WOLFSBURG, Germany (AFX) - Volkswagen AG has announced a 1,225 eur discount on its flagship Golf family hatchback, just three and a half months since the new model was launched.
The car maker announced last night that it will offer an air conditioning system with the Golf free-of-charge until Sept 30, in a special offer to celebrate the Golf's 30th birthday.
The offer amounts to a discount on the purchase price of around 8 pct. Normally, the "System Climatic" air conditioning unit costs an additional 1,225 eur.
A VW spokesman conceded that the offer was a reaction to weak demand in the automobile industry.
"Every manufacturer has to orientate themselves to the market, VW too," he told Handelsblatt newspaper.
Last month VW chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder said he was confident that the car maker would meet its 2004 production target for the Golf of 600,000 units, after it failed to meet its 2003 production target of 135,000 cars due to technical manufacturing difficulties.
