Bernd Osterloh, Volkswagen AG’s top labor representative, has labeled the carmaker’s U.S. operations as a “disaster” adding that more models and swift decisions are needed to revive the company’s position in the world’s second-largest car market.
While VW has a dominant position in China and Europe, it has yet to fully understand how to succeed in the United States, Osterloh told reporters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
“The U.S. are a case of disaster” for VW, Osterloh was quoted as saying by Reuters. The official, who is also a member of VW’s supervisory board, added that the carmaker’s position in the U.S. will not improve until 2016 and it needs more models there, including a pickup truck.
Earlier this month, VW announced at the Detroit Auto Show that it will build a midsize SUV for North America as part of a $7 billion investment in the region. However, Osterloh criticized the company because it still hasn’t decided where the new model will be built, a year after the CrossBlue SUV concept was unveiled.
While VW favors its U.S. plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, over the Puebla plant in Mexico, Osterloh said Chattanooga would make economic sense if VW could offset the higher personnel costs compared with Puebla.
VW sales declined 6.3 percent last year after two years of increases, with the company last month firing its U.S. boss Jonathan Browning. VW’s new head of U.S. operations, Michael Horn, has also criticized VW headquarters for paying little attention to the dynamics of the U.S. market.
By Dan Mihalascu
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