Car trade
VV-Auto imports and markets Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Porsche passenger cars and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Finland. It also imports and markets SEAT vehicles in Estonia and Latvia, and imports MAN trucks and MAN and Neoplan buses into Finland. In addition to importing, VV-Auto is also a major vehicle retailer, offering after-sales service at its own outlets in the Greater Helsinki area and Turku. VV-Auto's passenger car, commercial vehicle and truck customers are served by a comprehensive dealer and servicing network throughout Finland. In addition to its traditional business, VV-Auto develops various service concepts and multi-channel services for the car trade. These include online stores, mobile applications and online systems for booking servicing, as well as the Caara.fi service concept, which offers consumers various online store and used car services.
In 2017, the Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Porsche ranges were updated and diversified. New models introduced to the market included:
- Volkswagen Arteon, Polo and T-Roc
- Audi RS3 Sedan and Sportback, RS4 Avant, S5 Cabriolet, RS5 Coupe, SQ5 and A8
- SEAT Ibiza and Arona
- Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster GTS, 911 Exclusive series, 911 GT2 RS, 911 Carrera T, 911 GT3 and GTS, Panamera Sport Turismo 4, 4S, 4 PHEV, Turbo and Turbo S PHEV, Panamera Turbo S PHEV SWB/LWB and Cayenne V6, S and Turbo.
A fully updated Volkswagen Golf range was also introduced in 2017, including the Golf Sportsvan, as was the SEAT Leon range. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles added the entirely new Volkswagen Crafter to its range. The environmentally friendly natural gas/biogas-fuelled Audi A4 Avant g-tron and SEAT Leon TGI were also added to the range.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles were the most registered brand of vans in Finland in 2017. Volkswagen was the second most bought passenger car brand in Finland in 2017, while Audi was the second most registered brand among German premium cars.
Various business deals and agreements supporting VV-Auto’s strategy were made in 2017. The retail company VV-Autotalot bought LänsiAuto’s SEAT business in Espoo, Vantaa and Turku. The deal covered both new car sales and after-sales service. VV-Autotalot is the biggest dealer of brands represented by the Volkswagen Group in Finland, and following the deal with LänsiAuto, it is now also the biggest SEAT dealer. The development of the MAN service network also continued in 2017. VV-Auto and E Hartikainen Oy signed a contract service agreement to start MAN brand servicing operations in Joensuu, Kajaani and Iisalmi. Operations in Joensuu and Kajaani began in 2017 and operations in Iisalmi will begin in 2018.
Caara.fi also expanded in 2017. The service offering now includes Caara Go, a new service where you can obtain a car for temporary use, be it a month or a year, for a monthly fee agreed upon beforehand. Cars are available at Caara Go within 24 hours. We also opened a new Caara Outlet store in Vantaa. The store concentrates on used cars in the lower price range. Caara Outlet’s car selection complements and expands the Caara.fi and Caara Go service concepts with a new type of physical store where both private consumers and business customers can easily find cars for different types of usage. In spring 2018, VV-Auto launched Caara Leasing, a service that offers service leasing for business customers, and Caara Deal.
Car trade customers get separate benefits from VV-Autotalo with their K-Plussa cards and K-Plussa points from purchases of spare parts and trade-in cars via Caara. VV-Auto’s dealers’ servicing network will join K-Plussa in 2018.
VV-Auto and ALD Automotive signed a partnership agreement in 2017 for the provision of a private leasing service for consumers. Starting in 2018, all VV-Autotalot outlets will offer private leasing as a new alternative to acquiring a car. Of the brands represented by VV-Auto, the deal will cover Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Private leasing will cover all costs and services related to the use of the car, apart from fuel costs and car wash. For the outlets, this provides a new way to offer car financing for private customers.
The recalls and repairs of Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT 2.0, 1.6 and 1.2 litre EA 189 diesel cars proceeded at the planned pace in Finland in 2017. By the end of the year, a software update was available for all approximately 53,000 cars, and over 47,000 cars (88.4%) had been fully updated. After the corrective measures, the cars meet all of the requirements of the EU5 emissions standard. The corrective measures do not affect the cars’ fuel consumption, engine power, CO2 emissions, driving behaviour or acoustics.
Competitive advantages of the car trade
- International brands and strong market position
- Diverse multichannel services, professional personnel
- Strong sales and after-sales service network, efficient logistics
Market in 2017
In 2017, there were 118,583 first registrations of passenger cars, 15,524 first registrations of vans and 3,473 first registrations of trucks in Finland. The passenger car market decreased by 0.4% compared to the year before, while the market for vans grew by 14.8% and the market for trucks by 4.3%.
The total number of registrations of vehicles imported by VV-Auto was 24,697 (excluding motorhomes). The number of MAN trucks registered was 112.
Market shares in 2017
Car trade, Finland
VV-Auto’s market share 18.6% (Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Porsche passenger cars and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles combined, excluding motorhomes)
- Volkswagen passenger cars 10.9%
- Audi 4.8%
- SEAT 2.0%
- Porsche 0.2%
- Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles 24.7%
- MAN trucks 3.6% (over 6t)
Read more about car trade:
Annual report 2017