Volkswagen Of America, Inc. Signs Exclusive Agreement With Sirius Satellite Radio

[BUGSTUFF]

17 March 2006

VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC. SIGNS EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT WITH SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO

AUBURN HILLS, MI – Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that it will offer SIRIUS Satellite Radio as its sole satellite radio provider for vehicles sold in this country through 2012.

Volkswagen will exclusively offer SIRIUS beginning with the introduction of its 2007 model year vehicles, and expects to equip approximately 80% with SIRIUS satellite radio receivers. Additionally, Volkswagen will offer three months of complimentary service.

“There is no doubt that the growth in popularity of satellite radio has been phenomenal and that SIRIUS is at the forefront of offering listeners an incredible breadth of creative programming,” said Steve Keyes, public relations general manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “The partnership of these two great brands makes our products more desirable to our customers.”

“We are very excited about Volkswagen of America’s decision to make SIRIUS the exclusive provider of satellite radio in Volkswagen and Audi vehicles in the U.S.,” said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS . “Volkswagen of America has been an excellent non-exclusive partner during the past few years, and we are very pleased that they have decided to emphasize their belief in SIRIUS and increase their level of commitment through this new, exclusive agreement. We look forward to working closely with them in the future to offer their customers the best in-vehicle entertainment available.”

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen of America and its affiliates employ approximately 3,000 people in the United States and are
responsible for the sale and service of Audi, Bentley, and Volkswagen products through retail networks comprising in total more than 900 independent U.S. dealers.

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS delivers more than 125 channels of the best programming in all of radio. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial free music channels in satellite radio, offering 67 music channels available nationwide. SIRIUS also delivers 61 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NBA and NHL and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL, NBA and NHL.

[AddisVWNewBeetle]

I thought they were exclusive with XM..considering the Satellite Edition New Beetle

[SPIRU]

Originally Posted by AddisVWNewBeetle

I thought they were exclusive with XM..considering the Satellite Edition New Beetle

Guess they sold them out.

[AddisVWNewBeetle]

Must have. I've got XM in my Bug and I love it!

[FineExampl]

That's a mistake on VW's part. At least offer XM as an option even if it's not their main choice. However, with the 06s, don't they have that "line in" under the dash?? Wouldnt be too hard to plop a receiver in there.

[AddisVWNewBeetle]

Wouldn't know about the '06, but late night one night my best friend and I wired my Bug for XM. Only thing about it I don't like is too many wires running every which way.

[AddisVWNewBeetle]

Here is my receiver in my car.....

[SPIRU]

Originally Posted by FineExampl

That's a mistake on VW's part. At least offer XM as an option even if it's not their main choice. However, with the 06s, don't they have that "line in" under the dash?? Wouldnt be too hard to plop a receiver in there.

I agree! At least when I trade Black for another VW I'll save some green when I tell'em to take out the the non-XM hardware.

[kcfoxie]

Well I can see we'll be keeping the Jetta V's radio for our 2008-2009-2010 EOS upgrade. Lets pray they don't change out ALL the functions so older units can't be "retro fitted" into the new models (doubt it; costs a lot to do that). VAGCOM upgrade is likely in my future now to make that mod work. *sigh* We have XM with our satellite TV and now we have it in the car, SIRUS has Stern, and while I won't say that's why I don't like them, I really just can't stand their logo. I've always liked XM, and while I can't stand paying the fee (radio should be free), I'd rather support XM than Sirius, and it's just a personal choice. This would greatly affect my decision -- and most all my coworkers who have expressed interest in a GTI -- to buy their product. An external radio adapter, whats most popular for older head units that predate the XM startup, is "very 90s" and no matter how well they try to integrate it.. it's unsightly to have the extra XM/Sirius screen anywhere in the car. grr.. this aggravates me. Why can't they stay neutral? I hope they have statistics that show that people took Sirus over XM, because I've yer to meet someone local who had their stock XM swapped out for Sirius.

[marvins_dad]

Hey - Pete and I are already ahead of the game!
We are Sirius owners in our bugs!

[dnyed]

I, too, thought that XM was the preferred provider. I can't find a 2006 GTI with Sirius to save my life!

[pdoel]

Originally Posted by FineExampl

That's a mistake on VW's part. At least offer XM as an option even if it's not their main choice. However, with the 06s, don't they have that "line in" under the dash?? Wouldnt be too hard to plop a receiver in there.

I agree. I think it's a dumb decision. I for one, am tired of how manufacturers keep limiting your options. Everything is a "package deal" now.

GM is exclusive to XM which has upset some people. Within a few minutes, there is supposed to be some module that you can just pop into your GM vehicle to convert it to Sirius. I'm sure something similar will be out soon to do the same with VWs equipped with Sirius.

I'm very happy with my Sirius radio, but I like knowing I have a choice. I don't want to be forced into one option or the other.

[AddisVWNewBeetle]

Originally Posted by kcfoxie

because I've yer to meet someone local who had their stock XM swapped out for Sirius.

I have. Remember Zimmy on the old forums? He had that done when he got his Audi. It came with XM but he had it switched for Sirius. I for one like XM better.

[PhoenixRising]

Originally Posted by FineExampl

That's a mistake on VW's part. At least offer XM as an option even if it's not their main choice. However, with the 06s, don't they have that "line in" under the dash?? Wouldnt be too hard to plop a receiver in there.

[marvins_dad]

Yeah - I think this exclusive stuff is a pretty bad move for all companies that do this.

My wife's Element came with XM and now it seems a waste that she has all the hardware for XM when we are Sirius subscribers, so either we have to have dual equipment or wait for them to come out with the conversion that allows you to replace the XM brain with the Sirius one.

If they offered the option of either one, maybe they would sell more in the long run and it wouldn't be this barrier in purchasing a new car...I wonder how many people were on the fence between two cars and they decided to go with a different brand because of the Satellite service in the car....probably not that many, but I would imagine that that has happened.

[Concept1]

I'm sure XM and Sirius will merge within a couple years. That's all companies seem to do these days.

[PhoenixRising]

Originally Posted by Concept1

I'm sure XM and Sirius will merge within a couple years. That's all companies seem to do these days.

Agreed. I think I said that once...

[pdoel]

Originally Posted by Concept1

I'm sure XM and Sirius will merge within a couple years. That's all companies seem to do these days.

I doubt it, and I hope not. It would definitely be a monopoly at that point, which is something the government frowns on.

I hope it doesn't, because it's in our best interests if it doesn't.

At one time, XM offered a monthly service fee (I'm guessing the $12.95?), which did not include online streaming or a few premium channels. Sirius came along and offered the entire package (all channels, online streaming and no premium channels) for the same $12.95. XM dropped the extra fees and now gives everything at the same price.

Competition is in our best interest. With the Stern deal, Oprah, etc., everyone's been a buzz wondering if XM and Sirius will have to raise their rates. Right now, with the other offering their full service for $12.95, that can't happen. If one increases their rates, their screwed.

So having two is really in our best interest. Sure, it'd be nice to have all the content of both and not have to make a decision. But I'd prefer the lower costs we get as a result of the competition.