Sales figures for Volkswagen by brand 2014-2018

Volkswagen Group's top brand is its namesake Volkswagen passenger car brand, which saw sales drop by some 868,000 units between 2014 and 2018, to reach 3.7 million units in 2018. Despite the sales slump, it still accounted for almost half of motor vehicles sold by the automaker outside China and about one third of all vehicles sold by Volkswagen Group in 2018. Other brands have noticeably increased in sales, such as Skoda, Seat, and Porsche. All three brands in the commercial vehicle segments also show a general upward trend.

Lost faith due to scandal

Falling sales levels are in part due to a loss in consumer confidence following the 2015 diesel emissions scandal, which led to a significant operating loss of around four billion euros in 2015. The automotive will have to pay about 96.5 million U.S. dollars to motorists in the United States after equipping at least 10.8 million diesel vehicles worldwide with a device that lowers the production of greenhouse gas emissions during fuel economy tests.

The luxurious market shift

Many motorists prioritize comfort and enjoyment when driving, and the increasing market size of luxury cars shows how consumers are willing to spend more on upmarket vehicles. Typically speaking, European brands dominate the luxury car market with the top three luxury brands all being German, including Volkswagen owned Audi. Even in the United States, where European brands struggle in other segments, European luxury cars tend to do well. Over a third of models on the future U.S. sports and luxury car market are expected to be European. As consumers’ preferences shift towards electric vehicles and luxury cars, Volkswagen will compete with companies such as Tesla or Byton to produce high-performance vehicles.