Auto1 Award: The Passat is Europe's Number One

40 million readers, experts and editors put the Passat on the winner's rostrum for the second time already

Wolfsburg, 02 March 2006 - The Passat has just won what is one of Europe's most prestigious and important readers' polls, in which over 40 million readers of 24 European magazines published by the AutoBild Group took part. The final round of voting focussed on 13 models, and the 40-strong jury of editors, technology and motor sport experts placed the Passat way out in front of its rivals.

The Auto1 Trophy weighing 5 kg was presented to Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Chairman of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management, and Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, yesterday evening - Wednesday 1 March 2006 - at a ceremony parallel to the Geneva Autosalon. "The Auto1 Award is the crowing point of a series of successes", said Dr. Bernhard, thanking the readers and jury. He drew attention to the diversity of prizes won in recent times by the Passat, saying that this proof of the car's "outstanding concept". He continued by stressing that: "Fame and honours are a very good basis, but satisfied customers and sustained commercial success are the criteria by which we want to be judged". 

As far back as 1997 saw the Passat in its fifth generation win the Auto1 Award. Since its market launch in March 2005 (Variant: August 2005) the new Passat has established itself at the head of the middle-class saloon field and lost no time in continuing its predecessor's winning ways, for example collecting the "Gelber Engel" consumer prize awarded by Germany's ADAC automobile club and the "Goldene Lenkrad" presented by Bild am Sonntag, the German Sunday newspaper. The Passat has also been voted "Car of the Year" in several other European countries.

The statistics on new registrations compiled by the KBA (German Federal Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Drivers) for January 2006 show too that the car is number one in its segment, with no less than 10,264 newly registered Passats and a market share in Germany of 26.1 percent. The figures for 2005 as a whole were 98,136 new registrations and a market share of 17.3 percent. 

Passat Awarded Renowned What Car? Trophy as "Best Family Car"

The British jury says: "The best family car on sale today."

Wolfsburg, 20 January 2006 - Recently awarded the 2006 "Gelber Engel" ("Yellow Angel") prize by Germany's ADAC automobile club, the Volkswagen Passat now rakes in another prestigious prize, the "Best Family Car" trophy awarded by the British automobile magazine What Car?

A jury of ten from the editorial staff of What Car? magazine selected its winner in the "Best Family Car" category from among a total of five different models, searching for the one car which combined all the requisite virtues: A car that affords space and protection for adults, children and their luggage while performing impressively on the motorway and in urban traffic alike. In short, the jury was looking for a safe, reliable and economical family friend!

The vote went to the Passat. This model is the sixth generation of a bestseller which also received the highest possible Euro NCAP score of five stars for vehicle safety after crash testing was performed. The magazine jury was impressed by a car which displayed the finest of characteristics on all counts. The vehicle's style sets it apart from its competitors, states a comment in the latest issue of What Car? But it was not its visual design alone which appealed to the jury. The Passat's inner values, including high-tech features normally found in the luxury class (an electronic parking brake, for instance, and LED rear lights), and the car's good value for money were also compelling factors for the magazine staff.

According to the jury, the Passat satisfies to a high degree the demands for robust design and passenger comfort while at the same time affording space to spare both in the passenger compartment and in the boot. The jury expressly praised the car's engine capacity, in this case a 2-litre turbo diesel (TDI) with 103 kW/140 hp, and its firm suspension and control, concluding that it "is comfortably the best family car on sale today."

Since it was introduced in the UK in May 2005, the new Passat has won all What Car? tests in which it has participated. What Car? is the UK's leading monthly automobile magazine, and this is the 29th time it has awarded its highly reputed trophies.

The new Passat - A champion:
It was only yesterday, Thursday, that the Passat received the coveted 2006 "Gelber Engel" ("Yellow Angel") prize awarded by Germany's ADAC automobile club. This is a contest in which 320,000 readers cast their vote. The Passat came out the winner in the category "Car". The Passat also took the "2005 Golden Steering Wheel", a prize awarded by Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Since their market launch, the Passat and the Passat Variant have received several different awards in Germany and elsewhere. The number of vehicle registrations recorded by the German Federal Office for Motor Traffic in 2005 illustrates that the Passat is extremely well received by customers as well. With 98,136 new registrations for this automobile and a market share of 17.3 per cent (11,705 vehicles in December; 26.7 per cent market share), the new Passat has established itself as a top seller in the mid-class segment within a matter of only a few months.

The Passat is Germany's Favourite Car 2006

ADAC readers award Volkswagen the "Gelber Engel" prize

Wolfsburg, 19 January 2006 - It was a clear-cut decision: more than 320,000 votes were counted in the ADAC (General German Automobile Association) reader's choice awards for the "Gelber Engel 2006" prize. There were 54 models to choose from in the "Cars" category. In the end, the winner was the Volkswagen Passat.

The "Gelber Engel" prize awarded by the ADAC is one of the most reputable prizes in the automotive industry (Gelber Engel = Yellow Angel, an endearing term in Germany for ADAC road patrols due to the colour of their vehicles). Readers of the "ADAC Motorwelt" (ADAC member magazine), visitors to the ADAC website and, for the first time, visitors to the Frankfurt International Motor Show 2005 were asked to select Germany's favourite car for 2006. The contenders were all new cars that had appeared on the market since October 2004 and had been supplied to dealers the following year.

In the ratings, the Passat launched in March 2005 (Variant Estate: August 2005) came out as clear winner over its competitors. Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen brand, received the prize at a ceremony in Munich attended by about 400 guests from politics and industry this Thursday. He said, "The "Gelber Engel" prize is an ADAC award that enjoys a high degree of credibility among consumers. If over 320,000 car fans vote and help the Passat to win, this fills us with pride! It is another great source of motivation for our employees!"

The aim of the "Gelber Engel" is to provide qualified guidance for excellent makes and innovations. The fact that the new Passat enjoys such high esteem in the eyes of consumers is also reflected by the number of new car registrations recorded by the Federal Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Drivers in 2005. Within a few months of its launch, the new Passat had established itself at the top of the mid-class segment, with a total of 98,136 new registrations and a market share of 17.3 percent (December: 11,705 cars and a market share of 26.7 percent).

Prizeworthy - the new Passat:
The Passat and the Passat Estate have already received a number of coveted prizes at home and abroad since they were launched in March and August 2005 respectively. Among them were the "Goldenes Lenkrad 2005" (golden steering wheel) by "Bild am Sonntag" and "Topauto 2006" (Passat Estate) by the Motor-Informations-Dienst (mid) (Motor Vehicle Information Service). In the Baltic, the Passat has already been chosen "Car Of The Year" in Latvia and Lithuania.