If YOU Were In Charge Of Volkswagen, How Would You Turn Things Around In The US?

10 year 100k warranties, and MASSIVE sales and dealer training.

Reduce selling prices and repair costs to be in line with what the product actually is, or...

Increase product quality (apparent level of fit, finish, and luxury; fewer initial defects; better durability, less ongoing defects) to justify current selling price and repair costs. I'd also change the styling to make the vehicle look more upscale.

I believe VW's biggest challenge is charging premium prices for vehicles that don't merit them.

First, drop the arrogance.. should not be charging a premium over its competitors. VW competes with Ford, Toyota, PSG, Mazda etc.. and not the tail end of luxury.
Stop the pretence and trade on reliability, it isn't.. needs to be earnt..

Move away from boring generic designs..

Get rid of the Phaeton too..

Focus on quality, add an R model to all the series, make the warranty in line with most other manufacturers, revamp the pricing to be more competitive with their direct rivals in the US and perhaps add a bit more interesting designs, nothing bizarre like the Japanese are doing lately but with a bit more flair.

The Beetle sold because it was cheap to buy - and cheap to fix.
It lasted a long time because there was not much to it.

However - VW now has a reputation for cars that are more expensive (And it was their choice to try to move upscale) - and are less reliable. IN addition they are expensive to repair as well. The people who would buy them - are buying AUDIs instead. (Which is why Audi has been selling more cars - why buy a VW when an Audi is that close in price. And the people who would have bought the old Beetle cannot afford a VW.

If they want to establish Audi as the UBER brand - then the have to return VW to its entry level status. IF they continue to compete with Buick and Volvo - they will end up with those volumes.

New lineup asap. No more special spec Golfs only please. No more Jetta and Passat as we know them.
If necessary, do away with the Mexican plant and make the cars here. Reliability is awful
Understand and don't forget your humble origins and focus on Hyundai and Kia. The Japs they are already years ahead so come back to them later.
There's nothing wrong with reigning the entry niche. Remember you are the people's car!
Borrow even more from Seat, Audi and Skoda.
Train dealerships on customer service and client appreciation
Acknowledge the problem. Wake up!

As smart as the Germans are it is absolutely incredible that they are not doing well enough to study the competition carefully enough. When VW made the decision to open up a new plant at Chattanooga why did they only choose to build the Passat there? Why was there not enough forethought to build a few SUV's and Crossovers then. Honda, Toyota, Nissan have had plants in the US for a long time. Even Hyundai has a plant and has had one for the last 5 to 6 years. Further what do all of these makes have in common? They have an A class vehicle, a B class vehicle, C class vehicle and different size suv's and cuv's to accommodate those size classes. GM, and Ford learned from near bankruptcy and bankruptcy to understand that about having the right product at the right time. VW has simply not been paying attention.
So here is a brief outline what VW should do.

1)Move more quickly to develop product to better compete with the competition.
2)Work on improving reliability.
3)Get rid of conservative styling. It may play well in Europe but not the USA.
4)There need to be a halo vehicle that creates some emotion for the brand. The Beetle is not it. The Beetle is more for tugging on the nostalgia of former original Beetle owners. VW needs a vehicle that emotes more excitement. it's simply not a Golf R. It has to have radical styling, top performance and handling and should be 2 drs.
This vehicle will not sell in high volumes but it should have characteristics the signify what VW is.
5) VW should not compete with Audi. therefore vehicles should be marketed and priced as well as positioned properly. NO VW should cost the consumer over 35 grand period!!! That Audi's venue.

To be more specific-A VW Polo type vehicle and CUV.A Golf CUV.
Introduce a 4dr Beetle with AWD or a Beetle Speedster. If not
don't renew the Beetle and go for a Karman Ghia type Coupe and Convertible. Enlarge the Tiguan and Toureg and build them in the USA.
Develop a pickup truck.

1) Introduce a 'halo' car... best bet would be a small SUV (like the new Mazda CX-3 or Honda HR-V).

2) Get rid of the really awkward names (like 'Passat' and 'Tiguan'). Start over from scratch.

3) Get a new advertising agency, with fresh thinking and completely new ideas.

4) Trash the stupid 'Time For German Engineering' tag line. (No one thinks the same level of engineering that goes into a Porsche goes into a VW).

5) Require dealers to upgrade their facilities and go through extensive service training.

6) Put the same level of emphasis on durability and long-term owner satisfaction as has been applied to VW's vehicle interiors. The great interiors don't mean much when owners are constantly in the service bay at their dealership.

#1 Go all in on quality reliability durability
#2 Go all in on delivering value than decontented cars
#3 Go all in on a 10yr/100K mile power train warranty

Up beginning at $13K
Polo beginning at $15K
merge Golf and Jetta into the Jetta name starting at $17k
Beetle migrates to Polo size.
Scirocco goes RWD to battle Miata/BRZ/FRS / does duty as a Porsche 922 entry level
Passat completely reimagined
CC replaced by a Santana that is Avalon sized and priced
VW Taos / B segment crossover
VW Moab / Tiguan replacement
VW Yuma / D segment crossover
VW Mojave / Tacoma sized pickup

2yrs/24K bumper to bumper is TERRIBLE. Hell, even Ferrari has figured this out and is now offering 7 years unlimited miles worth of maintenance!

Now, if Honda did this, because they are so damn reliable, nobody would blink an eye. But brands that lack a reputation for reliability have to neutralize the reliability bugaboo (Hyundai/Kia made headlines when they were the first to announce 10yrs/100K).

I did not realize that VW in the US has only a 2yr/24K bumper to bumper. That's essentially admitting your vehicles are built like shit
and don't want to be on the hook to repair them. Darringer could not be more correct when he mentions the #1 thing VW needs to do. Again I am amazed what Wolfsburg problem is.You can only offer a decent bumper to bumper when you have enough confidence in your product reliability and quality. It appears that Wolfsburg does not.

I dumped my interest in a Porsche/Audi/VW dealer because the warranty issues at VW and Audi were through the roof and customers--especially at VW--were LIVID. VWs are turds for quality.