Update (April 2015): Volkswagen Transporter T6 unveiled in Germany
Update (July 2015): Read 2015 Volkswagen Transporter T6 review
Volkswagen has announced that the sixth generation of its ever popular medium panel van, the Transporter, will be hitting the market this year with the 2015 Volkswagen Caddy. The current model was launched in 2003 and, despite a facelift in 2009, remains one of the oldest vans on the market.
Same styling
Because Volkswagen doesn’t want to upset any of its loyal customers, complete transformations of its products are rare and the German manufacturer tends to gradually introduce new design styles, engines and specifications over longer periods of time.
The appearance is not expected to change radically and it will retain the VW’s famed 2-litre engine. Volkswagen says the Tristar concept, at the IAA Show in September 2014, strongly hints at the new styling, which differs only slightly from the current Transporter T5.
This contrasts greatly with some of the other launches expected in the next 18 months, like the 2015 Mitsubishi L200, 2016 Nissan Navara and the new pickups from Fiat Professional and Renault.
The German manufacturer has sold almost 12 million examples since it launched the range in 1950, and despite the current generation being 11 years old, sales are up again for 2014 with 108,000 deliveries for the first eight months of the year.
Hard to replace
Replacing such an iconic vehicle is not an enviable task, but the CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Dr. Eckhart Scholz, insists his team have been working hard at developing the next generation and is confident the T6 can live up to its name.
“Over the past two years, all employees have worked hard on producing the new model”, announced Dr. Scholz at the IAA Show in Hanover.
“The Tristar concept vehicle presented here at the IAA already gives an outlook on the various goods and passenger transportation solutions which the T6 will offer in future. It will incorporate the excellent characteristics of the T5 and it will also feature a whole load of new technology innovations”.
“The result will again be an outstanding, reliable, technically refined, mobile companion for our customers to pursue their trade and leisure time activities. Until then, the T5 will remain our sales hit. The high level of customer satisfaction is evidence of this”.
Buying advice
If you’re considering buying a Transporter, it will always be a worthwhile investment as they hold their values well but it might be worth holding off on the purchase for a couple of months while more announcements on timings for the new model are made. Usually, manufacturers and dealers offer discounts on outgoing models as they attempt to clear ‘old stock’.
