Volkswagen's May Sales Collapse 17%

Cars and Drivers

Published: June 2, 2016 9:50 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 7:18 am

Volkswagen’s problems in America are hardly over. It faces fines and legal challenges, as well as a brand the value of which has eroded at an unprecedented rate. VW sales in May fell 17.2% and so far this year are off 13.1%. The pace of the challenge has accelerated.

VW sold 28,779 cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in May. It sold 123,205 for the first five months of the year.

The decline also exposes one of VW’s major issues. Its lineup is so small that the drop in diesel sales cannot be replaced by other models. Its Golf line had a sales decline of 29.1% in May to 4,475. Sales of the Jetta sedan dropped 13.5% to 10,943. Beetle sales fell 56.1% to 1,178. Passat sales shrank 12.8% to 7,129. That is the entirety of VW’s lineup, with one exception. Sales of the Tiguan rose 42.7% to 4,394. The Tiguan is VW’s inexpensive SUV.

VW has a smaller variety of cars and SUVs than any other major foreign car manufacturer. Its selection is also dwarfed by those of Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler.

For the time being, VW will be fortunate if its sales decline simply moves into the single digits.

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