Volkswagen’s Emissions Scandal Flattens November US Sales By 25 Percent

Volkswagen (NASDAQOTH:VLKAY) said that USA sales of VW-brand vehicles fell nearly 25% in November, as the company’s emissions-cheating scandal may have kept buyers away from its showrooms.

Following the Volkswagen Group’s embarrassing and expensive diesel emissions defeat device scandal, the company’s head-office in Germany has embarked on a huge cost-cutting exercise to help it stem its losses.

The Volkswagen recall in India will include approximately 198,500 cars from Volkswagen, 88,700 cars from KODA and 36,500 cars from Audi, sold since 2008 till the end of November 2015.

To view the full article, register now. “I am personally hopeful we will be able to announce something soon about the remedies … and which we are discussing with the agencies in upcoming days”, Michael Horn, head of Volkswagen’s United States of America operations, said at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday.

Volkswagen says ending its sale of the offending diesel-powered vehicles accounted for the drop in sales, The Wall street Journal reports.

Although the battered brand hit its deadline last week in submitting its plan to fix four-cylinder diesel vehicles affected by the emissions scandal in Europe, VW has yet to roll out details for its American fixes, and customers could simply be fed up at this point – offering another explanation for why sales dropped so dramatically.

Volkswagen said Tuesday that November sales of its namesake brand declined 25 percent from a year earlier, largely because the company couldn’t sell any diesel-powered cars.

November is the first month that the scandal has seriously hurt U.S. sales for the German carmaker, which used rebates and cheap lease deals to generate a 0.2 per cent sales increase in October.

VW was forced to stop selling 2 and 3 litre diesel engine cars after it was discovered they contained software that disguised emission levels. After struggling to crack the USA market and posting big sales declines throughout 2014, Volkswagen this past spring and summer finally generated some positive momentum.

Among Volkswagen’s notable brands, sales of Jettas fell roughly 30% in November and Passats fell more than 60%.

“We also see weaker business prospects for the group, as VW experiences reduced profits and cash flows from lower volumes and prices, as well as substantial costs and potential fines and litigation damages”, it said in a statement.

Audi posted a modest sales gain in November despite being associated with the emissions crisis over the past several months.