EuroCarBody AWARD 2008 presented
The Volkswagen Passat CC took first place in the voting category of innovative process, production and plant concepts at the 10th international car body benchmark conference in Bad Nauheim, and came a close second in the overall ranking just behind the winner, the Audi Q5. The Volkswagen Group has thus taken the top two places for the first time in the history of this award.
Emden Plant Manager Pavel Vacek, who accepted the award for the Passat CC car body at a ceremony in the Emden plant today, was delighted: "We are all very proud of this excellent international achievement. It is the result of good cooperation between vehicle development and the production team here at the Emden plant." The award was presented by Dr. Dirk Meine, a representative of Automotive Circle International and the benchmark conference organizer.
Roughly 600 international automotive experts benchmarked a total of 13 new series car bodies from Europe, North America and Japan for the prestigious award at the end of October. The bodies in white were scrutinized according to 23 benchmarking criteria in five main categories.
The Passat CC built at the Emden plant convinced experts with a number of lightweight construction features, and the international jury was particularly impressed by the use of high-strength steels and second-generation hot formed parts. The 13kg weight reduction compared with the sedan version achieved by using extra-thin sheet steel and the striking flowing lines of the silhouette are just two examples of the successful realization of an interesting type-flexible manufacturing concept.
The "EuroCarBody AWARD" is presented annually for pioneering series developments in car bodies and is considered the most prestigious European award for car body innovation. The award celebrated its tenth anniversary this year.
