Stagnant sales and a weak euro are not enough to persuade Volkswagen’s American arm to cut prices or boost incentives.
A VW Group board member said last week the company has no plans to change its pricing strategy in the U.S. and “would rather sacrifice share than put more money on the hood,” according to Automotive News.
Taking advantage of the exchange rate would affect a relatively small number of vehicles VW sells in the U.S. Notably, the Tiguan and CC are reaching the end of their lifecycles. While Tiguan sales are off only 1.4 percent through April, the CC is down by almost half over the same period in 2014.
VW has more problems with its U.S.-built Passat, down 19.5 percent so far this year and 29 percent in April alone. And yet Edmunds says VW incentives are 6.5 percent below the industry average so far in 2015.
A revised Passat with updated looks and probably a large marketing push is expected for 2016. So VW is looking at product such as that and a couple of three-row crossovers to solve its problems in the U.S. In other words, don’t expect any bargains of the century at your local VW dealer anytime soon.
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