Audi Dec. Sales Dip -9.3%, VW Sales Slip -14.4%, VW TN Factory Delayed

December sales numbers are starting to trickle in. Audi’s 9.3% drop from December’s sales totals could well look like a major victory– after the big boys sign in. Well, at least that’s how Ingolstadt’s spinning it, declaring a major (if unspecified) gain in U.S. market share. One thing’s for sure: the fish-faced Q7 is floundering. Sales of the Porsche-platformed SUV (or is it the other way around?) dropped 23.4 percent from last year’s miserable totals, from1575 to 1207 units. The Q7 finishes the year down 36.2 percent. Although the TT’s annual totals are up by three percent, December inflicted a 62.8 percent ding. The only car kicking it: the A5, up 383.1 percent, and the R8, up 275 percent. But then we’re talking small numbers (657 and 115 respectively). Audi’s brand sibling VW is hurtin’ for certain. Although total sales “only” 3.3 percent for the year, December is looking REALLY scary, with sales dropping from 20,543 units to 17,577. There’s blood everywhere in the lineup…Like all SUVs (cheap gas or no), the Touareg died a death, shedding 56.7 percent of its December sales total, down 23.3 percent for the year. Everyone who wanted an EOS has one; sales tanked by 55.8 percent. The Rabbit went into a hidey hole, losing 53.4 percent of last December’s popularity. Even the killer GTI is off 41 percent on December. In fact, there wasn’t a single winner. Not one.Meanwhile, VW has delayed groundbreaking on their new Chatanooga, TN factory?. “The board members for Volkswagen AG want to attend and, unfortunately, we couldn’t get all the schedules to coordinate until March,” corp comms director Jill Bratina told msnbc. According to the company, work on the site continues apace.Which is just as well. VW needs a hit product that’s robust, popular and immune to currency fluctuations. Until that happens, the million car army remains a figment of it’s NA Prez’ fevered imagination.