Greenkern wins Volkswagen Finance China branding account

Greenkern has been working with Volkswagen Group China for the past five years and also executed two smaller projects for Volkswagen Finance China two years ago.

The agency’s task is help Volkswagen Finance China’s branding and marketing strategy for its brands and review the competitive landscape in the China market.

Annie Wu, head of marketing at Volkswagen Finance China, said in a press statement: “Greenkern not only has a deep understanding of branding, but also the necessary automotive experience to deliver the solutions we need.”

Tom van Dillen, Greenkern Beijing's managing director, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that auto financing is increasingly important given that there are signs of saturation in the car market in China, especially in the higher-tier cities. Developing penetration in lower-tier cities and finding different revenue sources in auto financing and insurance, such as from second-hand car sales, are becoming more important in China, he added.

Van Dillen also pointed out that the majority of people in China pay in cash when purchasing a car, but VW Finance offers ways to finance car purchases that allow people to allocate their savings to other things in life, like their children's education.

Joern Kurzrock, the new chief executive of Volkswagen Finance China, was quoted by the China Daily on 6 March as saying: "Money is a kind of commodity with no emotion, while cars are sexy. My mission is to make auto finance service have the same appeal—not only helping customers to afford a car, but providing solutions for them to better use their cash."

Kurzrock said in the article that the number of loans used to purchase cars in China has more than doubled in the past five years, from six to seven per cent of total loans in 2006 to 15 to 16 per cent in 2012. In 2011, Volkswagen Finance China's retail business increased by 56 per cent over the previous year.

Volkswagen Finance China was established in 2004 and is the first wholly foreign owned automobile financial services provider in China. It provides a wide range of financial services for brands of the Volkswagen Group, including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Bentley, Scania and SEAT.