VW Sales Plummet 16.3% in March

Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced March 2007 sales of 17,355 units. This represents a decrease of 16.3% from March 2006 sales of 20,730 vehicles.

On a 2007 year-to-date basis, Volkswagen has sold 50,332 units. This reflects a decrease of 5.6% from January through March 2006 sales of 53,296 vehicles.

david999 - 4/3/2007 12:28:57 PM

+1 Boost

Wow, It's sad that VW/Audi gets its butt kicked in North America.

S4cabriofoxone - 4/3/2007 5:49:52 PM

0 Boost

READ: Audi has been owning VW lately. They go up every month. Their profits are through the roof- they could, conceivably, afford to split the entire VW Group with Porsche. Of course, that won't happen.

Eventually, Audi of America will probably surpass VW's US sales.

M53R - 4/3/2007 12:41:37 PM

+4 Boost

Audi up...... VW down... lol

chewy - 4/3/2007 1:15:07 PM

+1 Boost

The core product sales have been down lately, but the Eos had its best month of sales now that Spring has started. Maybe VW would actually advertise it?

Rupert - 4/3/2007 1:19:17 PM

+2 Boost

Well for one thing they're including the Jetta wagon and the Golf, neither of which are on sale...

And is that right? They only sold 1 Jetta wagon March 06?

chewy - 4/3/2007 2:11:18 PM

+1 Boost

http://www.autospies.com/news/Volkswagen-Jetta-SportWagen-Debutes-at-the-New-York-Auto-Show-13916/

The Jetta wagon will go on sale in August.

You are right, those are the old MKIV baed vehicles. That aren't sold anymore.

kart1 - 4/3/2007 1:21:02 PM

+2 Boost

Is Audi cannabilizing VW sales????

S4cabriofoxone - 4/3/2007 5:51:00 PM

-1 Boost

They will be.

They're not selling nearly as many yet (VW outsells Audi about 2:1 in the US), but if VW's decline continues, and Audi's success speeds up, they should eventually switch places.

MercBasher - 4/3/2007 1:36:20 PM

+1 Boost

I think the reality of reliability issues at VW is driving the sales decline. The Jetta and Passat are not dreadful cars but they are tough to justify when you consider midsize Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Honda products.

S4cabriofoxone - 4/3/2007 5:52:29 PM

-1 Boost

Probably.

I hate the Jetta, but I think the Passat is a great car. I also love the Rabbit/GTI.

Interestingly, to counter most of the Audi-haters on this site, the Audi brand is about 20 spots above VW in reliability (according to CR).

S4cabriofoxone - 4/3/2007 11:16:11 PM

-1 Boost

43LE said: "Overpriced with lower quality, bad combination."

In Europe, you're terribly wrong. The European-bound VWs are built in Germany... not in Mexico, like the majority of ours. VWs are consistently on "most reliable" lists in Europe, and their consistent performance edge push them over the top. They're also not "overpriced" in Europe. The weak dollar hurts us.

Furthermore... in America, they may have subpar reliability, but define "quality." When I think of quality, I think of how well the car is built and how well-finished the interior is. In these cases, VW excels. The interiors are superb, with their excellent fit-and-finish as well as the solid feel you get from the dash and doors. The cars are also very durable. I had a real (first-gen) Rabbit myself, and it was bulletproof.