Cars and Drivers

The 5 Models Volkswagen Needs to Save Itself

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 18, 2016 9:55 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 7:54 am

Volkswagen has lost the high-mileage car consumer market for years to come, and that could stretch on for decades. The scandal over its diesel engine mileage claims have assured that. The company has five models that have to be successful to pull it from a terrible, downward sales trend that will topple it from its spot as the number one manufacturer in the world.

Some of these vehicles are not sold in the United States but are in markets where VW has a wider footprint. First among these are light cars with high gas mileage, which match the supposed efficiency of the disgraced diesel engine.

The smallest among these cars is the Up, which is meant for city driving. Although the Up costs less than $10,000 converted to the U.S. currency, it does have a number of advanced features, such as laser detection of potential accidents.

The next small VW car is the Polo, which the manufacturer claims gets 60 miles per gallon. It also has features usually found on more expensive cars, including safety whiplash protection and electronic stability control.

The next three vehicles VW has to market effectively are already at the heart of its product line. The Passat, Golf and Jetta are the products it sells against the midsized vehicles that are the core of the best-selling cars of Japanese manufactures, the sedans and crossovers that have been the sweet spot of their sales for years.

Last month, Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s (NYSE: HMC) Civic and Accord and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Camry and Corolla were the top-selling vehicles in the United States, behind the three full-size pickups that are the best-selling vehicles in America: Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) F-150, General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Silverado and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s (NYSE: FCAU) Ram. Each of the four Japanese cars had unit sales above 30,000 in April, about the same as the entire VW lineup in the same month.

VW’s global success rests on five models, most of which it has built for years, but that now have to be remarketed as cars, made by a severely damaged company, that are worth buying.