VW US Sales Up Slightly in September — Not Likely to Happen Again Soon

In the two weeks or so since the scandal broke over the company’s fiddling with the emissions control software on its diesel-powered cars, VW has reeled from one piece of bad news to another. While the September U.S. sales report shows a slight improvement, it only underscores how much VW has lost since the scandal broke and how much it still stands to lose, not only in fines and recalls, but in lost sales to pay for all those fines and recalls.

The company said Tuesday that it will inform owners of all 11 million diesel cars with the faulty software that VW will correct the problem “in the near future.” One estimate of the cost of that effort: $6.5 billion. VW also faces a maximum fine of $18 billion in the United States, and the tally from all diesel car sales in the rest of the world has got to be equally mind-boggling.

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A recent poll of 400 U.S. car buyers by consulting firm Vennli indicates that just 4% who are currently considering an immediate vehicle purchase would purchase any VW model. The same survey indicates that 42% of all buyers are less likely to purchase any VW following the reports that the company cheated on diesel vehicle emissions tests. The Vennli report notes that trust in a carmaker ranks much higher with customers than does environmental impact or low emissions.

Vennli also noted the impact on VW’s other major brand:

While it doesn’t appear that the news about Volkswagen has had a strong impact on perceptions of Audi (yet!), it will be important to monitor this moving forward. Savvy PR professionals over at Audi are likely trying to distance the brand from its parent company while playing up its own competitive advantage. The future for Audi’s brand perception is tenuous, so it’s important that they be proactive and prepared.

Through the end of August sales of VW/Audi cars accounted for about 15% of all U.S. sales, but as the company has attempted to recover from ever-dwindling U.S. sales, the diesel cars were making some inroads with American buyers. That budding romance is certainly on the rocks, if not completely over.

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