Volkswagen’s American arm says it has officially returned to stability as it shakes off the negative sentiment tied-up with the #dieselgate saga of 2015.
The US market was hit particularly hard in the wake of the scandal where investigators uncovered evidence of emissions tampering software in Volkswagen’s diesel passenger cars. Volkswagen agreed to pay $A30 billion in fines as its sales tumbled.
However, in a forthright interview with carsales.com.au at the Los Angeles motor show this week, the head of Volkswagen’s North American division, Scott Keogh, said the marque’s recovery from the scandal was well and truly on track.
“I think sales and brand building is a battle each and every day,” he said.
“Nothing is ever complete. I think we’ve gotten back to stability from the challenge we had with TDI and everything else, and now we’ve got to continue to grow from here.”
Volkswagen reported a five per cent sales increase in the month of October, in a US market that is plateauing overall. Keogh said more work was being done to consolidate and improve the car-maker’s position.
“I’m not a big fan of putting out big sales projections. The market gives you what you deserve; so get a strong brand, get a strong network and get some cool products, and you’ll get there. Step-by-step, we get there,” he said.
“I think we deserve more, but I think we have to earn it.”
In Australia, Volkswagen’s sales have followed a similar trajectory, contrary to some fears the dieselgate mess would leave the car-maker in a state of disrepair.
While US sales are up, Keogh has a less tangible target in mind as the boss of the American division: trust from the market. He is under no illusions on how to improve Volkswagen’s perception.
“Trust needs to be earned, I can send out press releases and I can say X and I can say Y. Trust needs to be earned,” he said.
“From my perspective, that’s my goal and that’s always been my goal. I didn’t create this mess, the employees didn’t create this mess and the dealers didn’t create this mess. That’s why we have an obligation to fix this mess and that’s what I’m doing.
“We have an obligation to employees, we have an obligation to customers, and of course the environment. You’ll make those decisions but it needs to be earned. The rest is talk.”