VW bucks downtrend, sees '09 growth

[Miss Mia]

VW bucks downtrend, sees '09 growth

Diana T. Kurylko

LOS ANGELES — Despite the U.S. market's sharp downturn, Volkswagen hopes for flat sales this year and looks for an increase in 2009.

"We're remaining stable and plan to grow and invest in production to the United States," Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc., said in an interview during the Los Angeles Auto Show. "Next year there is a chance we could even see growth."

The VW brand is down only 0.6 percent through October, with U.S. sales of 191,256 units. The overall U.S. light-vehicle market is down 14.6 percent for the first 10 months of the year.

"We have a very solid foundation because we recently launched five new products, and two of them are in new segments," said Jacoby, referring to the Routan minivan and the Tiguan crossover.

The 2009 Routan, which is built by Chrysler, was launched into what Jacoby called "the middle of the storm and at a time when our competitors were selling out their 2008 stock." VW reacted quickly with 0 percent financing for 60 months soon after the Routan's September debut.

VW has about a 75-day supply of the rebadged Chrysler vehicle, said Jacoby. He expects to sell 10,000 Routans this year and 25,000 to 30,000 in 2009 — lower than VW's initial 40,000 forecast.

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