But analysts said Volkswagen’s dismal sales performance in November was evidence that many consumers were abandoning the brand in greater numbers. Sales of the Tiguan SUV jumped 88 percent from last November, while sales of the all-electric Golf nearly tripled to 472 vehicles.
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Emission scandal-hit German auto giant Volkswagen’s Indian arm on Tuesday said it would recall a whopping 3,23,700 Skoda range of models and its luxury brand Audi, which are equipped with EA 189 diesel engines.
These vehicles, across various models, are equipped with the EA189 diesel engines in 1.2-litre, 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre segments.
In another blow, the Standard & Poor’s rating agency downgraded VW’s debt from A- to BBB+, just three notches above a junk rating.
Volkswagen Group India said the owners will be informed by it through the respective brands about the technical measures that will be implemented in their cars. “We would like to thank our dealers and customers for their continued patience and loyalty”, said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen US. The U.S. admission triggered a much larger one for the rest of the world: VW has said another 10.5 million cars worldwide have the same deceptive software and will need to be repaired.
Volkswagen’s total sales fell to 23,882 units in November, down by almost 8,000 vehicles compared to a year ago. And the closely watched seasonally adjusted annual selling rate was expected to exceed 18 million vehicles during the month.
The steep drop in VW sales came during a month in which most automakers benefited from healthy demand for new vehicles, particularly pickup trucks and sport utility models.
“These people bought vehicles that have turned out to be not what they bought”, he said. “There were also a lot of sales events from other carmakers going on”. But even excluding those diesels, sales would have been down 9% for the month. “The favorable IOU environment of low interest rates, oil prices, and unemployment, coupled with our strongest product lineup ever, continues to be a significant driver of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sales”.
November’s USA results are especially painful for Volkswagen because they undo the small amount of progress the company was making in America.
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Audi tallied a modest sales increase of 0.4 percent for November.
