Volkswagen’s emissions scandal destroyed its November sales in the US

VW sold 23,882 cars during the period, compared with 31,725 over the same period past year. In November of 2014, it sold nearly 32,000, the Associated Press reports.

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.

The sales drop is roughly equal to the percent of diesels that VW has typically been selling in the US – about one out of every four or five new cars that move off the lot.

The US environmental protection authority on Tuesday said Volkswagen used devices to rig air-pollution tests in 3-litre diesel engines, found mostly in Audis and Porsches, which are the company’s biggest sources of profit.

VW’s inventory of its popular Jetta compact fell 37% last month, says Stacey Doyle, senior auto analyst for TrueCar.com.

The massive dip can be blamed on the emissions-cheating scandal that has shaken the carmaker.

Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi didn’t take much of a hit to its sales, even though some of its models were also included in the emission testing scandal.

The steep drop in VW sales came during a month in which most automakers benefited from healthy demand for new vehicles, particularly pickup trucks and sport utility models.

VW has admitted that 482,000 two-litre diesel vehicles in the USA contained software that turned pollution controls on for government tests and off for real-world driving.

An estimated 11 million diesel vehicles are affected, including 1.2 million in the UK. Porsche’s sales were down 5 per cent in November, while Audi’s sales were flat.

November’s USA results are especially painful for Volkswagen because they undo the small amount of progress the company was making in America.

VW also announced on Tuesday that it was recalling 324,000 cars in India to remove devices linked to emissions cheating. The company has submitted plans to fix the cars to the government, but those plans have not yet been publicly released. While sales of its Chrysler and Dodge cars fell in November, the company’s Jeep division had a 20 percent gain.

The company has offered $1,000 cash and three years of roadside service to customers with two-liter diesel-engine vehicles.