In a press conference in Germany last week, Herbet Diess, head of Volkswagen AG announced that their company believes in the U.S. market's huge potential in the next 10 years. His remarks followed the German automaker's discussion in conceptualizing new brand strategy after the company has been hit with slumping sales in the U.S. since last year.
Diess admitted that his company failed in providing a clear profile and a steady product portfolio in the U.S. This was, in fact the cause why they find it hard to penetrate the market. During the discussion, he pointed out that VW needs to focus on the "aspirational middle class," Gas2 reported.
According to VW's officials, the lack of concise sales strategy in the American market has confused customers. They added that the company was indecisive, whether to target the premium or the mass population. One prime example of this is the brand positioning of Audi and Porsche in the U.S., which is expected to be in place by the last week of June.
Despite the big challenge, Diess has been positive that the company can regain its place in the industry. The press conference came at a time when VW is still in the midst of resolving pending cases over the diesel emission scandal. Just last week, the automaker agreed to allot $10 billion to resolve all claims in the U.S.
Meanwhile, VW AG reported that its April U.S. sales fell 9.7 percent, the lowest since December. Although it is still negative, it could be a good indicator that the company is regaining back customer trust after the scandal, according to Bloomberg.
After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California regulators found that VW cheated during emission tests, the company discontinued selling its diesel-engine vehicles. Since then, the company has relied only on its gasoline-powered models.
Last week, during the annual press conference, Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller requested for more time and patience as the company deals with the consequences of the scandal. In April, VW's shares ended 8.8 percent higher since November last year.
Watch the video below about Volkswagen's move to win back the U.S. market: