times with on-site battery exchange," said Florian Steiner, VPCM managing director for aftersales, information technology and finance.
To improve and strengthen the Volkswagen brand, the company had undertaken various initiatives over the past year.
Among after-sales initiatives undertaken were more transparency, customer engagement, dealer staff engagement and training in co-operation with technical colleges, and on-site dealer support.
Volkswagen's ranking in the JD Power Customer Service Index (CSI) rose from 10th in 2016, to 5th in 2017.
"Our dealer partners are now much more engaged with the customers, compared with two years ago. We are happy with the developments in 2017, but we are far from satisfied," said Steiner.
Another initiative was making available a Service Pricing Guide in the My Volkswagen section on the Volkswagen Malaysia website.
"This means our customers can know what they expect to pay, when they send their cars to our authorised workshops."
As for parts availability, 95% of parts are available from the regional warehouse.
By September 2018, the regional Volkswagen after-sales centre will be located in Tanjung Pelepas, Johor.
This re-location from Singapore, is to ensure faster supply of genuine parts to 28 markets in South East Asia.
Directly connected dealershipsin Singapore and Malaysia will receive two deliveries of spare parts per day.
Regarding the 5-year manufacturer's warranty on all Volkswagen cars, the company has a policy of up to 5 working days for claims processing.
In addition, there are warranty experts from Volkswagen AG for dealer coaching, warranty claims checking for better repair quality, and a monthly warranty bulletin on current warranty issues and best practises.
