Volkswagen Celebrates 50,000th T5 Camper Van

AUTO CENTRAL, UK -- July 30, 2014: Celebrations at the California production facility, Hanover T5 camper van production heading for record in 2014 Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is celebrating its iconic California camper van breaking a significant production milestone.

Together with the management board and works council, the team at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles California assembly plant in Hanover Limmer celebrated the production landmark.

Commenting on the milestone, Chairman of the Board of Management for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Dr. Eckhard Scholz, said: ‘The Volkswagen T5 California is the most popular and best-selling camper van in its class. We have completed production of 50,000 T5 Californias since 2004. This year, with a figure of over 8,100 units, we will achieve the highest level of annual production yet.’

Thomas Zwiebler, Chairman of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles works council, highlighted the contribution made by the staff: ‘My thanks go to the team. Without their dedication and expertise this story of success would never have been possible.’

The California is offered in two variants: the entry-level Beach and the range-topping SE (known as Comfortline outside the UK). To date, 13,000 California Beaches and 37,000 California SEs have been produced.

Volkswagen is the only vehicle manufacturer to produce its own camper van. It benefits from the expertise and production standards given to every other Volkswagen model and is available in the UK with full European Whole Vehicle Type Approval.

Apart from its great design and high quality, the California is compact and convenient enough to be used as an everyday vehicle, yet easily turns into a home from home for days out, weekend escapes or longer adventures.

Since the launch of the California model, its popularity has grown with every new generation. Production figures for the T3 version totalled 22,000 and for the California T4 39,000. In its current generation, the Volkswagen California T5 has already reached a production record of 50,000 and manufacturing continues on a two-shift basis in order to meet the high level of demand.

The 50,000th vehicle is a California SE (Comfortline) in Natural Grey with a 2.0 TDI 140PS BlueMotion Technology engine featuring a 7-speed DSG transmission. This California will be on show at this year's Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf (30 August to 7 September) on the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles stand.