F&S predicts Volkswagen sales fall by 2020

At a time when scandal-hit Volkswagen Group has lost its sales crown to Toyota Motor Corporation, comes news from Frost & Sullivan (F&S) that VW sales are expected to fall by 2-4 per cent by 2020.

F&S claims that “Volkswagen's concession of corporate malfeasance in circumventing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing in the U.S. has sent the global automotive industry into a tailspin”.

"As a result, outlines F&S automotive and transportation senior research analyst, Arun Chandranath, "There will be a significant push towards alternate powertrains from both the industry and the consumer. Hybrids will be the strongest benefactor segment, owing to their advantage of being independent from a charging infrastructure and the availability of strong products in the market today."

Meanwhile, in the first nine months of this year, Toyota has regained its place as the world’s largest car maker. Sales reached 7.49 million vehicles compared with 7.43 million returned by its German rival, Volkswagen.

In the wake of this, industry observers will be watching to see how VW will respond to execute a ‘bounce-back’.

Both firms have experienced recall issues. Earlier this month, Toyota said it would recall 6.5 million vehicles around the world to rectify a defective window switch. Previously, Toyota has recalled more than 10 million vehicles due to accelerator problems between 2009 and 2010.

As is well known, Volkswagen is possibly approaching would could be described as the most severe crisis in its 78-years history, as it faces court actions, and investigations in the US and elsewhere. It is recalling 8.5 million vehicles in the European Union and will recall 11 million globally in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal.

In the light of Volkswagen’s woes. F&S is holding a webinar to examine the fallout from VW’s emission scandal and its impact on Volkswagen Group, as well as the wider automotive ecosystem.

F&S says this webinar will benefit the entire automotive value chain including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, financial service providers, regulatory bodies, independent testing organisations, technology solution providers, telematics providers and a whole host of industry participants looking to understand the current position of Volkswagen and the implications of the scandal.

With the “clean diesel” image taking a hit, we expect a significant push towards alternate powertrains from both the industry and the consumer,” notes F&S program manager, Shwetha Surender. "Globally harmonized test procedures will be a vital strategy to implement globalized test standards to ensure standardized emission and fuel testing for all OEMs and thus regain consumer trust."

The webinar takes place on Tuesday, 10^th November 2015, at 4:00 pm GMT online, with Complimentary Registration.

To attend the webinar, email Katja Feick, corporate communications – katja.feick@frost.com - with full name, job title, company name, company telephone number, and company email address, website, city, state and country.