Volkswagen unveiled its new battery-electric ID.4 compact SUV on Wednesday, the linchpin in its effort to move past the Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal and into a zero-emissions future.“We don’t go all out to compete head to head with the other EVs out there,” said Jeffrey Lear, electric vehicle product manager at the German company’s U.S. marketing arm. “We’re out to win the hearts of compact SUV buyers.
In the U.S., the trend is not good. Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales declined 7% last year, to 325,000, and accounted for only 2% of the U.S. market out of 17 million sold.Which means it’s high-pressure time for Volkswagen’s sales and marketing department and its 650 U.S. dealers. Volkswagen wasn’t the only company that did this, but what turned out to be criminal behavior was more widespread at the company. One U.S. Volkswagen executive is serving a prison term and others will stand trial on fraud charges in Germany, including former Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn. Fines, settlements and restitution have cost the company an estimated $33 billion.The company embarked on what it hopes will be a cultural transformation.
Volkswagen has long had trouble succeeding with any kind of vehicle in the U.S. market, even though it is the world’s biggest or second-biggest car company in sales, depending on the month. It’s huge in Europe and in China. But in the U.S., market share is only about 2%.U.S. sales for Volkswagen peaked way back in 1970, when the company sold 569,000 Beetles and Microbuses at a time when U.S. pop culture had hit its hippie heights.
russ1mitchell With the diesel scandal and how they handled it, for me VWGroup_DE completly destroyed their brand reputation here in Germany. I never trust them again in any shaper form.
russ1mitchell I drove its EV car. 90 miles of autonomy, 8 hours to recharge, an expensive boat anchor
russ1mitchell That scandal already made history. Very poorly written lede imo.
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That's a cool looking car
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