Volkswagen Will Offer More Cash to Dealers as It Skids Completely Out of Control
Amid slumping sales and a snowballing diesel-emissions crisis, Volkswagen announced Monday a plan to offer more money to dealers for cars that they can sell.
Over the weekend, Volkswagen issued a stop-sale for cars equipped with their 2-liter diesel engine after admitting the those cars cheated to pass emissions test. According to Automotive News, a Sept. 21 letter from Volkswagen to its dealers offered $300 bonus cash for every new car sold and $600 for every Passat sold. (The Passat is the already second-best deal in America right now, according to Kelley Blue Book.)
In addition to the bonus cash, dealers will also receive a bonus totaling 1 percent of sticker from each new vehicle sold in the third and fourth quarters.
“In light of recent events, we are committed to taking actions which will stabilize your profitability in the near-term,” Volkswagen U.S. chief Michael Horn said in the memo, according to Automotive News. “We understand the pressure these recent events have put your business under and we are committed to providing you support.”
TDI sales in the U.S. comprised 23 percent of Volkswagen’s sales in August and accounted for 21.6 percent of total sales in 2014, according to the automaker.
Shares of Volkswagen are currently free-falling from their 5-day high. In two days, the stock has shed nearly 38 percent of its value, on top of 30-percent losses from slumping sales already.
More by Aaron Cole
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Time to get a spectacular deal on a new, gas-powered Audi or VW. Shades of the Audi 5000 unintended acceleration fiasco long ago except that this time it's a legitimate issue.
What about Audis?
With the Top three automakers in the world (GM, Toyota, VW) vying for the title of #1, expect a lot more short-cutting shenanigans - and a better effort to conceal the deception. Greed and human nature knows no bounds. Which is precisely why I haven't purchased a new vehicle in over 12 years - that and the fact that the complexity (as well as cost-cutting) of vehicles keep increasing year after year. I'm taking the restomod route for my existing vehicles - there's beauty in simplicity.
While TDI engines make 25% of USA sales I see this more of a International problem especially in places like Europe. Many of my business contacts drive some kind of high end diesel Audi. Overall I see why people are upset and why the stock has plummeted but honestly who cares? You are stupid to begin with to believe there was such thing as clean diesel, that's like saying there is clean coal. The Verge just wrote an article on how this will push VW's hand greatly into electric and hybrid cars. While I think the future is electric, I think most manufactures are a decade(s) behind. Yes there is the Leaf/Volt/Tesla/BMW and even now Audi in the electric game but there are some severe limitations, one being price. Even with tax incentives and rebates an electric car in most cases is still expensive, range is getting better but not good enough for people who drive a lot, electric charging stations are also getting better but not implemented well enough to eliminate millage fear, form and function wise besides maybe Tesla electric cars don't stack up with conventional cars. Overall ever car company goes through it. Do what GM is doing and ignoring the problem with ignition switches and just throwing money to hush people.