The AA, one of New Zealand’s most respected motoring organisations, has recognised Volkswagen’s efforts locally towards sustainable motoring by awarding the brand the Vodafone Environmental Award at a gala dinner on Friday 7th March.

The 2008 AA Motoring Excellence Awards has been called by some as the ‘Oscars’ of the New Zealand motoring industry. The Vodafone Environmental Award is given to a company that has a vehicle available in New Zealand and their activities benefit New Zealand as a whole. They are innovative, proven and deliver on the promise.

At a time where sustainability is a hot topic, many brands were nominated for this award. The winner on the night however, was Volkswagen and its range of BlueMotion vehicles.

At Volkswagen, BlueMotion is the label for the most economic models in a class. BlueMotion is Volkswagen’s sustainability initiative, whereby ‘Blue’ – the Volkswagen colour – suggests the elements of water and air that we need to protect, and ‘Motion’ embodies the aspect of mobility that is looking forward into the future.

Late in 2007, Volkswagen launched the Polo BlueMotion in New Zealand. With combined fuel consumption of just 3.8L/100km, this is the most economical 5 seat production vehicle in the world. And with a CO2 output as little as 99g/km, it is also the cleanest. The Polo BlueMotion has a RRP of $30,990.

A few months later, two units of the Passat BlueMotion arrived for evaluation. A ‘BlueMotion Challenge’ was devised, with the challenge being to travel from Auckland to Wellington and back to Auckland on just one tank of diesel. After completing the seemingly challenging task, the drivers of the Passat BlueMotion Variant decided to continue north to see exactly where they would eventually run out of fuel. Amazingly, it was not until the hills behind the Bay of Islands that the engine inevitably spluttered to a halt – an astonishing 1540kms later on the one tank of diesel! With a 70L fuel tank this equates to a miserly 4.55L/100km – extremely impressive when you consider that this is a full size family car that carried two people and their luggage!

Positive feedback has led to the Passat BlueMotion becoming a permanent addition to the Volkswagen pricelist. The Sedan has a RRP of $49,990 while the Variant is $52,990.

The recognition given to Volkswagen by the AA was the icing on the cake for Dean Sheed, Volkswagen General Manager for New Zealand: “For a number of years now, Volkswagen has been actively promoting our range of TDI diesel vehicles – both passenger and commercial. Of course, an economical TDI diesel engine is central to the success of our BlueMotion vehicles. The strength of the BlueMotion philosophy is that it is not limited to just one model. You can have a small car like the Polo, or a full size family car like the Passat – the principles are the same.”

He continued: “BlueMotion also means more than just low fuel consumption. With all Volkswagens in fact, consideration is given to environmental impact throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle, including the production phase and at the end, through recycling. The fact that the AA recognised this in the criteria for their award is very encouraging. The reality is that the new cars purchased today are the cars of tomorrow. The better the cars available today, the better position the NZ fleet is in tomorrow.”

The BlueMotion philosophy involves small modifications to a standard production vehicle. ‘Tweaks’ such as taller gear ratios, aerodynamic enhancements, low rolling resistance tyres and a Diesel Particulate Filter make the BlueMotion vehicle the most economical in its range. In New Zealand, the Polo BlueMotion and Passat BlueMotion (in Sedan and Variant form) are currently available, whilst the Jetta BlueMotion is set to join the range in the middle of the year. The Jetta BlueMotion, like the Passat BlueMotion, is powered by a 1.9 TDI diesel engine. It will have a RRP of $39,990.