Volkswagen’s January sales cratered in the United Kingdom as the auto company starts to feel the pain from last year’s emissions scandal — but one VW brand, Audi, actually saw a slight increase in sales.
The German-based car company saw sales fall 14 percent, ratcheting down VW’s total market share in the United Kingdom.
Two of its biggest British brands — Seat and Skoda — also saw reduced sales, losing 25 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. The hullabaloo somehow had little effect on Audi sales, however, as the VW offshoot brand actually saw a 1.4 percent increase in sales.
Audi is having a good year so far, garnering 200,000 annual sales for the first time, making it a top German company performer in the U.S. car market.
It’s success is due in part to its well-received Audi Q7.
“The new dynamic Audi Q7 produced an unprecedented level of demand right at launch,” Mark Del Rosso, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with Audi of America. “With benchmark models such as the Q7 and the all-new A4 coming this spring, we believe that our sales momentum will continue unabated this year,” he added.
VW overall slagging sales come despite the fact Britain’s car market sales boomed overall in January. Car registrations in Britain ticked upward last month, with increases of 3.7 percent in sales of gas-powered vehicles, 0.6 percent for diesel vehicles, as well as a 32 percent rise in plug-in and electric cars.
“January’s solid performance puts the new car sector in a good position to start the year. Providing consumer confidence remains strong, we expect a more stable 12 months ahead, broadly similar to 2015, which was, of course, a record year,” Mike Hawes, the chief executive of Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, told reporters.
VW acknowledged in September that it installed a type of defeat device to fool emission standard testing. The company is facing fines and lawsuits topping $50 billion, which could, some believe, eventually render VW bankrupt by the scandal.
VW’s market share fell from 8.5 to 7.1 percent — yet even with the fledgling sales, the company managed to hold third place in the car market behind Ford and British vehicle maker, Vauxhall.
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