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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business Interview. I'm Suan Almer.

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Speaker 1: Volkswagen is a global car giant operating in a rapidly

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Speaker 1: changing world as technology evolves, new competitors emerged, and global

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Speaker 1: trade changes. Volkswagen has set itself a goal over the

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Speaker 1: next decade of being the driver of global automotive tech

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Speaker 1: and a key part of this is, of course electric vehicles.

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Speaker 1: Volkswagen is a great supporter of Fear and Greed and

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Speaker 1: I've had the pleasure of driving one of the new

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Speaker 1: vehicles for a couple of weeks to see what it's like.

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Speaker 1: David Tanzy, product manager of Volkswagen Group Australia. David, welcome

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Speaker 1: back to Fear and Greed.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much.

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Speaker 1: At a very high level, what's the global vision and

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Speaker 1: how do evs electric vehicles fit into it.

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Speaker 2: So the global vision, I guess for Volkswagen is we

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Speaker 2: really want to be at the forefront of electric vehicles.

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Speaker 2: We want to make sure we bring the best products

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Speaker 2: that we can for customers and talking on a local level,

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Speaker 2: we really just kind of want to make sure that

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Speaker 2: that is the key thing that we want to do.

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Speaker 2: As roubles in Australia we want to package an EV

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Speaker 2: at the right price with the right spec for our customers,

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Speaker 2: and that's definitely can be seen with the recent IEY

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Speaker 2: Form five that we just launched priced under fifty sixty

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Speaker 2: thousand rp.

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Speaker 1: Okay, does Volkswagen want to ultimately be primarily an EV

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Speaker 1: and I'm not talking this year or next year, but

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Speaker 1: longer term? Is it about being an EV company as

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Speaker 1: much as a nice and internal combustion engine company.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we have Volkswagen there is a future where

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Speaker 2: we do see EV's definitely being part of the majority of

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Speaker 2: our portfolio. But we do we really make sure that

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Speaker 2: the products that are brought to Australia, especially EV's in

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Speaker 2: the future, for example, that they are definitely price correctly

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Speaker 2: and have the right tech and the right range and

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Speaker 2: the whole package that's needed.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, do you think pricing will They're not expensive cars,

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Speaker 1: to be perfectly honest, but they're not cheap cars either.

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Speaker 1: Do you think there will increasingly be cheaper evs in

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Speaker 1: the future.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so as years go on, you know, costs for

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Speaker 2: for let's say, tech or batteries and stuff like that,

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Speaker 2: we'll definitely see a positive change in there. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: in the future. That's definitely something that hopefully will be

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Speaker 2: the case. So that you know, for Volkswagen, we can

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Speaker 2: bring the right cars the right price, right, so that, yeah,

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Speaker 2: we can do well in Australia.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, say, talking about the right cars, you're launching the

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Speaker 1: ID for Pro, the ID five GTX here in Australia.

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Speaker 1: Were do I mean, I've been driving an ID for

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Speaker 1: proyor right. It's just fun. Yeah, Like at the end

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Speaker 1: of the day, I'm not a car guy, so I

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Speaker 1: can't tell you, but I get in. It sticks to

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Speaker 1: the right, acceleration is great, and it's fun. That's kind

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Speaker 1: of the best way I can describe driving it. And

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Speaker 1: I know Michael Thompson, my co host, he's been d

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Speaker 1: in the ID five g t X. He's guyting to

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Speaker 1: me about how much you love that car. Where do

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Speaker 1: they fit in Volkswagen's existing vehicle portfolio now.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so the VOLKSAG ninety four and five. We're very

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Speaker 2: proud of this product. It is the first electric vehicle

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Speaker 2: that we've I guess in the SUV segment that we're

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Speaker 2: bringing to Australia. So yeah, it's a long I guess

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Speaker 2: a wait, a really long awaited time that we really

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Speaker 2: wanted to bring this car in and yeah, it fits

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Speaker 2: really nicely between let's say, really well with the tig

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Speaker 2: One for example, which is our ice car. But this

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Speaker 2: is a BEV I guess alternative, like as you as

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Speaker 2: you can, as you can.

