Volkswagen brand U.S. sales fall nearly 25 percent in November

“Furthermore, the findings from the evaluations undertaken by Volkswagen Group India under the observation of ARAI show that the tested cars of the brands Volkswagen, SKODA and Audi are not violating the Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) emission norms in India”, it said.

Autocar India, Autocar Professional’s sister magazine, had exclusively reported on Monday, November 30, 2015 that the Volkswagen Group was bracing itself to initiate a recall of its cars affected by the diesel emissions scandal.

Volkswagen sold fewer than 24,000 cars in the month of November, posting a drop of 24.7 percent, Xinhua quoted the group as saying on Tuesday.

A government probe found diesel engines fitted with 1.2-litre, 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre, and 2.0-litre EA 189 cheating emission tests.

The testing agency found the company using diesel engines equipped with a “defeat device” which could lead to excess nitrogen oxide emission levels in the on-road running of vehicles. Autodata said the closely watched seasonally adjusted selling rate for the month was almost 18.2-million vehicles, compared with 17.1-million in November 2014.

But analysts said that VW’s dismal sales performance in November was evidence that consumers were abandoning the brand in greater numbers.

“People have told me a leading reason they bought their vehicles is because they were supposed to be environmentally friendly, meet the European emission standards and were supposed to be a new clean green diesel technology”.

Globally, Volkswagen sales declined 3.5 percent in October, the latest month for which global data is available. While sales of its Chrysler and Dodge cars fell in November, the company’s Jeep division had a 20 percent gain.

New Zealand owners of Volkswagen vehicles are struggling to sell their cars because of the recent emissions scandal, says a lawyer representing some owners. Several other high ranking officers within Volkswagen Group, including those from Audi and Porsche were suspended. There’s little doubt that the free-fall in sales is directly tied to VW’s emissions scandal, which has damaged its reputation in the States and overseas.

Volkswagen, however, avoided the inevitable until November by discounting cars to keep its sales volume of gas-powered cars high, offsetting the inability to sell diesels.

With its non-TDI sales up and the automaker compensating struggling dealerships to help kep the doors open, the brand will likely survive here in the U.S. It will, however, be an uphill battle to regain buyer confidence in its TDI models, which have long accounted for a large portion of the brand’s sales.