Free insurance lifts sales in Midwest fow VW

By Tribune staff

Published April 14, 2005



In the first quarter of this year, Volkswagen conducted a pilot program in which it offered consumers in Illinois and Wisconsin one year of free auto insurance with the purchase of a 2005 VW Golf, Beetle or Beetle convertible.



The results are in, and while sales of those vehicles nationwide were down 17 percent, sales in Illinois and Wisconsin rose 23 percent.



The program was expected to attract young buyers who typically pay high insurance premiums, but more than two-thirds of the buyers were over 30 years of age.



"The pilot showed us consumers recognize the value of no-charge insurance and that the days of $2,000 to $3,000 incentives are numbered," said Bob Wallach, managing member of Creative Innovators Associates, a Long Island consulting and marketing firm that created the "In The Car" insurance program. Dave Kolbe, Midwest area executive for Volkswagen, said VW is considering free insurance as a nationwide incentive in the future.