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ROMEO, MI – Magna Powertrain expects increased demand for all-wheel-drive systems because of the feature’s popularity in Asia, as well as shifts in segmentation and architecture use.
Global Product Manager Walter Sackl points to Volkswagen AG as proof of Asia’s penchant for AWD.
The VW Tiguan cross/utility vehicle was expected to have a take-rate of 20% in China, but that number has swelled to 50%.
“Volkswagen, itself, was really astonished,” Sackl tells Ward’s. Magna supplies VW’s trademark 4Motion AWD system.
Asian-market demand for AWD also is strong in South Korea, he adds.
Worldwide, by 2015, Magna expects a 10% surge in the number of vehicles equipped with AWD, compared with 2009.
U.S. demand hiccupped last year, but a positive trend remains, according to Ward’s data.
