VW Makes a Move in Manhattan
Though parking in New York City is often hard to find, Volkswagen Group of America has snared a prime spot along 11th Ave. It will join Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Toyota, and others on the West Side strip known as the “Auto Sales Autobahn,” in a 265,000-square-foot building it bought to serve as flagship Audi and Volkswagen dealerships.
The move is part of a broader global expansion scheme, which includes plans to unseat sales leader Toyota. Volkswagen expects to start selling cars at the new facilities early next year. The automaker hopes to generate one million sales in the U.S. by 2018, triple its current level.
Volkswagen shelled out $84 million for the property, and plans to invest another $41 million to “recreate the building from the inside out,” said Lauren Scarpace, a vice president at CB Richard Ellis, the commercial real estate firm representing VW.
VW bought the building from Potamkin General Motors.
