VOLKSWAGEN Fleet is promising fleets a free Golf loan car if it's more than two weeks late delivering a Passat. The manufacturer has been plagued by poor supply of Passat from launch, testing the patience of customers and losing orders as fleets withdrew the car from choice lists.

Now Volkswagen Fleet is underwriting its confidence in Passat availability by providing a free, new shape Golf if the 'delivery to customer' date given by the dealer is exceeded by a fortnight. The scheme came into effect for all orders placed after July 15, and will help companies avoid problems associated with running cars longer than forecast, such as excess mileage charges.

The loan Golfs will be matched as best as possible to the specification of the Passat on order, and have to be returned within a week of the new Passat passing its PDI and being ready for collection.