While Volkswagen Grows Worldwide, the US Slips Away

VolkswagenVolkswagenGermany, 1938 > present98 models
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Group has made it no secret that it wants to be the world’s largest automaker, but one major world market is still standing in its way – North America, particularly the United States.

From January to September, VW Group North American sales grew by 9.2% to 664,500 vehicles, of which 463,200 were in the US, a 7.3% improvement.

However of those sales, Volkswagen Cars sold 466,000 vehicles in North America, up 2.1%, and 314,800 cars were sold in the United States, down 2.6%.

Most of the growth in the US can be accounted to Audi, which has sold 114,411 cars from January to September, up 13.6% from the previous year.

It is not that Volkswagen has not tried to become more popular in the US. It created the latest VW PassatVolkswagen Passat Gen.7 [B7]Germany, 2011 > 2014115 versions
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to be bigger and cheaper and built it in the US. It was meant to be a slightly more luxurious alternative to the CamryToyota Camry 8 Japan, 2011 > present18 versions
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, FusionFord Fusion Gen.2United States of America, 2012 > present30 versions
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and AccordHonda Accord 9Japan, 2013 > present25 versions
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, but the Passat has never made it into the top 20 models sold in the US on a monthly basis.

"We understand Europe, we understand China and we understand Brazil. But we only understand the United States to a certain degree so far,” said VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech.

It is an odd admission. The company is hardly a stranger to the American market. VW has been selling cars in the United States officially since 1955 and sales peaked in the US in 1970 at 569,696 cars. It was the largest foreign auto brand in the US until 1975 when ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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took the lead.

Industry analysts focus on VW’s problems in the US coming for two areas. First, the company spends $691 million a year on US advertising compared to $1.83 billion a year from GMGMUnited States of America, 1998 > present8 models
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and $1.76 billion from Toyota.

It also has been slow to create North American specific models like it has for Europe and China. The Passat was certainly an attempt at focusing on North America, but it has not been followed with any other models.

At the North American International Auto Show, VW showed a large SUV concept called the CrossblueVolkswagen CrossBlueGermany, 2014 > 20145 photos
, but it has not said anything about the truck since. Currently, the company’s full-size SUV entry is the TouaregVolkswagen Touareg Gen.2Germany, 2009 > present50 versions
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, which retails for $43,995. In comparison, the top-of-the-range Ford Explorer SportFord Explorer SportUnited States of America, 2013 > present11 photos
starts at $40,780 and offers nearly 100hp more than the Touareg and has more cargo capacity than the VW.

Volkswagen’s goal is to sell 800,000 cars a year in the US by 2018. That gives it four years to increase sales by roughly a third, while the US auto industry is only estimated to grow this year by 8%. The only way to find the extra sales will be to attract buyers from other automakers in the US.

Source: Automotive News Europe