I was literally just thinking this yesterday. Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche… Those all have places in the market. They’re not supposed to be reliable. They’re supposed to be performers for people who probably aren’t going to keep them outside the warranty period. But why the fuck would any informed person buy a VW? They’re no nicer than any other consumer/economy brand, but far more expensive to own.
It’s clear VAG went from prioritizing the VW brand to Audi and Porsche. Makes sense because when Audis started to become good, VWs lost their magic
Let’s be honest, VW hasn’t been competitive since 2014.
The Mk 7.5 Golf (MY 2017 in Europe, 2018 in the US) was still good, improving on the already really good Mk 7. It’s all been tits up from there - be it in their legacy lineup or the ID line.
around that time is when they started really actually believing they could compete with toyota instead of just continuing to be VW
Volkswagen should scuttle all its BEV and PHEV ambitions and offer HEV across its whole line.
I had so many catastrophic issues with my old mk7 GTI both during and after the warranty period, in terms of mechanical hardware as well as service quality, that it completely put me off buying any further VW, and Audi vehicles by extension. Skoda is out without question.
Got a BMW G20 and once the software was updated, never had an issue since 2019.
their models are no longer desirable to anyone, they threw out their enthusiast models for the most part and have pivoted to boring crossovers and CUVs and their offerings there aren’t competitive and their brand has baggage with that segment’s buyer’s anyway
then they ruined their interiors for the most part.
just bad management coming to roost.
unfortunately this is going to be tough to rebuild from, there’s nothing really good or interesting in the pipeline other than the id buzz and that’s going to be so overpriced that it won’t sell
Well yeah. In America they’ve been on life support ever since dieselgate. Their core products ofer nothing over a comparable Honda or Toyota yet their selling prices and maintenance costs are comparable to that of other European luxury brands like Mercedes
Did he need proprietary tools that most mechanics don’t have in order to say this?
Maybe they should bring back the Jetta Trek interior?
No kidding
no longer? I’d say they were uncompetitive for at least a decade ever since little humble mazdas built better diesels than them and without cheating at that.
Maybe you should not abandon ICE cars so fast.
My first real car was a GTI so I’ll always have a soft spot for VW. That said, their sedans and hatchbacks seem pretty insanely overpriced compared to comparable models on the market.
Economy pricing has faded away but more importantly the quality of the drive did too. Paying a bit more, compared to rival makes/models, for a better driving car was their bread/butter. The moment Jettas no longer came with independent rear suspension (GLi excluded) they no longer had a niche. Why pay more for a econo-box when a cheaper competitor handles and drives as good or better?
Then they started reducing their available models. If they weren’t losing market share to rival brands they were cannibalizing among their own brands.
As a VAG enthusiast in the NA market, this was obvious years ago. Small bit of hope that the fool(s) at the top are recognizing it, finally.
My VW dealer barely has stock, meanwhile the Audi that is 100 feet away is packed with cars.
I see a lot of Atlas and Taos on the road. I think the Toas and Atlas Sport are cannibalizing Tiguan sales. I see a some GTIs in my area but not as many as previous generations. The price is just outrageous for what you get.
💀💀
How is cutting costs going to fix that? Go back to making solid products and that requires more resources, not less.