Volkswagen shifts focus, abandons goal of being No. 1

2015-volkswagen-matthias-muller

In the wake of the ongoing ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, the Volkswagen Group has decided to abandon its goal of becoming the world’s biggest automaker, a title that was recently regained by Toyota back in October.

In an interview with German magazine WirtschaftsWoche, Volkswagen AG CEO Matthias Mueller said, “For me, this obsession with unit sales and the ambition to constantly reach new records makes no sense.”

The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal has affected 11 million Volkswagen Group diesel vehicles worldwide, where “cheat” software lowered the level of nitrogen oxides emitted when it detects test conditions. However, VW is on the path to recovery after German authorities approved its proposed fix recently.

VW jetta TDI US-spec

Even though VW AG has its sights set away from the “No. 1” spot at this moment, Mueller maintains that unit sales remain an important aspect for the automaker. “I’m not going declare sheer size as an end in itself,” Mueller explained.

“It makes no difference to me whether we’re number one, number two or number three in terms of volume of sales. VW still wants to remain a leader in the sector, but our definition will be different,” he added.

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Gerard Lye

Originating from the corporate world with a background in finance and economics, Gerard’s strong love for cars led him to take the plunge into the automotive media industry. It was only then did he realise that there are more things to a car than just horsepower count.

 

Comments

  • KHLOE KARDASHIAN on Dec 22, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    Is this mueller related to christoph mueller of MAS?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
  • Pinocchio on Dec 22, 2015 at 12:45 pm

    Learn to be “honest” is 1st priority

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
  • qwerty on Dec 22, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    A leader in fraud, definitely!

    Btw, it shouldn’t be “a title regained by Toyota back in October” as automotive sales are counted per annum and Volkswagen’s sales have passed Toyota for a period of 2015 but towards the end, we never know and Toyota was the champion for 2014, so theoretically Toyota has never lost the title.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
    • Silthice on Dec 22, 2015 at 2:53 pm

      I guess they count the cars on monthly basis…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • alldisc on Dec 22, 2015 at 10:55 pm

        Actually by month, by quarter and by yearly. And also compare month to month or year by year.

        Possibly too example Q2 last year versus Qé this year.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • megavalve on Dec 22, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    Just like Proton no need to focus as No.1 anymore.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 5
  • FIST (Member) on Dec 22, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    Here another tip, make a more reliable transmission

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • jolly_idiot (Member) on Dec 23, 2015 at 9:31 am

    VW is in deep shit.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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