Volkwagen Tiguan 2016 Interview with Thomas Milz at the Qatar Motor Show

We sat down with Mr. Thomas Milz - Managing Director of VW Middle East - at the launch of the all-new VW Tiguan. You can read the interview below. Special thanks to Moe Shehada for conducting the interview.

Pros over direct rivals? I want to touch on the topic of who do you see the direct competitors for the new Tiguan and what will win this competition in terms of competitive advantage?

This is a very good question; VW has always been perceived as a premium brand, even though when viewing our prices and what we offer, we are very competitive towards the Japanese competition for example. So in that segment, there are players like the Toyota RAV 4, the HONDA CRV and also the BMW X3. Quite frankly, although this might sound a bit egotistic but the new Tiguan can beat them all. Because of our strong pricing position. It all depends on the price at the end. The current 2015 Tiguan starting prices are around 92,000 AED. We have not yet finalized the pricing of the successor model – the 2016, but we can assume that we will be on the same level. What this car deliver to you from a Size perspective, comfort, convenience, the safety aspects in addition to the innovative features (e.g. the head-up display and the additional control unit) these are features that some of our competitors do not even have, but the customer demands it. So if we put this vehicle at the right price, we can be among those competitors but definitely the segment leaders.

What is the winning factor when comparing the Tiguan to the Audi Q3?

The winning factor here is the new VW SUV platform – the MQB platform which puts us ahead of the Q3. I think the only obstacle that we have is that we can only launch the Tiguan in August 2016 and not earlier.

Why the launch delayed till the last quarter?  

Basically it is the first availability for the vehicle, we have just started the production last week. So January start of production sequencing all the way to August before its introduction in Qatar and the GCC. We start by launching the vehicle in Europe first, which is planned to be in March this year.

Improvements over past Tiguan model?

Since it is a brand new platform, everything is new in this vehicle. It is wider, it is longer with a wider wheel base. In general every piece of this vehicle is new, we have LED headlamps, a head-up display (active info display), the seats are newly redesigned, the trunk space is 145 liters bigger, a brand new panoramic sunroof and finally the VW app connect. There are ground breaking innovations in the new Tiguan and also very interesting connectivity features.

When is going to be launched at the GCC? Specially Qatar and UAE also?

The new Tiguan will be launched in August 2016 in the GCC and Qatar. It will be launched in the European market March 2016. When asked about why August (towards end of 2016) Mr. Milz answered that August would be the soonest date possible; as they have been given the go for production to get started beginning of January, and it takes 2-3 months for production, after which usually up to 4-8 weeks add up before the vehicle can be launched.

Market share you are expecting with this particular model?

The Tiguan predecessor (2015 model) has sold 2.6 million units worldwide.  Our biggest challenge in the GCC is that we do not have the needed market information, volume or registration data for the region. This is a big black hole, we do not know how many units our competitors are selling either. There are countries like Kuwait, Bahrain and somehow Oman, who have registration data. UAE and Qatar have no registration data. Market share would be great to have, because this is where you can go peer-on-peer and compare yourself to see how the segment is doing.

In numbers your expectations for this year vs last year?

The New Tiguan is a no-brainer for me. We expect the novelty effect in the Tiguan would overcome the current market situation. People in Qatar and the region are still shopping for cars because you do not have a public transportation. People need to have a car to go from A to B here. So if we would have the new Tiguan for the full year, our expectations are set to sell 20% more vehicles than the previous year. We think this is doable with the brand new vehicle. It is a very appealing vehicle and fits perfectly in the market right now. Overall expectation for VW sales of all models, I am happy if 2016 will finish on last year’s level overall.

What are the main characteristics of the Tiguan’s customer? How you will define them?

When you look at the Tiguan, 90% of our customers are women, so it is a very feminine oriented vehicle. That is mainly because of the seating position and also of the appealing design but not a very masculine design. The new Tiguan as we can see it in front of us is a totally different story. It is a shrunk Touareg. So now the range of consideration amongst potential customers will widen big time. In the past we had a narrower consideration circle of customers who would consider buying the Tiguan. Because of the design and the fitted finish and the interior and exterior features plus the 220Bhp, you will have a much bigger population considering the Tiguan.

Considering the sharper design, more powerful engine, and other changes from 2015 to 2016 Tiguan model, can we say that the new Tiguan is targeted towards younger generation?

You can make the statement, for the GCC I see it a bit different because the GCC population is very young. And the majority of the population here are between mid-20 and mid-30 and that is most probably the target group which we will see mostly in the Tiguan. But even stretching to beginning of 40s. Because it is a car that satisfies so many customer needs. It is fun to drive, it gives you space but not too much space so perfect for a small family as well and from a driving perspective we have its long range driving and its off-road capabilities. This vehicle will make a difference.