Autoblog

Report: VW's Jacoby says brand will double U.S. sales in 2-3 years

Chris Shunk — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

Volkswagen of America's President and CEO Stefan Jacoby is bullish on the future of the people's car company - so much so that he feels sales of his brand in the U.S. will double within the next few years. Automotive News reports that the German exec has estimated that sales will reach "400,000 to 450,000 vehicles." Even without the sour state of the economy, those are massively ambitious figures: VW sold just 213,454 cars and crossovers in America in 2009, down four percent versus the company's 2008 numbers.

Jacoby didn't give specific reasons for the increase in sales projections, but his numbers would appear to fall in line with VW's goal to sell 800,000 vehicles in the U.S. market by 2018. Wolfsburg is also optimistic that industry-wide U.S. sales will settle somewhere around 15 million units per year in the next few years; still about two million units shy of peak sales figures a few years back, but still 40 percent better than 2009 levels. VW is projecting U.S. auto sales to hit up to 11.5 million units this year.

At present, VW's U.S. operations are not profitable, but Jacoby believes that the region may become profitable in 2013.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Report: VW's Jacoby says brand will double U.S. sales in 2-3 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Dominance Shift: VW may have sold more than Toyota in Q1

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

Over the last several years, few automotive stories have held as much interest as the global fight between Toyota and General Motors for worldwide sales supremacy. Don't look now, but there's a new combatant hailing from Germany ready to take the reigns: Volkswagen. However, VW's ascendancy has less to do with the German automaker's output -- GM and Toyota are shedding sales at a much faster rate than VW.

Toyota - currently the undisputed leader in automotive sales volume - is expected to post about 1.23 million sales in the first quarter of '09, down an amazing 47% from the previous year. Volkswagen's 1.39 million sales represent a much smaller drop of about 11%. We're not yet sure where General Motors will fall in the rankings, but it seems likely to come in third place. What's caused VW's rapid rise in global prominence?

The two largest markets for Toyota are the United States and Japan, and vehicle sales in both countries have been some of the hardest hit by the global economic downturn. In contrast, VeeDub is very strong in Germany, China and Brazil, and, in attempt to boost new car sales, these three countries have recently implemented vehicle scrapping schemes. It's worked, and VW is reaping the rewards.

Of course, if there's one thing that General Motors and Toyota have proven over these last few years, it's that life's not easy at the top. It should prove interesting to see if VW can manage to maintain the market share that it's so recently inherited. Thanks for the tip, Axel!

[Source: Reuters]

Global Dominance Shift: VW may have sold more than Toyota in Q1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota cuts sales forecast almost 7%

Chris Tutor — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

Last September we told you of Volkswagen's plan to overtake Toyota in global sales by 2015. Some Autoblog staffers giggled at the prospect. That was before Toyota reported a 39% drop in profit and began writing down leases, and long before today's news of the Japanese automaker reducing its sales goal for 2009 by almost 7%. Instead of the 10.4 million vehicle sales it predicted for 2009, Toyota says it now may only sell 9.7 million.

While 7% may not sound like a big reduction, consider that Toyota has seen steady growth since its founding in 1934, and any drop is a big deal. Last month, Toyota reported an 18% drop in sales from last July, while VW posted a 4% drop. If those sales rates continue, VW's goal of total domination should be much easier to attain.

[Source: Reuters]

Toyota cuts sales forecast almost 7% originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VW August '07 sales up 12% over previous year

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:32:00 EST

Filed under: Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

To them that have, more is given. Europe's biggest car maker just posted the biggest month-on-month increase in its entire history. The People's Car and its family brands did 12.1-percent more business in August 2007 than in August 2006, getting 286,000 vehicles into new homes.

For the year, VW sales are up 8.3-percent over 2006, with 2.4 million Golfs et al finding new homes. The numbers are lead by emerging market gains, with Brazil up 30-percent, China up 27.4-percent, and Argentina doing 21.3-percent more business. Volkswagen is expected to sell more than 3.5 million cars this year.

[Source: Just Auto, sub req'd]

VW August '07 sales up 12% over previous year originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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