“The VW Bus is a part of German cultural heritage and has to be preserved”
Interview with Harald Schomburg, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and responsible for Sales and Marketing
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimers has now been expanded. Why?
Since 2007 we have established Volkswagen Commercial vehicles Oldtimers as a separate department. A great deal has happened since then: we have bought up and restored a great number of old VW Buses. We needed more space, and on the other hand we also want to expand the department internally.
What does this mean in concrete terms?
As of now, we are offering external customers the opportunity to have their historic Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle restored by us.
What’s new about that?
This is a possibility which we did not previously have. In our new premises and with a new team, we are now able to offer this exclusive service. What we perform here is a factory restoration – partly even with with original Volkswagen parts – by Volkswagen mechanics and oldtimer specialists who for years have been doing nothing else but restore oldtimers from our production.
Why is this important to you?
To us the VW Bus – or ‘Bulli’, as it is known to German aficionados – is an icon of great value. It is, so to speak, the emotional heart of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Brand and thus a heritage which needs to be preserved. But at the same time every VW Bus still in existence is, of course, also a valuable German cultural good in need of preservation. And with each restoration, we are preserving a piece of living history.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimers is prepared to make every customer an individual offer. But what if the offer is too expensive for the customer?
We offer the best possible restoration at first hand, ex works in fact. This will have its price. However, we will charge the hourly rates that are customary in the trade. For instance, if the customer brings us a totally unrestored VW Bus for the purpose of rebuilding it from scratch, this may cost around 100,000 Euro. However, we can also just carry out specific jobs individually or offer a partial restoration; we work this out in dialogue with the customer. And a works certificate for the restoration can only be obtained from us.
Many service providers offer VW Buses for hire. Will Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimers be doing the same?
This is the next step we are planning. In fact, we already rent out our Becks Bus, for instance, to Volkswagen partners and dealers, complete with beer bar, and our Currywurst Bus, where original Volkswagen curry sausage can be enjoyed. We are also continually providing vehicles for film and TV productions. In future, we definitely want to rent out VW Buses to private customers too, but this will probably only be possible from 2013.
With about 100 vehicles occupying an area of 7,000 square meters, could Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimers also be considered as a museum?
No, it is our internal works collection. There is the AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg and the ZeitHaus museum in the Autostadt. Viewing our exclusive collection remains the privilege of customers who bring their vehicles to us.
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