It’s been terribly frustrating to watch carmakers pretend like there’s just one globalized car market with identical tastes that can be commanded from abroad with little local input. Lately, the country that was ignored was China, and numerous traditional OEMs have seen billions disappear as local companies happily took their market share. The country I’m interested in? The United States.
Volkswagen and its various brands have faltered here, and there are numerous potential causes, though if you regularly read The Morning Dump, you know my belief is that these brands aren’t making products that people want. It’s a simple explanation with a complex backstory. Does Volkswagen have a solution? Maybe. In terms of automakers with names that start with V, I’d put Volvo in the category of global car companies that lost sight of an American audience, though they’re also trying to fix this.
Of course, American companies can also come up short in America, as Tesla has seemingly done with a common feature on its cars that has potentially tragic results for passengers. This localization issue continues to be a major problem in India as well, and Honda has a solution: just have an Indian company develop their next car. That’s new.
Volkswagen Might Appoint A New Head Of North America With Actual Power
While I was ostensibly talking about Maruti Suzuki in India when I wrote about how automakers keep making the same mistake of believing they know better about the local market than the local market, I could easily have been talking about Volkswagen in North America. The larger Volkswagen brand isn’t monolithic, and the performance of Porsche isn’t the same as the performance of Audi, but something has definitely been off lately, and a rotating cast of execs sent to North America haven’t been able to fix the problem.
According to Manger Magazin, some of that is by design, with the person put in charge having to report up to the board, thus limiting their power. The current sales boss for Audi, Marco Schubert, might end up taking the job here in the United States:
Schubert is reportedly set to move to the USA , according to the parent company Volkswagen ; there he would assume the newly upgraded position of North America chief for the entire company. No final decision has been made yet, warns one of those involved.
[…]
That Volkswagen’s current North America boss, Kjell Gruner (59), is to be replaced has long been considered a foregone conclusion within the company. Where his predecessor, Pablo di Si, was seen by the board in Wolfsburg as too self-assured, Gruner is considered too weak. Sales figures remained low in 2026, and the discontinuation of production of the electric ID.4 in Chattanooga cost around €500 million in the first half of the year. VW brand chief Thomas Schäfer (56) had already filled key top positions in North America a year ago, sending a clear signal. Now, new momentum is expected to come from the top as well.
Running the Volkswagen Group in North America is a tough gig (just ask Di Si), because the expectation is you’ll sell whatever they give you, even if what they give you isn’t competitive with the Toyotas of the world. This report from MM alleges that a new leader might get some new powers:
The plan is to give the head of North America greater influence in the future – including within the corporate hierarchy. Where VW executive Schäfer and corporate finance chief Arno Antlitz (56) currently share management responsibility for the region on the board, the future head of North America will be a member of an expanded corporate board.
I hope that’s the case. Volkswagen’s prospects in the United States are probably better than the company’s prospects in China, so giving some local power to the person in charge seems smart. I am also intrigued by Schubert, who allegedly got in a heated argument with Audi’s current CEO Gernot Döllner after Schubert pointed out that, given the product coming, he expected Audi to lose share to Mercedes and BMW. Döllner, allegedly, was unhappy with this appraisal, but I think history has shown that Schubert was right.
Volvo Is Getting Some Hybrids, Finally, And A Wagon
Volvo’s future in the USA looks bright, even if the present is a little dim. The company will start building more XC60s here, which should help bring down price. A big three-row crossover is coming, and probably a wagon (albeit an EV one). Will there be hybrids? Of course. Though I’m curious what kind after this Automotive News article:
The U.S.-built, three-row utility vehicle is larger than the XC90 and targets luxury flagships such as the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7.
CEO Hakan Samuelsson described that vehicle as an EV with a backup engine. “It will behave like an electric car with fast acceleration and a quiet ride,” Samuelsson said.
While bringing new metal to market, Volvo is updating its aging XC40, XC60 and XC90 with stronger hybrid options to bridge the gap as full electrification progresses more gradually.
“We think we need hybrid cars longer,” Samuelsson said, acknowledging that “electrification has not picked up as fast as we thought a few years ago.”
That sounds like the big three-row will be an EREV, which might be something similiar to the Zeekr 9x. Will the XC60 and XC90 get regular hybrids to get with PHEVs or will they be all PHEVs? That’s a little harder to discern.
NHTSA Takes Step To Require ‘A Robust And Obvious’ Way For People To Get Out Of Cars
It should be clear that I do not like powered door handles, and that I’m on board with the growing attempts by regulators to make it a requirement that people can get out of cars in accidents. According to the San Jose Mercury News, NHTSA is taking a step to address the potentially fatal issue:
Nearly two years after three young people died of smoke inhalation inside a burning Tesla Cybertruck in Piedmont California, as a friend struggled to open its doors, federal regulators are considering new safety requirements intended to prevent occupants from becoming trapped when electronic latches lose power.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last week that it had granted a November petition asking the agency to consider a new federal standard requiring a “robust and obvious” door egress system in all motor vehicles. The decision begins a rulemaking process but does not guarantee that the agency will ultimately adopt a new standard.
“It is imperative that NHTSA moves swiftly through the rulemaking process to develop and implement new federal door egress safety standards that will protect future vehicle occupants,” said Andrew McDevitt, the attorney for the Nelson family whose son Jack died in the Piedmont crash. “But these will arrive far too late to save the lives of Jack Nelson, Krysta Tsukahara, Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer, and so many others killed and seriously injured by Tesla’s completely inexcusable door design.”
This is one of those things that’s a solved problem that we seemingly unlearned.
Honda: Screw It, Tata Can Design The Car
India, like the United States, is a target market for a lot of the older OEMs. Also like the United States, India has a large population and a desire to keep Chinese cars out of the market. One of the companies hoping to make up for lost share is Honda, which has seen its sales in the country dwindle.
How? Simple, just get its Indian partner Tata to develop its next car.
Honda Motor Co. has outsourced development of a new vehicle program to Tata Technologies Ltd., people familiar with the matter said, the first time the automaker is entrusting an Indian engineering services firm with building an end-to-end platform to help cut costs.
This platform is expected to support multiple car models, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. It is intended to accommodate conventional fossil fuel-powered models as well as electrified powertrains for hybrids and electric vehicles, the people added. They did not specify the markets where these Tata-engineered vehicles might be sold.
The farming out of this crucial function marks a departure for Honda, which has typically kept development of core vehicle platforms largely in-house or within its established supplier network. It comes as the Japanese automaker overhauls its product roadmap after reporting its first annual loss since its founding in 1948, shelving several planned electric vehicle programs and accelerating cost-cutting efforts.
I’m assuming most of these cars will be sold in India, but it sounds like they could end up in other export markets.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s always great to check on a video on YouTube and be surprised that more people enjoyed a song you love than you’d have guessed. Today, the song is “All Mirrors” by Angel Olsen, which has more than 1.3 million views. Awesome.
The Big Question
What’s one type of car that a Volkswagen brand doesn’t currently sell in America that you’d add to the line if you were in charge?
Top photo: Volkswagen
SEAT makes some pretty cool vehicles. Bring them stateside VW!
The answer is super boring actually,
VW needs a hybrid 4cyl engine + eCVT combo that they can use in everything.
I would fast track that. It would be plug and play compatible with adding a plug-in battery system and offer a higher output plug-in option too.
Then I would make the Tiguan and Atlas hybrid. Both will have a high output model. I would also look at bringing in a big boy SUV with that same underpowered hybrid system. Think grand highlander in size.
The Jetta would get this system as it’s only engine option. I would not kill the Jetta. I would just keep making it and not invest much into it. Keep CarPlay/AndroidAuto up today and that’s it.
I would look at making a truck and a van based on the Atlas platform size. Aka: Honda Ridgeline and Odyssey. Again, they comes as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Target 5000lbs towing capacity for the truck. This truck is what we design the high output hybrid variant around. The van is just to get another 50k units off the platform.
TBQ: Tiguan and Atlas Hybrids should have been in the states years ago. VW should also lean towards simplicity and value. Build niche body styles that other brands have abandoned.
For example, if VW did a modern version of a Honda Element or Subaru Baja, they’d get at least some of those customers
Wake me when Volvo brings the ES90 here to atone for not bringing the Polestar 5 here before Trump and the rest of the government/auto industry butthurt over China’s success said, “Nyah nyah, not yours!! Buy American (oversized SUVs/trucks)!!”
