Focus has a Fight on its Hands..New Golf Below $20k ??

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Volkswagen will make its most popular model more accessible when it launches in April.

The brand’s Australian arm plans to introduce an entry-level Golf which could arrive priced below $20,000.

Volkswagen’s current entry point to the Golf range is the 77TSI, which sells for $21,990 plus dealer and on-road costs. The all-new Golf is already on sale in the UK, where a manual-only 62kW model undercuts their 77TSI trim by more than £1000.

Volkswagen boss Anke Koeckler would not say exactly how cheap the new model would be.
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“At the end of April we are unveiling our prices, and you will be astonished,” she says.

“We make sure that the price point is the right one from the beginning of the launch.”

The Australian 77TSI currently has a turbocharged 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine putting out 77kW and 175Nm outputs. That car offers a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions.

The cheapest Golf VII as sold in the UK has a 62kW, 160Nm, 1.2-litre turbocharged engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Volkswagen has been doing deals in recent months, offering the Golf 77TSI for $20,990, and the three-cylinder Up for $12,990 drive away.

The brand’s Australian marketing boss, Jutta Friese, says the brand’s marketing team worked hard to maximise the new model’s appeal.

“The Golf is our volume seller, it makes up - depending on the season - 45 to 50 per cent of the volume for our brand,” she says.

“Our engineers, our quality people have done a really good job with it, and we have done our part as well.

“We have created a new entry level model with the Golf that we will present to you, and we’ve added a lot of value to the car as well.”
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