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Speaker 1: Say, what are you hoping for in terms of not

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Speaker 1: all sales, but like what do you want people to

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Speaker 1: think about it when they go for a driving it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely fun, right, definitely comfy and very livable. That's

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Speaker 2: that's the main, I guess, key thing that we want

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Speaker 2: to say. It's it's the main message we want to say.

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Speaker 2: It's it's still a Volkswagon, but it happens to be electric.

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Speaker 2: So that's that's that's the concept that we want to see, right. So, yeah,

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Speaker 2: the quality is built in Germany, has great tech, has

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Speaker 2: great quality, and that's that's that's the key element that

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Speaker 2: we want to strive for.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting you say that it's still a Volkswagen,

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Speaker 1: so you're not the only manufacturer. We say the same thing.

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Speaker 1: And the thing about I mean, the one I'm driving

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Speaker 1: it is still a Volkswagen. It still looks like Volkswagen.

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Speaker 1: Still it doesn't quite have the same sound of some

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Speaker 1: of the older Volkswagen. To be perfectly honest, it'll look

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Speaker 1: quite yeah, yeah, yeah, but that whole sense that it

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Speaker 1: is still a Volkswagen is important.

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Speaker 2: Yes, yes, one hundred percent is important because that's what

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Speaker 2: our customers are are really I guess looking for, right

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Speaker 2: They want that brand identity, they want a Volkswagen, and

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Speaker 2: this has come into play. That's that's what we want

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Speaker 2: to give you. And we're going to make it even

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Speaker 2: more exciting making an electric vehicle, making it progressive and

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Speaker 2: futuristic and fun at the same time.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so in terms, it's all right for me to

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Speaker 1: talk about how much I love driving the car, right,

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Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, it's someone going

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Speaker 1: to buy it. I like the idea that you've established

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Speaker 1: partnerships such as with Ampoles to support customers switching to evs.

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Speaker 1: Tell us how that Ampole one works and if there

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Speaker 1: are any others in the offering.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So we do have a partnership with Ampole, and

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Speaker 2: I guess the main thing is they're one of the

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Speaker 2: largest in the country, right, So yeah, at this stage,

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Speaker 2: how we've partnered with them to actually do for our

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Speaker 2: first cars that arrived in Australia, we did a charging offer,

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Speaker 2: so a charge offer where one of the first customers

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Speaker 2: are able to receive a standard installation and also a

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Speaker 2: charger included with the car for frend. So yeah, that's

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Speaker 2: kind of one of the I guess key things that

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Speaker 2: we've already done and that's incentivizing I guess all the

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Speaker 2: customers who really want one to get even more value

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Speaker 2: from there.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, yeah, and his partnership's kind of one

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Speaker 1: of your sales methods going forward.

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Speaker 2: Partnerships. We definitely are open and we do look to

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Speaker 2: make sure that what we offer to the customers something

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Speaker 2: that is very valuable and that's something that we see

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Speaker 2: in Airpole and yeah, and as they grow their their

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Speaker 2: am charge network, it's just going to make it a

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Speaker 2: lot more easy and accessible for Volkslangen.

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Speaker 1: Customers the Australian market. I'm interested in how you see

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Speaker 1: Volkswagen's EV sitting in the market because it is a

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Speaker 1: crowded market and there are many many Chinese manufacturers coming

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Speaker 1: into Australia which we never hear before in the IC market.

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Speaker 1: Where does Volkswagen fit in all this?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So, Volkswagen, we want to be still the I

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Speaker 2: guess the mass premium manufacturer, we still want to provide

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Speaker 2: really quality vehicles. And yeah, like you said, it's a

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Speaker 2: very competitive market at the moment, and that's the key

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Speaker 2: thing is we need to make sure that we package

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Speaker 2: and respect the right cars at the right price to

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Speaker 2: make sure that it becomes it still states competitive. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: that's I guess one of the key things that we

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Speaker 2: really need to focus on as we as we go

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Speaker 2: into the future.

