Volkswagen Claims Top Awards at 2008 BICSA Security Awards

THATCHAM - June 16, 2008: Volkswagen’s newly-launched Tiguan compact MPV and Phaeton luxury saloon have scooped top honours at the British Insurance Car Security Awards (BICSA), which are presented today by Thatcham, the Motor Industry Repair Research Centre, in Berkshire.

The Tiguan was declared the outright winner of the Compact 4x4 category, while the Phaeton was awarded first place in the Luxury Car sector. Elsewhere the Touran compact MPV and Eos convertible came second in their respective classes. The Polo, Golf, Passat, Touareg and Golf Plus were also commended in the judging. Overall Volkswagen was placed second in the manufacturer league table, up one place from last year.

Vehicles were judged on a number of criteria identified by the creators of the New Vehicle Security Ratings (NVSR) scheme. Those that had a maximum five stars for ‘theft from’, had double locking and an ‘E’ insurance suffix (indicating they had a feature that exceeds the required standard) were shortlisted for final evaluation and ranking.

Franco Iannotta, Insurance Ratings and Vehicle Security Manager for the Volkswagen Group commented: ‘It’s a great result for Volkswagen that so many of its products have been recognised by Thatcham. We’re particularly proud that the Tiguan has claimed first place in its inaugural awards. It’s proof that our colleagues in the factory and we in the UK are working tirelessly to produce new cars for our customers that are both safe and secure.’