VW Sales Drop by 25 Percent in November

Volkswagen USA’s Chattanooga factory (Credit: Volkswagen )

Volkswagen has deservedly had a hard time since it was caught red-handed cheating on emission tests. With massive fines, a mass exodus of executives and engineers, and huge recalls in the works, Volkswagen has already had a full plate. Now, with November sales in the books, the true impact of this cheating scandal has reared its ugly head.

» Related: VW Claims Emissions Scandal was Overlooked Due to "Culture" of Tolerance

I am, of course, talking about the huge skid in overall sales the brand saw in the U.S. last month. Specifically, the brand’s sales in the States plummeted by a whopping 25 percent to just 23,882 units in November. According to Volkswagen, the sales crash is solely due to the freeze on selling any 2.0-liter TDI models and the 3.0-liter TDI-powered Touareg, and this is somewhat validated by the fact that Tiguan sales jumped 88 percent, Golf GTI sales increased 18 percent, and the e-Golf’s sales up over 300 percent.

To make matters worse, Volkswagen has been on a pretty steady sales decline in the U.S. all year. In August alone, VW sales dropped by eight percent, giving dealerships plenty to worry about.

This steady slide and then the huge slide last month have contributed to the perfect storm that has resulted in the massive automaker posting its first quarterly loss in 15 years. In total, VW ended up $3.9 billion in the red, which I can only assume is making executives squirm in their seats.

With its non-TDI sales up and the automaker compensating struggling dealerships to help kep the doors open, the brand will likely survive here in the U.S. It will, however, be an uphill battle to regain buyer confidence in its TDI models, which have long accounted for a large portion of the brand’s sales.

We’ll continue monitoring the dieselgate scandal and bring you all of the latest as details become available.