Volkswagen Smart Objectives free essay sample

The product range extends from low-consumption small cars to luxury class vehicles. In the commercial vehicle sector, the product offering spans pick ups, busses and heavy trucks. It is the goal of the Group to offer attractive, safe and environmentally sound vehicles which are competitive on an increasingly tough market and which set world standards in their respective classes. The Group consists of eight brands: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. http://www. volkswagen. e/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/ en2/unternehmen/konzern. html Our missionVW Autoeuropa strives for excellence in he manufacture of high quality cars in Portugal, and is perfectly aware of the fact that success, in an ever increasingly competitive market, depends on this philosophy. What we demand from ourselves, reflects this challenge: integrity, respect for people and their abilities, excellent teamwork, responsibility and autonomy, leadership skil ls, excellent professional qualifications, and the commitment to attain a common goal. We will write a custom essay sample on Volkswagen Smart Objectives or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I I Atall levels and in all areas, we are organised in work groups, in which everyones ideas are contribute to the continuous search tor the best solutions tor he proposed objectives. I We firmly believe in personal and professional development. Therefore, we conceived the Personal Development and Career Plan, that allows us to identify and implement concrete measures suited to the development of each individual. This approach has led, for example, to a considerable investment in professional training. I Your future in constant training! In order to meet the needs of an industry under constant evolution, Autoeuropa has a basic philosophy of continuous training. In our Training Centre we provide our employees with the know-how they need to develop their skills. Our constant development of an always increasing specialised labour force is aimed at obtaining a product that is Best in Class. The employees of W Autoeuropa breathe life into our vision and mission. While working with us, you will be in touch with a motivated and extremely competitive team, which will share its know how and experience with you. In exchange, you will see your efforts valued. I I While relating to and working with your new colleagues, you will discover what it means to be part of a Successful Team. If you are interested in a career at Autoeuropa, you should have a strong nterest in the automobile industry, in new technologies and be willing to develop and continuously improve your knowledge and skills. We hire people with varied academic and professional backgrounds, which allows us to obtain the diversity required to develop creative solutions for our customers. Although a good academic curriculum and solid technical know-how/ skills continue to be the pre-requisites for any position, we also prefer some experience, obtained at a previous employer or during an internship. Besides this, we also look for people with the will to learn and luency in English and/or German. our VisionAutoeuropa the most attractive Volkswagen plant in Europe. We produce our cars with highest quality and productivity based on flexible infrastructures and skilled human resources. http:// www. autoeuropa. t/articles/en/our-vision History It took four years since the signing of the shareholder agreement between and FORD in July 1991 until the start of production. During these 4 years one of Europes most modern automotive production facilities was built in Palmela, with a total area of around 2 million sqm, ncluding the Industrial Park where some of the main suppliers have settled. Construction works on the Palmela factory ran on schedule and all the european standards regarding safety and environmental protection were met. The plant is divided into four main production areas: Pressshop, Bodyshop, Paintshop, and Final Assembly. I I The plant and equipment were designed using advanced technology and incorporating the latest developments in automation and computerised production control, in order to meet the high standards required on manufacturing a quality product. I In order to establish the plants layout, concepts, methods and procedures, several teams of specialists studied some of the more productive industrial complexes in the world. The best features which were found have been used at Autoeuropa, making this complex one of the more competitive, at any level, both in Europe and the World. I Since its inauguration, Autoeuropa has been the target of several investment agreements between Volkswagen and the Portuguese state, namely in the end of 2003 and most recently, in November of 2007, anticipating the arrival of new models to the plant. Those investments aimed the setlement ot new production intrastructures, equipment modernization and the training of the employees in order to turn the production lines and methods each time more efficient and increase the competences of its employees. Autoeuropas philosophy of continuous improvement has been placing it as one of the companies of the Volkswagen group in the leading edge in several productivity indicators. Goals of Volkswagenvolkswagen sets aggressive sales goalsVolkswagen, buoyed by strong sales, a growing portfolio of products, a ammoth new factory in Tennessee and a loyal fan base, set a goal to sell 800,000 vehicles in the United States by 2018 a target that some analysts think may be unrealistic. Though Volkswagens have been selling better than many brands, fgures show that the German automaker has a way to go to reach its sale goal. Volkswagen of America sold 213,454 units in 2009, a decrease of 4. 3 percent from 223,128 units sold in 2008. 0ne factor in Volkswagens favor is that sales for some of its models have been on the rise. Sales of the Jetta, the companys bread-and-butter model line, for nstance, Jumped 26. 9 percent in December, and GTI sales were up 75. 9 percent. And December was Volkswagens sixth consecutive sales month in which it beat 2008 totals. Volkswagen has ramped up its advertising recently as well, with new TV commercials featuring an update on the classic Punch Buggy game that debuted during the Super Bowl. Still, analysts point out that it may be difficult for Volkswagen to reach its sales goal as it faces strong competition from brands such as Hyundai, Kia, Ford and General Motors. The idea that the market is somehow going to make oom for all of this Volkswagen expansion is an aggressive assumption, I think, said Rebecca A. Lindland, director of industry research for The Americas-Automotive Group with IHS Global Insight. ln our forecast, we have the Volkswagen brand at 450,000 by 2018, she said. lt also could be difficult to reach sales goals as the number of consumers actually looking to buy cars has remained relatively stagnant from year to year, reaching about 13 million to 16 million customers in a good year. After such a deep recession, it could be a long time before the industry sees numbers like that gain, said Jack Nerad, editorial director of Kelley Blue Book. Youre not in a growing market, like China or Russia, where sales growth raises all boats, he said. Most analysts think that we will never see in this decade sales numbers like we did in the last decade. Analysts also are fearful that the same aggressive pursuit of growth and sales numbers that got Toyota into trouble with recalls and a suddenly sagging reputation for quality could trip up Volkswagen if it insists on pursuing such aggressi ve growth. They need to be cautious. What Volkswagen needs to do first and oremost is to address their quality and reliability issues, said Ms. Lindland. We still hear some of the same things in terms of inconsistency in quality control, she said. Still, in a speech to the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention on Feb. 13, Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagens CEO, pointed to heavy investment and a growing product portfolio as reasons why he thought the sales target was reasonable. At a time when others are retrenching, were investing $4 billion on our future in this country. Thats how confident we are in our company. Thats how confident we are in he American economy. The U. S. economy is rebounding. And Volkswagen is ready, Mr. Jacoby said. He also noted that Volkswagen dealers had spent more than $800 million in building more dealerships over the past five years alone. He said the companys new Chattanooga, Tenn. , tactory, expected to employ and to begin production in 2011, was a key part of the growth plan. Analysts say it should help because the pricing of its cars usually is somewhat higher than competitors autos, and that a plant in this country should help level the playing field. Volkswagens odels dont necessarily match up to the competition in the way that Japanese cars match up vs. one another, Mr. Nerad said. Volkswagen, vehicles that are the same size are higher priced and have a different level of features. That makes it hard for people to do comparison shopping and hard for Volkswagen to get on shopping lists. Mr. Jacoby said the brands improving quality ratings should help sell more cars. Eight of products are recommended by Consume r Reports, and the 2009 JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey results for Volkswagen improved by 16 points, he said.