 that could help the car boost both sales and profits for Europe's largest carmaker.
In particular, the Concept A is seen as a crucial addition to the future of the VW brand, the largest subsidiary within the Volkswagen Group, which also owns Seat, Audi and Skoda, as well as Bentley and Lamborghini.
Volkswagen Group's net profits rose 61.5% to 1.12bn euros in 2005, though the VW brand did little to aid this performance.
"Although the Skoda and Bentley product lines developed extremely well, the Volkswagen passenger cars division was just above operating break-even, despite considerable efforts," according to group chief financial officer, Hans Dieter Poetsch.
Should the new Concept A model reach production, then it would enter an increasingly crowded pool into which many companies are diving.
Toyota is showing its Urban Cruiser concept at the Geneva show, while Suzuki is making a push with its SX4. French car maker PSA/Peugeot Citroen is preparing to enter with a re-badged Mitsubishi Outlander, Renault with a reworked Nissan, and GM with its Captiva SUV.
This is also an increasingly popular market, not only in North America where consumers are becoming more concerned about the cost of motoring, but also in Europe where drivers have always been loath to buy bulky petrol-guzzlers.
"The crossover sport utility segment is the fastest growing in Europe, especially the compact ones and also the premium SUVs," says CSM Worldwide's European sales forecast manager, Walt Madeira.
With the Concept A, VW Group would be well placed in both markets; Volkswagen with its Touareg SUV, Audi with its similarly-sized Q7 and its more car-like Quattro Allroad.
Volkswagen's crossover concept could be the first of a string of new models.
VW aims to launch an average of four cars each year until the end of this decade in a model onslaught that is set to coincide with efforts by Wolfgang Bernhard, chairman of the Volkswagen division, to improve productivity of the firm by a whopping 30% over the next three years.
The restructuring might involve as many as 20,000 job losses over, including an early retirement offer to 14,000 workers.
There also may have to be the closure of VW's struggling car-part factories, as well as direct action aimed at slashing the losses suffered by Volkswagen plants in West Germany.
Such action could involve raising working hours from 28.8 hours a week to 42 hours without boosting pay significantly from its current level of about 2,600 euros (£1,785; $3,122) per month.
Output is also set to be cut, and VW is expected to consider partnering with rival car makers to minimise the cost of launching new models.
VW's restructuring plans have already met with considerable resistance from unionised workers, including those at VW's low-cost division Auto 5000, where workers already put in a 42-hour week without earning more than other workers.
"We are not sure that VW's union, whose members' pay has been frozen from September 2004 to January 2007 but now see VW Group report strong cash flow, a 2bn euros bond buyback, the cancellation of treasury shares and a dividend hike, will be prepared to dance to Mr Bernhard's tune," observes Merrill Lynch automotive analyst Stephen Reitman.
Resistance is proving tougher than usual, however, and while Mr Bernard is proving unpopular, much of the anger is being directed at Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman of the management board at Volkswagen Group.
And in what is a peculiarly German affair, it seems Mr Pischetsrieder may not have his contract renewed at a board meeting on 20 April.
Mr Pischetsrieder remains a popular chief with VW's shareholders, including majority shareholders Porsche and the German state of Lower Saxony, but VW's workers are less impressed with his performance.
As they are represented on Volkswagen's supervisory board, this matters.
Last week, the supervisory board's chairman Ferdinand Piech told The Wall Street Journal that it was possible Mr Pischetsrieder would not survive the vote if all the ten workers' representatives on the board wanted to get rid of him.
But poor industrial relations do not equate to poor customer relations, and nor do they translate into financial losses.
Indeed, VW is rather popular among car buyers at the moment.
In January and February, the group sold 790,000 cars, up 15% on the same period a year ago, and thus much stronger than last year when sales rose to 5.24 million cars, up 3.2% on 2004, according to Mr Pischetsrieder.
Volkswagen sales rise was aided by strong demand for its small Volkswagen Fox and its medium Volkswagen Passat models, according to the Belgium-based industry group ACEA.
Sister marques Audi, Seat and Skoda also recorded strong sales growth.
In Germany, the VW Group's strongest market, the Volkswagen brand is doing particularly well, with a 27% rise in new registrations in January that boosted its market share to 20.5%, the country's motor car department KBA said last month.
Audi too is doing well. It's sales rose 13% to 62,000 in February, and the growth is set to continue.
"No brand will grow like Audi in the near future," says the marque's chief executive Martin Winterkorn. "We are planning to sell significantly more vehicles in 2006 than in the record year 2005."
Similar success could be achieved with the VW marque, thus bringing it firmly into the black, Mr Pischetsrieder believes, though the question for the future is whether his plan can be sold successfully to workers and shareholders alike.We offer a range of goods which are produced by the people we support, they are available seasonally.
We have a plant centre where you can buy the plants that have been grown by the people we support, our course students and our volunteers.
In the summer we have summer bedding plants, hanging baskets, and containers and in the winter we also have xmas tree's and hand made natural wreaths.
We have a range of arts and crafts items that have been made by the people we support and our volunteers.
Ideal for unique gifts and anytime of year.
We have a selection of hand made greetings cards too.
Please CLICK HERE to see some of the items we have on offer!
Or if you would like a bespoke piece then please enquire!
We plant displays for organisations in the community and this year we had the contract with Virgin trains to plant the hanging baskets and containers on both Lancaster and Oxenholme stations, and also supplied the hanging baskets and planted tubs and beds at the Boot and Shoe pub.
We also did some work for Lancaster University, Oaklands NHS unit and Thurnam Hall.
These contracts help Piccadilly by generating income and providing rewarding opportunities for the people we support, our course students and volunteers.
Please get in touch if your organisation would like a quote for hanging baskets or tubs.
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Just Not Good Enough!
As South Africa’s universities edge towards the end of a very difficult academic year, clear differences between campuses have become evident. At the University of Cape Town, there is an uneasy truce. Bar a few minor incidents, examinations have been completed and December’s graduation ceremonies are expected to go ahead. But at the University of the Western Cape there have been continuing protests and many examinations have had to be abandoned. And the Cape Peninsular University of Technology has been all but closed, with buildings torched and student residences cleared. Here, many final year students will now fail to qualify leaving their futures uncertain and their work opportunities at risk.
The immediate reasons for these differences are complex. And, in circumstances as volatile as these, there can be few secure predictions about what may come next, other than the evident observation that universities’ problems are far from other. Step back a bit, though, and there is one evident determinant of both continuing conflict and the differences between these three very different universities; student debt.
Given South Africa’s historical affinities, both positive and negative, comparisons are often made with Higher Education in Britain. In terms of fees alone, a British student will accumulate an obligation of £27 000 for a three year degree, which is about R570 000 at the current rate of exchange. In comparison, the fees over three years at the UCT will be about R150 000, and less at UWC and CPUT. For a student from a well-off South African family, perhaps qualifying as an accountant at UCT and planning to work in London for a few years to gain experience, this is a great offer; a qualification that is recognized in the City, discounted by 75%. But for students who have to borrow money to pay their fees, their circumstances are very different and far, far worse in South Africa.
A British student can expect to get a full loan by right of citizenship, irrespective of household income. Initial payments due to the university are met from the loan account and no repayment is required before graduation. After graduation, repayment is contingent on income and not on the size of the balance. Interest is below commercial