In 2012, Volkswagen’s U.S. sales volume rose to the highest level since 1973. Through the first quarter of 2013, sales had risen in 31 consecutive months. Volkswagen Of America’s market share grew from 1.4% in 2007 to 3.0% in 2012.
But then came 18 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. sales decline for the Volkswagen brand, consecutive annual decreases in 2013 and 2014, and a market share drop back to 2.2%. As Volkswagen sales plunged, the overall U.S. market surged.
“Following 2012’s elation,” I wrote on TTAC today, “all of these disappointments came before we learned that the 2.0-liter diesel engine fitted to more than one-in-five Volkswagen of America products is a scandal-ridden, emissions-test-cheating, NOx-spewing anchor around VW’s neck.”
medianet_width=’468′; medianet_height= ’60’; medianet_crid=’481536334′;
The most recent evidence of disappointment came in the form of August 2015’s sales results. Here they are in full, directly from VWoA’s release from Tuesday, September 1, 2015.
| VW | August 2015 | August 2014 | % change | 2015 YTD | 2014 YTD | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Golf
|
1,873
|
1,773
|
5.6%
|
15,000
|
7,175
|
109%
|
|
GTI
|
1,907
|
2,026
|
-5.9%
|
14,992
|
10,524
|
42.5%
|
|
Golf R
|
436
|
—
|
—
|
2,239
|
15
|
14,827%
|
|
e-Golf
|
381
|
—
|
—
|
2,212
|
—
|
—
|
|
Golf SportWagen
|
2,478
|
—-
|
—
|
10,073
|
—
|
—
|
|
Total Golf Family
|
7,075
|
3,799
|
86.2%
|
44,516
|
17,714
|
151%
|
|
Jetta Sedan
|
11,002
|
13,406
|
-17.9%
|
87,047
|
90,162
|
-3.5%
|
|
Jetta SportWagen
|
110
|
1,955
|
-94.4%
|
2,645
|
14,648
|
-81.9%
|
|
Total Jetta
|
11,112
|
15,361
|
-27.7%
|
89,692
|
104,810
|
-14.4%
|
|
Beetle Coupe
|
1,287
|
1,744
|
-26.2%
|
9,846
|
12,265
|
-19.7%
|
|
Beetle Convertible
|
840
|
1,161
|
-27.6%
|
7,681
|
9,220
|
-16.7%
|
|
Total Beetle
|
2,127
|
2,905
|
-26.8%
|
17,527
|
21,485
|
-18.4%
|
|
Eos
|
208
|
302
|
-31.1%
|
1,800
|
2,603
|
-30.8%
|
|
Passat
|
7,409
|
9,190
|
-19.4%
|
56,508
|
67,633
|
-16.4%
|
|
CC
|
546
|
787
|
-30.6%
|
4,106
|
7,530
|
-45.5%
|
|
Tiguan
|
3,165
|
2,151
|
47.1%
|
19,249
|
17,446
|
10.3%
|
|
Touareg
|
690
|
686
|
0.6%
|
4,676
|
4,554
|
2.7%
|
|
Routan
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
1,103
|
-100%
|
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
Total
|
32,332
|
35,181
|
-8.1%
|
238,074
|
244,878
|
-2.8%
|
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.