USA sales of cars built by the German automaker fell by roughly a quarter (24%) in November from a year ago.
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The dismal performance comes two months after the company was caught cheating on emissions tests by U.S. regulators, plunging it into one of the biggest auto scandals in history.
VW sold 23,882 cars during the period, compared with 31,725 over the same period previous year.
Volkswagen Group India will recall cars from Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi brands across various models equipped with the EA 189 engines, it said in a statement late on Tuesday.
VW’s highest-volume nameplates were among the hardest hit, with Jetta compact sedan sales falling 23% and Passat midsize sedan deliveries dropping 60%. But the cheating scandal, announced in September, halted that growth.
Audi posted a modest sales gain in November despite being associated with the emissions crisis over the past several months.
VW has admitted that 482,000 2-liter diesel vehicles in the USA contained software that turned pollution controls on for government tests and off for real-world driving.
The US government says another 85,000 six-cylinder diesels also had cheat technology installed.
The November decline reflects a 2,381-unit reduction in sales of non-diesel models in addition to shortfalls caused by the TDI sales freeze, which last month grew to include Touareg SUVs powered by the 3.0-liter V-6 diesel in addition to the 2.0-liter models that were grounded in September.
Akshay Anand, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book, said Volkswagen likely won’t see its US sales increase until it fixes the affected diesels and introduces new vehicles.
The company now faces government investigation, public censure and multiple class-action lawsuits, and has set aside nearly $8 billion to offset diesel-related losses.
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The VW brand sold 490,000 vehicles worldwide in October, 5% fewer than the year before. November worldwide sales haven’t yet been released.
