Volkswagen USA Reports December 2008 Sales Down 14% From 2007

HERNDON, Va.— Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced December 2008 sales of 17,577 units, a 14.4 percent decrease over December 2007.  Full year sales of 223,128 total units for 2008, was a decrease of 3.2 percent verse 2007 sales.

"The auto industry in 2008 was one of the toughest we've seen in a long time,." said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "Despite these economic conditions, 2008 was still a good year for Volkswagen.  We relocated our North American headquarters to Herndon, VA. bringing us closer to our customers, we announced an all-new North American production facility will be built in Chattanooga, TN., and we launched an impressive five new vehicles that allowed Volkswagen to buck the economic downturn as our sales remained close to our 2007 totals.  Volkswagen of America has a plan in place for a successful future here in the U.S." 

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Eos, Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg 2 and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2009 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com