“more people enjoyed a song you love than you’d have guessed”
I’ve viewed plenty of songs I haven’t enjoyed, but having said that, I did enjoy this.
I’ve never heard of this person, but the Blade Runner/chillwave thing is working for me. Like somebody started with “Take My Breath Away” and just cranked the “Creepy” knob. Nice one Hardigree!
They need a cheap honest little; truck, van, and cuv. A cheap honest little car that can be optioned as a convertible wouldn’t hurt either. I think the tough reality is the German automakers have lost the world. They are holding on to Europe by a thread.
They got a hold in most markets on price, interesting design, engineering, and decent quality. They lost because of price , boring design, bad engineering, and no quality.
With these situations you have to cut from the top. Then the yes men. Find the people who said it’s a bad idea figure out if they had the answers and put them in a position of more power. Then get all the mbas out. You don’t need any. Then make sure the accountants are just being accountants they don’t need a say in an the business decisions. I don’t think the Germans have it in them to turn anything around.
So much of their talent has left for Korea or China that won’t help the situation. I wouldn’t doubt the reason they were leaving is they weren’t being listened too and they saw what was happening. This has happened in almost every industry with mbas within earshot of the helm Established companies wants to act like a startup because they are the unicorn darling of the stock market. While the startup is working like hell to survive with the goal of being the establed company.
The VW PHEV T7. I would have bought one years ago, if it had ever been released in the US.
TBQ: Hybrids mic drop.
Yup, I’d have a Golf Sportwagen hybrid in my garage if they made it
What’s one type of car that a Volkswagen brand doesn’t currently sell in America that you’d add to the line if you were in charge?
One that are reliable and obviously different than any of the other blob’s OEMs manufacture.
I’d love to see them build fun cars among the mainstream cars they have. Badge Cupra’s as VWs (more Leons and Leon Sportstourers please and thanks). Build the Amarok. Trucks are a critical gap in their line up, and the US needs more midsized trucks.
But seriously, build something that differentiates the line up from Toyota, GM, Honda, etc. Have a halo car that isn’t an expensive EV van. Make the VW show rooms exciting.
I don’t know what the current tariffs are for cars from the Czech Republic, but VWoA might be wise to bring some Skodas over here, either as a sub-brand (Like Toyota did with Scion) or simply rebadged with a VW logo.
Hmmm. VW Golf GTI and Golf R sales dropped from 15,000 in 2024 to 10,000 2025… maybe hot hatch buyers in the US want manual transmissions?
Of course, the manual take rate was ~50%. So you could argue they sold more automatics in 25 than in 24…
“What’s one type of car that a Volkswagen brand doesn’t currently sell in America that you’d add to the line if you were in charge?”
A pickup truck. I know they make them and sell them in other markets (Amarok, etc…) and I suspect some of their existing models might appeal to Americans if they’re priced right.
I personally wouldn’t buy one because I’ve had a bunch of VWs already and don’t want any more, but if VW could adapt some existing midsize and small truck platforms for American tastes and price it comfortably below the Tacoma, I think they could move more than a few, especially if Toyota continues to drag its feet releasing a small truck below the Tacoma, be it the Stout or something else.
“Volvo’s future in the USA looks bright, even if the present is a little dim.”
That’s a very handsome wagon in that photo above. Be that as it may, handsome alone isn’t enough to sell me a new car (nor is ugly enough for me to rule one out 😉 ). I really like (older) Volvos and currently own two: an ’80s wagon and an ’00s SUV. They’re not perfect of course, but they are more than good enough. Newer Volvos give me a subtle anxiety: so much powertrain complexity, so much reliance on software, an unknown amount of surveillance/data acquisition, concerns (justified or not) about Chinese ownership, and of course: the persistent feeling of possible disposability that’s common to so many new cars.
I understand that something as simple and sturdy as a 140/240 isn’t practical in today’s market, but I do wish Volvo and its Chinese owners would think about the company’s historic strengths and try to leverage them. Coming out with yet more crossovers laden with (sometimes) undercooked tech isn’t going to position Volvo well to compete against its traditional European rivals, let alone Asian products.
All JHMO of course. I know nothing about anything really.
TBQ: Anything that lives up to the hype of “German Engineering” without the sarcasm.