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Speaker 1: And do you get a sense that the Australian market

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Speaker 1: is particularly different to other markets, be they German or

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Speaker 1: Asian markets?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so in Australia it is. Australian buyers are very

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Speaker 2: are very let's say, they're very unique in a sense

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Speaker 2: where we ben Yeah, yeah, you know, we Austrained buyers

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Speaker 2: are very unique in a sense where they actually want

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Speaker 2: value and they want a really nicely spect car for

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Speaker 2: a good price. And normally, let's say in other markets,

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Speaker 2: let's say for this German market, they're they're very I

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Speaker 2: guess independent in terms of how they structure their their

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Speaker 2: portfolio and how they spect the cars. Right, But in

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Speaker 2: Australia we need to make sure that everything is aligned

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Speaker 2: perfectly in terms of specting price.

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Speaker 1: So when you talk about specs in the voles made

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Speaker 1: in evs, what are the things that you've got that

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Speaker 1: Australians really want.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so ID four pro right, the Intravenant in our

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Speaker 2: id range is really really well inspect is one of

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Speaker 2: the most competitive in the market. We've got a large

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Speaker 2: battery eighty two killer what our we've got Matrix LD's

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Speaker 2: massage seats, you've got a glass roof, panoramic glass roof. Right,

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Speaker 2: you've got a massive screen top point nineteen screen. So

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Speaker 2: it's very highly spect and at a price of under

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Speaker 2: sixty k RP that there is value. So that's that's

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Speaker 2: the thing. Right, So I think a lot of customers go, hey,

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Speaker 2: that car. It's once they test drive it, for example,

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Speaker 2: they'll they'll see the value in the car. Yeah, there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of a lot of great specs in ninety

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Speaker 2: ninety range at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. The thing I really noticed about I mean, I

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Speaker 1: said it was said, it's a fun car, but it's big.

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Speaker 1: The interior is big, and I think that's an EV thing.

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Speaker 1: It's not just a Volkswagen.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Once you get in, there's so much room.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, there's plenty of room. So in the rear seats,

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Speaker 2: for example, you can see three people real comfy right

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Speaker 2: because for example, the battery is it's the bottom of

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Speaker 2: the car, so that battery system is at the bottom,

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Speaker 2: which which in turns make the car very stable when

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Speaker 2: you're driving. And there's no transmission tunnel, so there's a

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Speaker 2: flat floor in the back. So everyone's comfy with their

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Speaker 2: with their sharing the room in terms of their feet

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Speaker 2: and everything.

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Speaker 1: So my boys piece, So I have two boys who

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Speaker 1: are six foot seven and they actually have to they're

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Speaker 1: wary when they're get into cars because of the headroom

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Speaker 1: and they've got gaps between their head and the roof,

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Speaker 1: which they love. And if my kids are happy, David,

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Speaker 1: I'm happy exactly. So final question with the future of

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Speaker 1: EVS and the future Volkswagon in Australia.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so future in Volkswagen in Australia and EVS, we

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Speaker 2: definitely want to make sure that we bring the cars

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Speaker 2: that Germany do offer as best we can, and you know,

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Speaker 2: whatever products that's globally released in Germany will all evaluate

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Speaker 2: and make sure that if it's viable for our market,

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Speaker 2: we'll want it. So that's the main thing. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: seeing all the new cars coming out from Volkswagen. Let's say,

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Speaker 2: for example, the ID DOT, every idea, every one, it's

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Speaker 2: called concept. It's the concept of having a very let's say,

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Speaker 2: price pointed and affordable electric mobility solution. Right. So the

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Speaker 2: globally they're really pushing that and if we can in

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Speaker 2: the future have something like that in Australia, we're all

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Speaker 2: We're all for it.

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Speaker 1: Fantastic David, thank you for talking to Fear and Greed.

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Speaker 2: Awesome, Thanks, thanks so much.

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Speaker 1: That is David Tanned, product manager at Volkswagen Group Australia.

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Speaker 1: A supporter of this podcast. This is the Fear and

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Speaker 1: Greed Business Interview. Join us every morning for the full

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Speaker 1: episode of Fear and Greed, a business news you can use.

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Speaker 1: I'm Sean al Enjoy your day.