All their capable people fled to Asia. They will have to go to the Germans of Korea and Germans of China groups at the very least to claw them back.
I don’t really follow much of what VW makes outside the US. I know they have the ID.3 which seems decent so maybe that or some sort of wagon since they are all disappearing. Hopefully Volvo announces and brings an EV wagon stateside.
Skoda Octavia Combi, please.
TBQ: Experiment with a low feature content variant of the Golf. Something to appeal to the value buyers that are looking for a modern day version of the original Beetle. Go after the segment that the Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Versa, Chevy Spark and Honda Fit abandoned. Don’t load it with tech, but focus on building a good car with soul that’s inexpensive and easy to live with.
You have my vote for comment of the week Rides!
That makes so much sense it’s almost a certainty that VW won’t do it. 😉
As much as you and I want that type of vehicle, unfortunately there’s literal dozens of us that would actually buy one. Look up each of those vehicles and sales numbers before they were discontinued. None were huge commercial successes. The US auto market now runs on high margin, high technology, financed to the hilt vehicles.
Maybe a van that either isn’t grossly overpriced or has usable EV range.
Volvo’s heyday was when they made THEIR car and sold it universally. Not 15 different cars half-assed for 15 different markets. Same with VW. Universal products may not be the biggest seller in a particular market, but why do they need to be if they’re diversified?
I might start with a reliable one.
They’re just trying to fit in with Stellantis
That’s true. There’s maybe some perverse pleasure in having so many of your products rated as ‘unacceptable’ by Consumer Reports. 😉
I don’t think I’ll jump on board, I largely think VWs these days are probably, on average, as reliable as most other manufacturers. Sure, more reliability is always nice, but I don’t think it’s hurting them all that much. On top of that, they even have a longer than standard B2B warranty to back it up at 4 years 50k miles.
I think their big problem is parts pricing. Their parts in general are stupid expensive. When I had my R, prices even for non-R specific parts were much more euro-luxury car priced instead of what you would think for something with economy car roots. For example, why is a Tiguan wheel hub from VW almost 2x the price as a CX-50 wheel hub from Mazda? Why is a VW axle 50% more expensive than the competition?
Yes, you can get cheaper aftermarket stuff, but even looking on RockAuto, most parts for a Tiguan look to be about 30-50% more expensive than similar parts to Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, Kia, etc.
One of the dumbest unforced errors Volkswagen made was letting Scott Keough leave the North America job to take on the Scout project. He was the right leader for the North American business.
I know it’d be a niche product and not exactly my cup of tea, but VW has always kind of had that non-performance convertible around. Eos, beetles, cabrios, take your pick.
Could see it slotting in to compete with the prelude in that way, as a luxury-ish convertible.
TBQ: eGolf, in all of the sizes that the regular Golf is sold in. It was a brilliant car the first time around, and the Golf continues to be about the best form-factor sold anywhere. The footprint to interior space ratio is unmatched, and thanks to the wheels being on the corners it handles brilliantly. Slap a structural battery pack in the floor, add a frunk and some electric motors, and you’ve got a winner.
Edit: RE electric door handles- the fact that this was even allowed in the first place is stupid, and the NHTSA really, really fell down on the job (2012 Model S appears to be the first culprit, so I’m going to hang the blame on the NHTSA administrator at the time, David Strickland- booooooo!). Like this isn’t even about overregulation, because electric door handles are more expensive than mechanical ones, it’s just some stupid product marketing wankery trumping common sense.
I’d certainly like an EV Alltrack/Golf Country Estate
It’s not really even NHTSA-specific. It’s baked into the Common Law system that everything is legal unless and until it’s made specifically illegal.
For a robust and obvious way to get out of a car, I’d just like to throw a suggestion of ejection seats into the mix of ideas.
Ejecto seato cuz!
The Chinese solution of kicking an incendiary battery the hell out and into adjacent cars and people seemed pretty useful too.
TBQ: A full line of Golfs. VW has lost their niche of loyal fans by trying too hard to be mainstream.
I’d love to see that, and then Toyota to bring over the long-roof hybrid Corolla to stomp it.
Or Subaru to bring over there longroof Impreza to get stomped by it?
This isn’t a North America VW problem, it’s a global VW problem with it’s tangled mess of overlapping brands.